Thread by @Yascha_Mounk

When I was a kid, my mom had two simple rules about food:

1) I had to try everything
2) I did not have to eat anything I didn’t like.

I increasingly think this rule should also apply to books.

Let me explain.

[Short Thread.]

I used to make two kinds of mistakes in my reading habits.

First, I dismissed some works even though they were renowned classics or had a lot of buzz.

“My peers look down on this author,” I’d think. Or: “It just doesn’t sound like something I’d be into.”

Second, I’d often force myself to finish books that weren’t nourishing me intellectually.

“It sounds like the sort of thing I *should* be into,” I’d think. Or: “All my peers think it’s really deep! There’s gotta be something to it”

Instead, I now follow my mom’s food rules:

1) If a book is a classic or has enough buzz about it, I’ll give it a try even if it doesn’t sound like something I’d enjoy.

2) If I start reading a book and it just doesn’t speak to me, I put it down without feeling bad.

[End.]