Pride, Preference, and a Possible Pulitzer Prize?

 

As Jane Austen so aptly wrote in Pride and Prejudice,

"...and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.”

The stories we read are intentional. They are meant to comfort us, challenge us, linger in our hearts and minds. Whether we read for escape, connection, understanding, or pure enjoyment, there is something deeply personal about the endeavor.

At times, we stumble across stories we do not enjoy. Maybe it was the pacing. Maybe the characters never quite came alive. Maybe we were just not in the right mood. Whatever the reason, the book did not resonate. 

But here is something I often wonder: Why keep reading?

There is something fascinating about finishing a book one dislikes—or worse, reading book after book by the same author and still not enjoying any of them. A habit or sense of duty. A hidden desire to be proven wrong.

I do not have an answer. I just know that when a story is not for me, I put it down and move on. Life is too short, and my to-be-read pile is far too ambitious.

But I suppose every book serves a purpose. Even the ones that frustrate—channeling one's inner Lady Catherine de Bourgh: "If I had ever written this book, I should have been awarded a Pulitzer prize."