Power Reading

There is something satisfying about powering through books. In the last two days I've finished three books. Now these aren't significant works. No one, probably, read these books and said "ah, yes! My life is now changed." Yet, does that matter? Reading leads to more reading. It's a habit that propagates itself.

So, no. It doesn't matter. All reading is good and it doesn't matter the material. I get so sick of people book-shaming themselves and my kids. A book read, even if it is vapid mind candy, is worth more than a book gathering dust on a shelf. That book could be the most heart rending beautiful piece of literature ever written, but if it isn't read - it is still just a hunk of paper. The value is in the reading.

I'm currently working my way through Darren Shan's Zom-B series. This is teen horror. The books are all short (150-180 pages) and features short chapters and plenty of white space on the page. The narratives are straight forward and full of violence and gore. Seems like fluff, right? Sure, it is. However, hidden in there are things like dealing with racism and prejudice, handling loss, and navigating morally grey situations.

This isn't high literature. Not by a long shot, but it is worthwhile and it has one my most difficult to entice readers, reading it. One book read is worth ten sitting on the shelf.