“So, why do you like reading? Just for the vibes?”
People have asked me that question multiple times throughout my life. And in answer, I often gave a small list of reasons why:
“I can escape to different worlds other than this one. I don’t like it here.”
“The magic and the supernatural elements of it all are amazing!”
“There’s a personality in every character that I can relate to. They’re so cool.”
Not that I’ve said all of those exact words. But I’ve also realized that my answers changed depending on the books.
I’m sure other readers have similar thoughts, with a much more detailed list than what I’ve mentioned. Before, I imagined that readers, in some subconscious form, have loose criteria for enjoying a book. I thought I knew my criteria quite well, up until this fall.
That changed with The Spellshop.
Reading The Spellshop
The Spellshop was written by Sarah Beth Durst and published on July 9, 2024. It’s set in a fantastical world where a young librarian escapes to her childhood island on a boat with her sentient plant, Caz. She rescues crates of spell books from the fires that destroyed the capital’s library for safekeeping.
Arriving at the island she barely remembers as “home,” she secretly uses magic spells from her books to regrow her parents’ old garden, sell jam to the islanders, and create a new life for herself.
Along the way, she learns the significance of connecting with others and collaborating to make their island a much better and livable place.
My cousin and I were searching for a new novel to read together. We came across The Spellshop while browsing the book section at Target one day. I read the back cover and thought it was a little too cheesy for my taste.
But my cousin just responded with, “Let’s read it!”
I did not expect to like it so much.
Both my cousin and I had our list of critiques that we discussed during our little book club, but we agreed about how cozy and homey the book made us feel. While my creative-writing-major-conditioning usually makes me critique everything — from the catches in dialogue to identifiable plot holes — I surprised myself in liking this book despite my usual criteria.
I didn’t enjoy it based on the writing style, the characterization of all of the islanders, or even how the plot unfolded.
I just liked the feeling the book gave me, with its fantastical normalcy and its small-town-friendly island, and I was satisfied with it. For the first time in a while, I read the book for the vibes, I had a great time with it, and that was that.
And that got me rethinking every other book I’ve ever read, and how my “criteria” for them weren’t as narrow as I thought.
Liking Books For Different Reasons
People like books for many different reasons. I experienced The Spellshop and enjoyed the book for its “vibes,” particularly the small island lifestyle and the making of magical jam.
But someone else could’ve liked the book based on the romance. Another may have been drawn to the various qualities and characteristics of the islanders.
After all, there’s no “wrong” reason or way to like a story.
In a 2012 study (not so recent, but still packed with fascinating data) called “Why people like to read,” the Pew Research Center conducted a survey gathering different reasons why people liked to read.
The responses were spread across at least five different answers. Some read for entertainment and drama; some for gaining new knowledge and perspective; others for escaping and relaxing.
Although some weighed more than others, not one choice rose above fifty percent. This shows how everyone is drawn to reading for specific reasons, but they all validate the desire to read.
Book criteria change all the time. There’s summer, when we’re looking for “beach reads” and fast flings (if that’s what the reader prefers). Then comes fall, and we’re suddenly looking for a story with a hint of sweetness to read under fluffy blankets and next to scented candles, our windows open to the rain accompaniment outside.
Literary agent Kate McKean’s newsletter also wrote about this topic. In “Is a Good Book All About the ~~Vibes~~?” she talked about the “feeling” and experience generated by books: how skillfully the author combines the elements of their book and their writing style, as well as the reactions of the audience reading it.
I then considered how the two factors pieced together for a reading experience.
- The book is a package of articulations and worlds and personalities, all bundled together by the author, who ties a piece of themselves and their inner world into the equation as well.
- The reader is the person who ordered and received it, seeking an immersive experience at this specific point in their life, with a certain occasion, mindset, season, etc. They activate the color and life of the author’s package.
As Kate McKean observes, it depends on how readers enter the experience of a book and how they react to what they read.
And even then, do all reads have to be perfect books that are well-recognized in the literary world? Not at all.
Readers on Readers
As people naturally develop opinions, they often have disagreements. Opinions on reading experiences are no exception.
Upon recently finishing Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn, I hopped on Reddit to find a post from someone in the Legendborn series community, asking people to stop criticizing others who like the series for specific reasons.
While discourse is inevitable, it still surprised me how some people felt wronged in the reading community purely because of their opinions. These could range from specific books to addressing broader themes, such as genres.
People will like books and reading not only based on what the writer presents, but also on their perspectives — their individual lives, journeys, and emotions. Everyone will have varied connections to a book, and all of them are more than valid.
Luckily, the majority of readers continue to voice their opinions on why they like reading while still respecting others’ reasons.
I read because I am lucky to be able to
— Em 📚 nightreader (@em_nightreader) December 8, 2024
I read because it's an escape
I read because there are so many great stories out there
I read so that I can learn
I read so that I can travel
I read because it's peaceful
I read because I love it ❤️
Whatever your reason … read 📚
We can support everyone’s reading journeys by accepting all aspects of people’s connections to books. In fact, there’s a lot to learn by asking the simple question, “Why?”
At the end of the day, we can like reading for any reason at all! No reason is incorrect, and we should encourage each other to share our thoughts.
Have you ever faced difficulty in expressing why you like to read?
