Your observation about not everyone wanting to read deeply reminds me of a recent exchange with a stranger on substack who was trying to encourage me to read a particular book by telling me it was "intense and searing and traumatic." My response was, why the fuck would I want to read something like that? Which in turn offended this anonymous person greatly, and they responded by chiding me for my "privilege" in choosing not to read it, because -- and ah ha, here's the tell -- it mirrored their own experiences. What they were really demanding was, of course, that I put their emotional need to have their experience validated ahead of mine by inviting their "intense, searing trauma" into my life.
I think/hope the answer to why I'm not interested in doing that is self-evident. If two people drink poison from a cup, it doesn't save the first, it just kills them both.
On the other hand, "Red, White & Royal Blue" turns out to be a surprisingly beautiful read.
This is why I infrequently watch psychological thrillers; rarely do I want to invite that kind of experience into my head. And since we get the privilege to choose the movies and books (if any) on which we expend our time, I'll go with my preferences. Thank you very much.
Your observation about not everyone wanting to read deeply reminds me of a recent exchange with a stranger on substack who was trying to encourage me to read a particular book by telling me it was "intense and searing and traumatic." My response was, why the fuck would I want to read something like that? Which in turn offended this anonymous person greatly, and they responded by chiding me for my "privilege" in choosing not to read it, because -- and ah ha, here's the tell -- it mirrored their own experiences. What they were really demanding was, of course, that I put their emotional need to have their experience validated ahead of mine by inviting their "intense, searing trauma" into my life.
I think/hope the answer to why I'm not interested in doing that is self-evident. If two people drink poison from a cup, it doesn't save the first, it just kills them both.
On the other hand, "Red, White & Royal Blue" turns out to be a surprisingly beautiful read.
This is why I infrequently watch psychological thrillers; rarely do I want to invite that kind of experience into my head. And since we get the privilege to choose the movies and books (if any) on which we expend our time, I'll go with my preferences. Thank you very much.