Do you ever worry about people judging you because of your reading choices? I’m ashamed to say I do.
Last week I was in the middle of a pretty intense workshop when we decided to take a short lunch break. The workshop facilitator wanted to pop out and get a coffee so I thought I’d take the chance to get a bit of fresh air and pick up some books from the library. I’d reserved them during the holidays but forgotten what they were, so when I arrived I was a bit surprised to find that they were definitely holiday reads (very light thrillers) and I wondered briefly if I should take them back to my desk and chuck them in a drawer or take them back into the workshop and have the inevitable conversation which starts with “so what are you reading?”.
I decided to take them with me but somewhat embarrassingly, I found myself mumbling about this not being indicative of my usual reading fare (as if anyone cares). The facilitator, lovely woman that she is, said kindly, “I’m not judging you” but this made me wonder how much we judge people by their reading choices and more importantly how much we judge ourselves.
I never try to make people think that I’m a literary kind of person, but I do read a lot and people often ask me what I’m reading. At any one time that could range from thrillers to literary fiction to memoirs to self-help books. I read most genres except perhaps horror and fantasy books. I’m a pretty fussy reader unless I’m stuck in an airport in which case I’ll probably read anything, or if it’s the holidays and then I’m allowed to read whatever I like. It’s part of the holiday splurge and something I rather enjoy. Good food, lots of nice wine and some unchallenging books. Lovely!
I’ll get back to something more nourishing soon.
Margaret Moon 
Interesting phrase you’ve used there “allowed to read”. I’m guessing this is a hangover from study days when there really was reading that needed to be done first bit perhaps you can cut yourself some slack now? (Having said that, I completely understand the sentiment)
Yes I think it’s partly a study hangover and partly the idea that reading should add something to your life either by expanding your mind or otherwise enriching your life. Reading unchallenging material is just one way of winding down so it’s better than other vices!