Why I Don’t Entirely Agree With Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby’s new novel

Like most—all?—writers, I’m also a reader; in my case, an avid one.

So I read The Telegraph’s recent article on author Nick Hornby’s views on reading with considerable interest. In particular, Nick Hornby was reported as arguing that:

“readers should put down difficult books immediately if they are not enjoying them.”

His reasoning, apparently, is that: “Battling through them, he said, would only condition people to believe reading is a chore, leaving a ‘sense of duty’ a...