I've always wondered why in threads like this one people just don't say "I want to gain more power." Isn't that a major reason why one ought to get an education, in order to be able to have at least some fleeting mastery over something? Or am I just being too cynical and rapacious in thought?
Top Ten Books Read in 2024
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Honestly, the only answer I can come with is, 'because'.
Depends on what you read, I guess. If I was reading economics books simply for getting a better job or better pay, it would be for power. If I'm reading a novel, it's simply because I like it. I don't care if I gain anything from it. Sometimes I do - abstract things like new perspectives or less abstract things like better mastery over a language. But when I'm reading literature, it's never because I have a plan to better myself.
(Cynical and rapacious? No. Just a different point of view.)
I think you're being a little too close-minded in your thought.
The fact that the question "why do you read?" relates, for you, to the idea of getting an education seems to say a lot about why you read.
People are so gloriously different that there must be a myriad of reasons for reading.
It's interesting to know why you read, though. (If I'm right in assuming that you read for the reason suggested in your post.)
"I was in Nashville, Tennesee last year. After the show I went to a Waffle House. I'm not proud of it, I was hungry. And I'm alone, I'm eating and I'm reading a book, right? Waitress walks over to me: 'Hey, whatcha readin' for?' Isn't that the weirdest fuckin' question you've ever heard? Not what am I reading, but what am I reading FOR? Well, godammit, ya stumped me! Why do I read? Well . . . hmmm . . . I dunno . . . I guess I read for a lot of reasons and the main one is so I don't end up being a fuckin' waffle waitress."
-- Bill Hicks
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