People say the words “I’m just not a reader.” If you are reading this, I am going to challenge you on that sentence. Everyone is a reader if you are literate.
What do people mean when they say “I’m not a reader?” I think the context in which I have always seen this come up was in the discussion of reading books. "They," don’t read books. The same person will read a website, news articles galore, and the comments section of the internet for hours. Reading is not the question, what is being read is up for grabs.
Not everyone wants to read novels. I am not going to disagree with that. I will say I think people are a little fast to assume they can’t, won’t like it, don’t need to bother with it, or whatever their specific rationale is. But for some people, shorter is where it is at. In years past if you didn’t get a newspaper delivered to your door, you were out of luck for quick easy content in your own home. The library carried magazines, but you would have to leave your house for that… Insane.
Today the world is at your cell phone fingertips. Everyone can read about anything they want to know. “How do I cook XYZ?” “What plant goes with this other plant?” “How do I do ABC?” Non fiction is covered in spades. Short stories you can pay for, from edited, reputable sources, are numerous, and recommended. But, if you want the quick easy read that doesn’t cost you a penny, people publish short stories and fan fiction everywhere in volume too.
Reading them, makes you a reader. You may not be consuming the literary classics, but don’t diminish the fact that you are literate, and using it for entertainment. We are all readers.
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