Taking the "Shoulds" Out of Reading
Posted by By Molly Templeton on 2025 Mar 6th
You should read nonfiction. You shouldn't read YA. You should read a certain number of books each year. You shouldn't read for fun. In this week's Mark As Read, Molly Templeton counters the idea of "should" when it comes to reading.
The other week I came across one of those posts about what you should be reading. I’m sure you’ve seen them, too: You shouldn’t read smut. You should read the classics. You shouldn’t read books for young readers if you’re a grownup. You should read books for adults even if you’re a kid. You shouldn’t read escapist books. You should read this one book, for reasons, instead of something you actually want to read. There used to be more about how you shouldn’t read science fiction and fantasy, but the tide has changed somewhat on that front.
I would like to recommend that we mostly do away with the “shoulds” in our reading lives. If you have already succeeded at this, I am genuinely happy for you, and I hope you enjoy your reading freedom! But I’m not there, and I don’t think I’m alone.
I get in should-fits all the time. I should read more of this author or that. I should read more history. I should read more literary fiction/nonfiction about the state of the world/books about music/local authors. I should reread all the SFF books I loved as a younger reader and see if they hold up. I should read more books in translation.
And this, see, this is where I think “should” gets tricky. I absolutely should read more books in translation—because I want to. Should sometimes means “I want to,” not “I feel obliged to” or “It seems like I ought to want to.” But—and this is not just semantics, I don’t think—it feels different. “Should” is bossy. It thinks it knows best. It is “used in auxiliary function to express obligation, propriety, or expediency,” according to good old Merriam-Webster.
“Should” makes me grumpy. It makes me look at books I definitely otherwise want to read and suddenly feel resistant. It makes me think I don’t want to read things. I get this cranky kneejerk response to being told I should read things, even though, like every other enthusiastic book recommender on the planet, I have absolutely gushed, “Holy CATS you should TOTALLY read this book!” more than once in my life. More than many times.