Reader Independence

I had time to burn in a doctor's office last week, so I was thumbing through the O Magazine (trust me, it was the only option there). I came across an article that was interesting to me called "Declaration of Reader Independence". It was about how it can be very easy to let "group-think" determine what you will read next. Here is a little piece I typed out [my comments are in italics]:

Reading is very personal – there are no rules beyond the ones you care to make. Declare your independence from common wisdom, lore and the opinions of others. You have the independence to…

• Not finish a book, whether you’ve read to page 10, 50, or 250. I used to feel guilty if I didn't finish a book (I think a lot of people are that way), but in the last few years I have definitely gotten over that. Too many good books out there to waste time on ones I don't like!
• See the movie first. I don't know about this one. Typically the book is better so I kinda like to read it first. I usually think reading the book first makes the movie even better - this was especially true with The Time Traveler's Wife.
• Read two books at once – and occasionally get the plots mixed up. Oh boy, I am notorious for reading two (or three...or four....) books at once....
• Reread a childhood favorite. But be forewarned: Charlotte still dies. Summer always feels like a particularly good time to reread childhood faves. I'm currently rereading a few: The Secret Garden and The Island of the Blue Dolphins.
• Judge a book by it’s cover. Or its title. I'm too frequently disappointed by doing this.
• Wish that Cormac McCarthy would use a little punctuation now and then. I've never read McCarthy, so I have nothing to add here.
• Be miffed if your friend doesn’t like a book you recommend. On the other hand, you have our permission to be miffed if she gets miffed when you don’t like the one she recommends to you. I'm not offended when people don't like my recommendations. Like movies and music, I like most everything, so it has to be pretty awful if I don't. My palate is not that discerning, I guess.
• Ignore memoirs by people who have barely cracked their 30s. Amen.
• Declare yourself unmoved by the existential struggles of vampires, zombies, talking dogs, or what we worry is the next trend: scary-smart monkeys. Well, I don't dig the zombie stuff, but I've been known to read a certain series about werewolves...
• Believe that books can be magic carpets to enchanted lands, even while realizing that they’re inanimate objects make of ink and paper. (Unless they’re e-books. And it’s okay to love those too). Totally. Ahhhh, I love books. And my Kindle.