Textual Revolution

My relationship with books has been evolving.
I can be a voracious reader. If I get really into a book, I can inhale it within a day. The problem with that is the content doesn’t stick in my head and within a season I’ve forgotten the entire plot.
For several years I haven’t been reading books as much. I’ve taken the easy way out and been reading serialized graphic novels (comic books) for quick entertainment and plot. Although I don’t tend to look at the pictures as much, which is odd considering that is the main point.
With my library card I’ve been starting to read more. I used to buy every book I read, now I am not supporting hardworking authors anymore. I wandered into a bookstore today and looked around. I even gave myself permission to buy a book, but I couldn’t do it. The only books I could think of getting were ones that I realized I didn’t need to own; I would only read them once. So why don’t I borrow from the library?
I found it interesting how I treated the last two books I read.
The first was A Song for Arbonne which required me to renew it from the library before I could finish it all. The second was Masks by E. C. Blake which I finished in a weekend. By those statistics, you could surmise that I enjoyed Masks more. No.
Masks at one point felt like work to finish. It was easy reading, but that’s because it didn’t have any depths. I also didn’t like the main character who was an idiot most of the time. There were no real surprises anywhere. The only reason I kept reading was that I could maintain a good velocity. I do not know if I want to read the sequels for the closure.
A Song for Arbonne was much more nuanced. It would have greatly helped if a character list had been provided so I could better keep track of the political intrigues. The writing wasn’t easy to read; it didn’t flow. But Mr. Kay was a good enough story teller that I felt it was worth it to keep going. The story had a good ending and I felt complete when it was finished.
The best books I’ve read are easy reads with good storytelling. Or so I thought. Maybe the cheap calories of easy reading prevent me from having the good nutrition of a better story?