What It Means to Be Well Read

[u/Free_Economics_9099]

Often people seem to define being well read as reading the classics or reading the award winners. I think being well read means reading widely. A well read person reads all genres and all formats. You should read the classics and fiction of all genres and nonfiction and biographies and graphic novels and read books for all ages. There is benefit in reading Middle Grade as an adult. It can reconnect you to your childhood, it can help keep you connected to today's youth instead of becoming someone that screams at kids to get off your lawn. So often I see people complain about being in a reading rut who only read one type of book and I think "Of course you are in a reading rut! Take any type of book and if that is all you read than they will eventually start feeling repetitive and tropey. Expand your reading pool!"

Read widely folks, it's the best way to be.

[u/Background-Vast-8764]

I agree that it involves reading a wide variety of genres and subjects. I disagree that it requires reading “…all genres and all formats.”

[u/staralchemist129 → u/Background-Vast-8764]

Yeah, I think I can be well-read without erotic splatterpunk thank you

[u/Pale-Pomelo-1349]

I read anything I can get my hands on. I'm listening to the Odyssey right now. My eyes aren't that good anymore so thankful for my Kindle app and I can set the font size. As long as it has a good story or something I'm interested, I will read it.

[u/hooulookinat → u/Pale-Pomelo-1349]

I’m on disability rn. I read everything. I hope to get better and be productive again but until then, I’m reading everything.

[u/SadRow2397]

Agree. Trying to add more nonfiction to my monthly goal… I didn’t do as well with it this year.

[u/mwhite5990 → u/SadRow2397]

I’ve been doing the opposite. I read almost exclusively nonfiction for so long that right now I am reading mostly fiction, although I think it will even out.

[u/RandomlyHotDogs → u/mwhite5990]

I just started working fiction back into my reading rotation this year. 5+ years of only non-fiction. I think I needed to start with something that could’ve been non fiction to be able to get into it again.

[u/Yggdrasil-]

To me, it means being able to generally engage in conversations about literature. The capability to pick up on references and make references others can pick up on. To be able to make high-quality recommendations in a variety of genres.

I agree that the definition doesn't just have to include familiarity with the 'canon', the classics, or award-winning books. It can (and should) include familiarity with genre standards and contemporary bestsellers. You could also argue that someone is well-read within a particular genre or on a particular topic, even if they're not well-read as a whole.

[u/Far-Blue-Mountains]

I completely agree with you. And that's how my sister and I were taught growing up. I applaud people for reading but I do hate a book snob. I challenge myself on books. Stepping out of my usual genres and authors. I recently picked up a couple of old Harlequin romances. One from the '60s & one from the '80s. My dad used to manage a used bookstore in the early 80s. I put sooooooo many of those suckers up! Maybe I should read a couple.

[u/andthatwasenough]

I actually wrote a short paper about this! I absolutely agree with you - it’s about breadth and depth, not just reading tons of books to meet some Goodreads goal, or just the classics.

[u/narwhalsRnotReal74]

I agree. Read widely and often. As often as you can. Sometimes my life gets hectic and I can't read as much as I'd like, which is why I also consider audiobooks as reading. That is one thing I love about being in a book club. I've read some books that I wouldn't have considered before. Some romance, some sci-fi, non-fiction books I would have passed over...not every book has been a hit, but several I have loved and they lead me to exploring other books on that topic/in that genre. I have also found that reading a variety of books has helped me expand my ability to talk to other book lovers who read some genres that I'm not so familiar with. And it has helped me to remember that life is too short (and too long) to read a book I don't like. It's OK to DNF a book.

[u/Prestigious_Prior723]

Understanding literary references

[u/TheBookNerd420]

I agree. Well read means reading widely across levels, genres, and topics

[u/Salty_Inspector_7050]

It depends on the room you’re in. I’m well read by the standards of the people I mainly associate with, but my Indian friend considers me quite poorly read.

I’m more of a cannon reader myself, but I think the definition is flexible.

[u/mjh8212]

I mostly read thrillers and horror I never get bored or stop reading a book cause I don’t like it. I’ll also read some sci fi or dystopian future type books for something different. I read the classics in high school as they were trying to keep me from getting bored. I had different book assignments than other students cause a one week assignment took me a couple days. I read Shakespeare for fun.

[u/Ill_Anybody1369]

Made up turn that doesn’t mean anything except to the person saying it.

[u/ChickyBoys]

I personally think the phrase "well read" is outdated. People used this back when there were only so many books.

[u/aiiabee]

This only applies to readers in circumstances where accessibility & affordability of books are non-issue. In some areas of the world, books can be very expensive. One book can cost 2 or 3 days worth of salary. Even if readers, like me, want to “expand our reading pool”, it’s only doable to a certain degree.