Hint: it has nothing to do with taste.
In his book Experiment in Criticism, C.S. Lewis argues that there are two kinds of readers: the few and the many.
What distinguishes them?
It’s not simply taste, that the few like Shakespeare while the many like Louis L’amour.
In short, the few:
- Reread books
- Look for chances to read
- Have transformative experiences while reading
- Think often about what they’ve read
The many:
- Read a book only once
- Only read when pressed
- Forget about a book after reading it
- Don’t think books are worth much of a fuss
Lewis points out that while the snobs are downstairs trying to gain status through a discussion of James Joyce, the only real reader in the house may be upstairs reading Treasure Island in his bed. The few are not necessarily professionals, nor does being a professional who reads qualify you as a member of the few. Love, not duty, motivates the few.
Finally, the few are not—simply by virtue of their love of books—morally superior to the many. You can be a good person and not care about books. You can be a bad person and love books.
So, are you part of the few?