"What will you do by reading such many books?" is the title of the book of book reviews by Yumi Toyozaki who is one of the coolest readers in this world. I also ask myself. What will you do? For me, reading is like smoking. I think it has no meaning but I do for certain pleasure or comfort. If it is pleasant, it isn't the question that asks me the meaning or cost performance. Of course, I won't deny the reading which seeks knowledge or building themselves. But I don't read for adding more value for me. I am just a free person so read books for killing boredom.
I've read Scott Fitzgerald's later short stories "An author's dusk". I think about the success we make in our young days. Fitzgerald made a huge success by writing "The Great Gatsby", but he got sicked by alcoholics in his later days (he had passed away at 44 years old so he might be able to write more and make success again). At "An author's dusk" he tried to write "current" himself with irony and humor, and also tried to come back and write great novels again. Reading "An author's dusk" was a sad experience. I also got sick by alcoholics...
Reading "An author's dusk", I remember the author Raymond Carver who also had been translated by Haruki Murakami. Carver was the person who had got sicked by alcoholics and spent his days as a waste of time. But Carver came back and left great short masterpieces. I thought about falls and collapses. Carver was the author who fought against falls and collapses (or he fought the seduction of laziness). I want to read Carver again who wrote novels constantly. And in my opinion, Carver seems greater than Fitzgerald. Am I wrong? Reading books goes on.
I've read Takashi Akutsu's "The Journal of Reading 2" completely. This is also the book of reading with soft and nice intelligence. It delivers his days which isn't always happy. But he seems to enjoy his reading and his works as an attitude of master of the life. That intelligence doubts the opinion which is "reading books is great". I also doubt my habit of reading so I wrote the opinion which says "reading is like smoking" at the beginning of this article. Reading books leaves nothing. No meaning. But I can be into reading without thinking meaning or cost performance. It might be the evidence of being a happy person if you have such habits.
