You know what phrase I hate in reviews? 'Easy to read'. As though in order to have true value a piece of writing needs to be complex to the point of abstruseness. 'Easy to read' always sounds to me like the backhanded '[this piece of media] knows its limitations'. No thank you.

'Really readable'; 'a quick and easy read'; 'can be finished in one sitting' always seem to go hand in hand with the overall impression of "not too taxing", which is surely NOT THE POINT.

You know what it means when you want to do nothing but read the book in front of you? That that book is GOOD. Think about it: which of your favourite books felt like a task to get through? I'd wager none, or at least not many.

And 'easy to read' only gets deployed with regards to books that are not deemed to have high "literary value": romances, fantasy, YA, mystery etc. You know what those "literary" books get? Lucid. Cogent. Perspicacious. Eloquent. Crystalline. Brilliant.

Books should be easy to read. It doesn't mean they can't be smart, or interesting, or have luminous language, or tackle complex and difficult themes and attitudes. It just means that the writer is good at their craft. And I think we all know this (at least, I hope most of us do).

But somehow (and I too have been guilty of this) everyone seems to get stuck in this mindset of easy = worthless. Children get taught from an early age that they need to be reading "the classics", which as you move up into academia becomes "the canon".

And plenty of effort has rightly gone into dismantling this idea, not least because of the incredibly important work done through the decolonising movement and efforts to bring more female writers to the fore (no such thing as a single-issue struggle; thank you Audre Lorde)

Only, it yet seems to me that there's no small amount of shame in copping to reading books we all enjoy. So my plea to one of the three people that reads this thread: PLEASE read books that you want to read, and PLEASE don't feel bound to devalue them in order to recommend them

'Yeah, it's not exactly brilliant but it's still fun'; 'not gonna win the booker but I enjoyed it'; 'it's y'know, easy to read, shouldn't take you long'

NO.

You enjoyed it? The story was great? Couldn't BELIEVE that twist? Loved that character? In it for that one totally hilarious conversation? The protagonist's inner monologue touched on something you previously thought was particular to you?

GREAT. That book has value.