According to the Pew Research center, 26% of those who had
read a book in the past 12 months said that what they enjoyed most was
learning, gaining knowledge, and discovering information, while 12% said they
liked the entertainment value of reading, the drama of good stories, the
suspense of watching a good plot unfold.
That was back in 2012 when the world was a simpler place to live. I suspect that 99% of people buying Jeanine
Pirro’s book, “Liars, Leakers and Liberals,” are conservatives who want
reinforcement on their conservative philosophy.
Just as 99% of people who bought Michelle Obama’s book, “Becoming,” were
political progressives. Unfortunately,
people don’t buy books to discover another political point of view. They want comfort in knowing their point of
view is the right one.
This brings me to people who read thrillers. I truly believe (without research to back me)
that people read thrillers because they want to see justice prevail. This is true of conservatives and liberals
alike. Everyone wants to see the hero
overcome obstacles to save the day.
Why? Because our lives have
become so stressful and so unfair and so partisan that we can’t see justice
ourselves. That bully at school or work
is not going away and there seems to be no consequences anymore. That’s where fiction comes in to play. A good writer has the ability to get you
invested in the protagonist and watch him or her face challenges, just like
you. They face obstacles and bullies and
sinister villains who antagonize them and cause pain. We can sympathize, even empathize with their
challenges. But all the while we are
convinced the protagonist will get his/her revenge. It may be as simple as overcoming these
obstacles without ever causing harm to the villain, but more times than not,
the bully gets theirs.
In today’s political climate, everyone has been affected by
the barrage of media outlets inundating us about the White House and Washington’s
behavior. The Trump supporter will
relate their hero’s retribution as if the villain is a liberal. The resister will see this as an affront to
the Trump presidency. Either way,
thrillers allow us resolution where the real world will not.
The reason why movie theaters are stacked with superheroes
is because we know who will win and yet we still show up to see how it
happens. If you already know Ironman
will succeed, why bother going? Yet we
do, don’t we? It’s the same with
books. Readers want the challenge. They want our protagonist to face an uphill
battle because it makes the win so much more enjoyable, doesn’t it? It gives you a sense of justice prevailing. Something you rarely find on the cable news,
or in newspapers or social media. It’s
cathartic.
One of the reasons I’ve never given my Nick Bracco character
a political persuasion is because I don’t want my readers to choose sides. We’re all on the same team. Right versus wrong. It should be as simple as that. Why reminder us of our differences when we
could team up against the challenges we face together.
Bottom line, people read thrillers for entertainment and to
escape the real world. Because right
about now, that’s a really good place to be.
