I recently finished reading Heat 2, the sequel/prequel novel to the classic 1995 Michael Mann film starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Val Kilmer.

It’s classic cops and robbers: lots of gun fights, espionage, double-crossing, just like the movie. I just read it for fun, nothing else. Didn’t learn a thing, just enjoyed myself. This is not the normal way I experience a book, but it’s my year of reading, so all bets are off. I can do what I want.

It’s (super) rare that I don’t attach high expectations to the books I read, such as learning some foundational life skills or gleaning some serious insight about the human condition.

I don’t attach that same expectation to other forms of media in my life, why should books be any different?

I’ve forgotten that sometimes I just want to read a good criminal espionage story or maybe a Hollywood epic.

I don’t know many people that read books just for fun aside from my 9-year-old daughter, who reads with wild abandon (one of the many things I envy about her approach to life).

Reading doesn’t have to be serious all the time.

(Oh, in case you are wondering, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it, especially to fans of the movie)