Not because they’re written by a man or a woman,

Or by a non-white or a person of a particular ethnic group,

Or written by someone from a specific country … or not THAT SAME country, yet again.

Or because someone else has told us that we MUST read it, or it has won a big award. (Awards are not always the best indicator of the quality of the writing.)

Why not read a book that’s from a different genre than you usually read?

Or non-fiction instead of fiction (or vice versa), poetry instead of memoir, children’s books (to recapture your childhood!) instead of academic and scholarly.

Or how about choosing a book with a different setting, one you’re not familiar with, or possibly a setting that doesn’t exist in this world at all?

Or read a book about people and events you don’t relate to in your life, but…