Reading

I love reading.
I love reading, not just any types of books, but in particular Chinese and English novels.
Many would ask, novels are novels, why the need to categorise it to Chinese and English in particular?
People who never read any of the two languages of novels will never understand the difference between the two.
I feel that it is important to understand the cultures behind the two languages, namely the western culture and the Chinese culture because it helps the understanding of the novels when reading them.
I prefer reading thrillers when reading English novels. I like the cracking paced action, the adrenalin rush, the ruthless turn of events, but I would never read a Chinese thriller fiction. One of the features of western culture is its focus on science and technology. The west was the first to invent computers, steam power, telephone… That is the reason why I like reading English thriller fiction. The story would often be filled with exciting and surprising facts, together with the action, it would make an enjoyable read for me.
But when reading Chinese novels, I prefer reading the family drama genre. The Chinese are peace loving people. When we looked at China’s history, rarely does China had the notion to invade other countries(except during the Spring and Autumn period and the warring states period, when China was divided into many independent states, which eventually got conquered by the Qin state, forming the Qin dynasty); conflicts that happen are usually internal conflicts. The Chinese are often too engrossed in their affairs to bother about war. The Chinese lists filial piety as the most important value that all Chinese should uphold, showing that the Chinese are peace loving and does not like causing arguments. That is always why I like to read about the family drama genre when reading Chinese novels. I like to see the characters when they struggle through life with conflicting values that they learn such as the need to be the universal, the same with others as compared the currently promoted value of being unique and having one own way of thinking.
Reading is enjoyable, yet one should know how choose the correct types of books when reading.