I think it's also worth mentioning that the author is specifically criticizing the motivation of it being #1 on NYT's best seller list (or a similarly vapid thi

I think it's also worth mentioning that the author is specifically criticizing the motivation of it being #1 on NYT's best seller list (or a similarly vapid thing). I guess there is this line (emphasis mine), which is suggestive of all fiction but, to use your examples, I'm not convinced the author would attribute it to 1984 the same they would to The Da Vinci Code. > There is nothing wrong with reading these kinds of books, but you do not learn anything new (besides who committed the murder).