Chargers vs Rushdie

Why do we read? It may sound like a silly question with more or less straightforward answers (to kill time, to learn about different cultures, about ourselves etc). But I found an interesting implication to it. I read because I like to laugh, so whenever I come across one of Rushdie's witty twitty twist-of-phrases, I giggle. Sometimes I roll down on the carpet with Elizabeth Gilbert. I read, basically, to have fun. Don't remember what my face looked like while I was reading Kafka. I hate bugs. But, oh, back then, I was a teenager. Teenagers, if you recall, don't really want to smile. They want to feel gloomy and depressed, so as to resonate with the universal schmerz caused by the incomprehehensibility of this nonsense world. As time passes by, pimples receding and all, we start to feel brooding ain't gonna get us nowhere so why not try to relax and enjoy. Hit the movies, date some guys etc. And then we suddenly reach 30. Heavy questions pop up again, like shall I spend 1000 dollars to repair the bumper (the car runs perfectly fine without one), or what is the basic difference between me and my nextdoor neighbor who watches the big Chargers game? It's only a matter of decibels, in the long run. I giggle civilly, with a napkin under my chin; he yells windowbreakingly when LaDainian Tomlinson touches down (have no idea what that means, and picked the guy because he has an epic name). We're both entertaining ourselves, satisfying our senses, in a nutshell. So no need, really, to raise a brow on our 'uncultured' fellow citizens. Not too much difference between us.