I love books that are set in other countries. I'm not much of a traveller, so experiencing different locals and cultures through an author's writings is a bonus no matter what genre I am reading. With the cost of travel and the vagaries of life, I doubt I will ever get to someplace like Sydney, Australia. Sure I can google Sydney and see pictures or even see the city in a movie setting, but, many times words paint a deeper picture for me.
That is also a reason I prefer reading a book as opposed to seeing a movie based on the book. I like to build my own pictures with my imagination, flexing my brain "muscles", so to speak. If I let someone else's imagination do the work, I feel like I've lost something of my own.
As for the actual purpose of reading, I read a lot of trade journals to keep up with the latest and greatest in my profession particularly since I am not working at the moment. Even in those illustrious publications, I have to separate the wheat from the chaff to find what I think will work best for me. In other words, it doesn't matter if I'm reading for personal or professional growth or just for fun, there is always going to be good stuff and bad stuff. It's up to you, the reader, to decide which is what.
