Sometime last week while I was scrolling on the internet, a young woman calmly announced and posted on her handles on X formerly known as twitter that she read 120 books in the last year and instead of applause or words of encouragement, the obasanjo internet chose violence, why not? Because that is what they can do best. Dragging people online like a small tiger generator.

Now, for you who might not have come across the post, this whole dragging is not because reading 120 books is bad — even the loudest critics know that would be a foolish argument.

The real crime, apparently, was what she read: romance, erotica, and fictional stories with emotional feelings fully embedded. Stories that would make most people uncomfortable because they are reminded that reading is not only for productivity bros and motivational quote merchants.

It can also be for entertainment and not just mere entertainment, romantic entertainment.

What is bothering me in this whole matter is that people who have not opened a book since the last secondary school literature class they had have now suddenly become literary gatekeepers.

“Those books don’t count.”

“Did she even learn anything?”

“Romance books are not real books.“

“Why would she waste her time reading those books?“

“Why is she proud of it?“

Ah. Ah.

The Nigerian Ministry of Serious Reading has spoken and I think that is final.

The irony is thick, very thick.

Because most of the people dragging her might not have even finished a single self-help book in 2025 that they claim is good, but they are deeply invested in another person’s bookshelf.

Let's face the fact here, she actually deserves all the accolades.

Because reading 120 books in a year is not vibes. It is immense discipline and an unquestionable amount of consistency. And whether the books were about dragons, love triangles, or emotional slow burns, the brain does not care about your genre shaming.

The brain only cares about repetition, stimulation, and learning.

What Science Says

Let us remove emotions from the matter and talk about science.

Reading — any form of sustained reading — is one of the fastest ways to build and strengthen neural pathways. If you are able to check the internet that you use to throw shades and banter, you would see that there are studies in cognitive neuroscience that have consistently shown that frequent reading improves vocabulary, emotional intelligence, empathy, memory retention, and critical thinking.

The brain literally rewires itself around repeated exposure to narratives, characters, and problem-solving arcs.

So yes, reading romance novels still activates language processing centers.

Yes, erotic fiction still improves comprehension, imagination, and emotional inference.

And no, the brain does not stop learning because a story includes kissing or anything else.

In fact, fiction — especially character-driven fiction — has been shown to improve theory of mind, which is the ability to understand other people’s emotions, intentions, and perspectives.

That means someone who reads a lot of stories about people may actually understand humans better than someone who only reads productivity manuals and still lacks empathy.

Now, let us sit down together and add the math.

If someone said that they read 120 books in one year, it roughly means that they probably read:

– 10 books a month

– 2–3 books a week

– And had a consistent daily reading habit

That is not an accidental behavior you can build overnight; that is structure.

And considering the fact that romance and erotic novels are not pamphlets — many of them are long, layered, and emotionally dense — the stamina alone deserves respect. Consistency no be play. If e easy, you sef try am.

Anyone who has tried to maintain any habit for 12 straight months knows this and wouldn't argue that much.

But the internet is not interested in discipline. It is interested in feeling superior and what is acceptable to them.

The Part Everyone Is Ignoring

Now lets leave talk and face facts and talk truth small

What we consume eventually becomes us.

Not in a mystical kind of way sha but in a neurological way.

Thoughts shape behavior, behavior shapes habits, habits shape identity and identity shapes the outcome of anyone's life.

This is not motivational talk abeg oo; it is behavioral psychology.

So if someone spent a year consuming stories — language, structure, dialogue, pacing, emotional arcs — there is a high chance they unconsciously developed skills in areas like:

– Writing

– Editing

– Proofreading

– Storytelling

– Content creation

– Emotional expression

– Narrative thinking

Which means, while people were busy tweeting insults, she may have quietly been training herself for a niche.

Imagine she decides to become a writer, or a book reviewer, or an editor and in this digital age thinks of becoming a content creator who understands audience psychology better than most.

Suddenly, those “useless books” that have been attacked would actually become professional groundwork.

That is how skill acquisition often looks, boring, quiet, misunderstood.

But instead of thinking that far, some people prefer the national sport of commenting on other people’s lives.

But we should all know that talking is cheap, Wi-Fi is affordable. Growth, however, is optional.

And let us be honest: many people are not angry that she read romance books.

They are angry at themselves because someone did something consistently while they procrastinated all year and they are looking for solace.

It is easier to mock effort than confront personal stagnation.

Because how do you explain that you could not finish one book, but you have energy to analyze 120 books you did not read?

The math is not mathing at all.

The Internet Will Always Talk But Skills Are Quiet

Social media is a free place, opinions are definitely free and in this every busy world noise is abundant. But progress is usually private.

You can join the train of people who always have something to say about someone else’s choices, or you can use that same time to better your own life., both are allowed but one just has better long-term returns.

Now nobody is saying everyone must read romance. Nobody is saying erotica is superior literature or is a good thing or maybe productive books are better.

What is being said here is simple: reading is reading, learning is learning and consistency beats aesthetics every single time.

If anything, this girl accidentally exposed how unserious online criticism often is. Because the loudest voices are usually the least practiced.

And maybe — just maybe — instead of asking why her books “count,” a better question is:

Why are so many people offended by someone else’s discipline and choice?

Because at the end of the day, reading 120 books did not harm anyone. But refusing to grow while shouting at people who are trying? That is what deserves proper study and criticism.