Why Do I Read Books that Make Me Angry so Often?

I read a lot. As I'm writing this, it's the beginning of September and I've read 49 books so far this year. It's the most I've ever read in a year (though it's propped up some by me delving into audio books and being able to juggle 2 books at a time so long as one is an audiobook and the other is physical or an eBook). But the one thing I've sometimes noticed is that I seem to quite often read books that make me angry, and I knew they'd make me angry when I started them.

Books can make one feel a range of emotions, and while not every book makes me feel this way, even my wife has started noticing that I sometimes read books that make me annoyed or angry. Some examples include:

• Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces by Radley Balko
• Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream by Megan Greenwell
• Murder the Truth: Fear, the First Amendment, and a Secret Campaign to Protect the Powerful by David Enrich
• When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting Firm by Walt Bogdanich & Michael Forsythe
• The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters by Tom Nichols

These books were all incredibly fascinating and I would recommend them to anyone. But each one made me angry or worrysome for the future in different ways.

Rise of the Warrior Cop talked about how police forces have changed over the years, and how they've in many cases built into small armies while also, with the help of the courts, stripping away our constitutional rights.

Bad Company talked about how private equity has begun to eat away at communities, jobs and our health care all to make (a few people) a quick buck.

Murder the Truth went into the history of libel law, and how now, the rich and powerful are trying to silence those who want to shed light on their (mis)deeds. First amendment be damned.

When McKinsey Comes to Town was about how McKinsey would often come into companies to "increase performance" but would all too often cause irredeemable harm to everyone involved from employees laid off to even making the opioid crisis worse.

The Death of Expertise talked about, among many things, how often now "doing your own research" at the university of Google is now being pushed as being better than experts and those who have actual knowledge with the subject matter.

Each one of these books touch on important topics that need to be discussed, and subject matter that more people need to learn about. I found each one to be fascinating, but each one made me want to rage as I look at the world and get mad that we as a nation and as a world are in the position we're in.

I don't regret reading them, and it's not like every book I read makes me want to scream out in anger, but sometimes I wonder what I'm thinking when it comes to what I choose to read.