Dear James: A Riddle About Reading

"Dear James," you ask why we keep reading until the end of a book we love? The Atlantic's "Dear James" column explores this fascinating question. The answer ties into our instinctual desire to complete stories, influenced by how narratives naturally unfold and overlap. It also reflects on broader human nature: our compulsion to move forward in time, even if we yearn for what has passed, because the best stories—and our lives—tend to do so as well."