Reading is more than understanding the exact words of the message. It's about decoding the tone of the text, predicting the events, seeing author's perspective, utilizing your own imagination to visualize the events. We, readers, develop emotions towards characters, we build our own opinions of them. We judge, hate, love or even fear them. We compare the story to the events of our lives or our personal experiences. Sometimes, there comes a wisdom, in between the lines, somethings that sparks you, your own aha moment.
We all read differently. Some read for entertainment, some for personal or professional growth, some for learning and education, some for inspiration. Some read because they have to, for professional or other obligations.
However, the most demanding audience for any author is ... other authors because they read with assessment. They possess skills that can surface your professional incompetences. Not everyone has strong ethics to criticize objectively, with respect, always remembering that literary work is the working of someone else's mind.