I must confess I'm not a huge reader outside articles on sport, I never have been.
I wrote my own book but never read it and would never have bought it. So don't go buying me Whitcoulls or Paper Plus vouchers for Christmas unless they are for Lotto.
I do, however, take interest in the articles produced by Mark Reason on Stuff. They are always thought-provoking, a large slice of devil's advocate at times. He has no long-term friends in New Zealand sport, no allegiances, has no fear of upsetting anyone, so therefore he can shoot from the hip. Mostly he does it with supreme accuracy.
I don't agree entirely with his latest offering, though, where he lauds Kane Williamson as a great New Zealand captain whilst poking the borax at Tom Latham’s skills in the same area. To be fair, Williamson is a true leader, a great leader, but he's not a gambler. He's a great batsman, fantastic accumulator of runs, and after all, despite all the law changes and tinkering with the game, it's still about who has got the most runs that wins. Williamson leads with the bat. That's his greatest skill.
Latham, too, is a fine batsman. Also, a great accumulator of runs, will end up New Zealand's greatest opener and that is not an easy job. Every time Williamson captains New Zealand in a Test, he has Williamson AND Latham. Every time Latham captains New Zealand in a Test, he doesn't have Williamson.
The defence should rest there. That's enough to convince any jury. Williamson blew a golden opportunity to beat India in Kanpur but was praised for saving a game he let go. As a student of the game, he will no doubt be mulling over that.
Does that make him a bad captain? No. Day in, day out he's got the best all-round seam attack we've ever had. A strong arsenal.
Latham, in the last Test, had a tired looking spent force with only one super standout in Ajaz Patel. Let's reserve our judgement on Latham until after the home summer.
Again, he won't have Williamson but he will have our conditions. He will monster Bangladesh, South Africa will be the barometer. I have an inkling the players really do quite enjoy the Latham approach and regardless of what I or Mr Reason believe, he is the heir apparent.
He will get better with every day in the job, will become a more calculating gambler, but we'll continue to front up every week, just like Mr Reason himself.
And if he delivers half the same talking points, we shall all be better for it.