If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say the “reading isn’t important” aesthetic is related to the “holy crap it cost how much to print five hundred copies of this book?” response.

I definitely find it meditative and cleansing to set aside all my delightful little games with their moving parts and fiddly mechanics and just play Vampire once in a while. You want to fight that guy? No need to ask what the story consequences are or what you’re willing to risk, just rolled Strength + Brawl and let’s see how much damage those kewl powerz of yours do!