Reading for fun or facts?

I was reading this article in the Guardian, and it got me thinking about the role of Authors in what we read. Now obviously they produce it, but it can go further than that.

In this particular instance, despite Rushdie's objections, the interviewer is intent on linking, strongly and thematically, his new novel to his divorce. While I find Rushdie to be an interesting person, and enjoyed the interview, when I read the book I don't plan to look for that link. I try very hard to separate what I know about an author outside of their writing, from the book that I am reading. Clearly this interviewer disagrees with me, he is very interested in finding details about this author and (particularly in England) public figure. When he read the book, he was clearly looking actively for details about his reaction to his recent divorce. My immediate thought is that he thereby was unable to really enjoy the book, he wasn't reading a story anymore. In my mind what he did was no different than looking through Rushdie's tax returns, it has almost nothing to do with the pleasure of reading a story, or appreciating Rushdie's technique. It's about finding the specific clues to support a thesis.