Because if it's not "epic", Max is not interested.
And I also have a weakness for some "epics" such as the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey which I've read...or have had read to me...or have been quoted to me...my nephews and friends over the years.
Most recently, Max read me Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants and we used the "Name Change-O-Chart 2000" to figure out what our names and those of our friends would be if the nefarious Professor Poopypants took over and forced everyone to change their names to a ridiculous one (mine would have been Crusty Banana Brains). Check out yours
From Dav's website:
1. The original Name Change-O-Chart 2000 was first designed so that everybody in the whole world would have a ridiculous name when they entered their given names into the equation. That is, everybody except popular singer/songwriter Englebert Humperdinck. Dav designed the original charts so that Englebert Humperdinck's name would stay the same when it was entered into the equation. It was a stupid and obscure joke, but ultimately Dav changed it because the whole point of the chart was that nobody would be singled out for teasing. Not even Englebert.