Reading train - Improve your reading skills

Does reading in school ruin the general enjoyment in reading books?

I used to read alot on my own...but I believe school gradually decreased my interest to the point where i can't stand reading...i think its because we only read books that r important and played a role in history...and then we begin to believe that we dont like books cause we never liked doin reports on em...Books begin to intimidate students...when most students think of books they think of boring hard work and boring assignments and reports and projects...I believe reading in English class ruins the whole enjoyment of reading. Why do we read books that we don't want to read in order to enhance our reading skills? Is this a corrupt system?

Public Comments

1. I LOVED reading as I was growing up [I am olllld now], but college reading ruined me. For nearly every class we had hundreds of pages of required reading in addition to the textbook, and I did so much of that that it has been hard for me to just pick up a book for pleasure for DECADES now.
2. About reading in class, they're trying to expose you to new ways of thinking. Society today is radically different from even just 30 years ago. They're not having you read it for the enjoyment of reading, but rather as a way to communicate with other people. Literature, and art in general (poetry, music, dance, paintings, sculpture, architecture, etc) is how people express themselves and communicate ideas. It's okay to be bored. Maybe you don't like what the person has to say because you don't understand their point of view. That was certainly true when I read Crime and Punishment. However, as you get more exposed to literature and people in general, you'll begin to understand where they were coming from and be able to appreciate their works more. Too bad that you don't like reading. I'd recommend finding something you're interested in - ancient swords, King Tut, mating habits of hummingbirds, whatever - and getting a book about that. Make sure it has lots of nice illustrations. That should help spark your interest! By the way, I've also done lots of reading (I graduated with a BS in biology, so there was lots of textbook reading and scientific article reading). Some of it was boring, but overall it was cool to learn everything I did about not only the subject matter, but how other people think about it.
3. I can see your point. I suppose someone somewhere thought certain books were "must reads" for the rest of us, hence the English reading assignments. Just do the work, get thru the reading assignments. But you are totally mistaken if you let these boring books get in the way of your reading other books. Are you KIDDING???? I have said it before, and I'll say it again, reading is a blast! And you know it! So why are you taking this attitude? Reading is a skill and the more you read, the better your reading comprehension gets. OK, so reading is good for you. But who cares? I read because IT IS FUN. And so do all my kids. We enjoy ourselves when we read. So start investigating what you love to read. I frankly do not see how you could go wrong reading such great stuff as The Day of the Triffids (my brother said it was the best thing he ever read as a teen), my favorite Battlefield Earth (the man was a wacko who started Scientology, but he sure could write! The character Terl is unforgettable!). I like John Christopher books (The Long Winter has to be the inspiration for the movie The Day After Tomorrow!). You just gotta read Madame Curie by her daughter, Eve Curie. The writing alone is just so lyrical. What a writer Eve was! Get that enthusiasm back that you used to have for reading! Don't let a few boring assignments turn you off!!! Go investigate all the good stufff there is to read. Robin Cook's Coma is just heart-stopping!! That scene in the cooler with the bodies, oh my God. My heart was in my mouth the whole time she was in there. What about Disclosure by Michael Crichton? Oh, Air Frame I think was the name--another by Crichton. Don't neglect the true crime stories by Ann Rule--compelling. Jane Austen has to write the funniest stuff. I LOVED Pride and Prejudice. Ignore your feelings about all that English assignment trash. Just labor thru the readings, and then do the work and then forget about it and go find the really good stuff that makes reading the blast that it is. Happy escaping! Oh, I like the explanation of the responder above me who explained why English reading assignments are made. Nice to know what the intent is. But don't let that interfere with the pleasure you derive from the fun books you read. Maybe they both involve reading, but the experience is completely different. I loved Shogun. I was in 15th century Japan and having such fun when everyone around me was gossiping or watching tv and being very present in the current century (which I enjoy too, but I like time travel as well and learning about someone else's life).