Poll: When did reading become so horrible?

[Demongeneral109]

just because she increased readership doesn't make her good, i actually read the books and my brain bled... seriously, the diction was pathetic at best and the plot could be summed up as (a plain girl wants to bang a sparkely vampire...yeah) it appeals to teen-aged girls because the gammer, diction and plot are in the gold-zone of teen girl readership; ie, simple and about smexy men without shirts...

EDIT- I dare the avarage twilight fan to read Dune... seriously... that series is the shit!

 

[Demongeneral109]

would fanfiction be considered reading(just asking!)

 

[Dessembrae]

To be fair, I did that groaning too. But it was because the books we had to read were mostly completely stupid and boring, I normally love reading. I finish a good book in a week and during the week I just read a or or two hours before sleeping.

Indeed. I remember one time after a particularly bad case of bitching on my part at home, when my father explained that if THEY had to read those books in school when they where young. we damn well better read them to -_-

 

[DocBalance]

I read every day during my lunch break. I just finished The Affinity Bridge (it was awesome), and am currently reading World War Z (and it is so far awesome).

I hated reading the books in H.S. too, and so I for the most part I didn't. I fudged my way through English with C's/B's (which was fine with me as I got A's in my other classes), and instead read books I wanted to. LoTR, Dune, Ben Bova's books, etc...

If I'm reading something I enjoy I love it. If I'm reading an opinion piece, whether or not I agree with it, I love it. When I read something that in turns helps me grow; whether intellectually or personally I love to read. I suppose from that last paragraph I should enjoy the books forced upon you in H.S., but I really couldn't stand them. From Catcher in the Rye, to The Lord of the Flies, to The Outsiders, 'bleh' I just couldn't stand any of them.

1. World War Z is excellent, and you just earned 10000000 awesome points for reading it.
2. It's interesting to finally find someone else who couldn't stand Lord of the Flies, everyone I know thinks it was amazing and scary, but I just found it to be boring beyond belief.

OT: I believe it has something to do with the fact that reading is an active rather than a passive activity, and thus requires more time and focus than most in the age of speed and convenience are willing to give.

 

[FolkLikePanda]

When shit bands starting playing there... OH YOU MEAN READING AS IN REEDING Oh... Well I don;t really read but I love the James Bond books

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

I love to read, but I did hate high school reading because we were only ever assigned absolute crap, so I grew a passionate hatred of everything they assigned us.

That and I hate being forced to do anything, including read. If someone gives me a book and tells me 'read that' I tend to doss off as much as I can, whereas if I find a book lying around I'm liable to just pick it up and start reading.

God only knows what would happen if someone forced me to game, I'd probably get a job.

 

[Valksy]

Honestly, nothing wrecks your love of reading like having to choke down some "worthy" literature and then discuss it with a classroom of teenagers who don't give a shit. I swear that as a result of English Lit classes I went off reading for a couple of years - we were spoon fed what we were supposed to read/understand from some of the stuffiest and tedious books. My english teacher used to call it the "white, male and dead" club.

My memory is mostly gone of all that stuff. But I do recall slogging through "A Passage to India" and wondering what the fuck I had just read and why I should give a crap about it. Hooray for movie adaptations that are fairly close to the text.

 

[LtFerret]

"Things fall Apart" is my perfect example of why everybody in my school hates reading in school.

It's painfully slow and boring and just loves to present information that has no relevence to anything. Oh no, but that's not the worst part. Even if it was enjoyable book you will then get questions that ask you to read too far into text when you really shouldn't. That's like pouring salt into the wound.

On a high note "Red Badge of Courage" was the exact opposite of this and i actually liked reading it.

 

[PAGEToap44]

"I love reading" It only becomes bad when the book is bad, or you are forced to read and discuss the book against your will. i.e, in school.

Last week I discovered the wonders of King's Dark Tower series. Almost finished the third book now. Gripping stuff!

 

[bam13302]

i dont mind reading, i hate being forced to read something specific

 

[Dxz5roxg]

The only time reading sucks is when I'm being forced to read something stupid. If I want to read it then I love reading and could do it all day.

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

Somewhere between "a lot" and "sometimes." I picked the second though. I never did enjoy most of my school reading assignments, but there are some series that I do enjoy and have re-read several times. There is currently a light novel series that I'm looking for that will eventually add 10 more books to my collection (once it all gets translated). I do all my reading at late night before I sleep though. I'd rather spend my time on the computer during my daylight hours.

 

[Draithx]

I like reading a lot, however the books I had to read for school were generally not interesting. I love fantasy and detective books, but we always had to read boring (dutch atleast, english atleast had a few interesting ones) literature.

 

[dancinginfernal]

I never read in school since second grade (many books I've read weren't "appropriate" for my age, say my teachers), so for years my teachers thought I was inept at it.

Boy, did the end result amuse me. I was never called on to read aloud, until 5th grade where I blew the best reader in my class out of the water.

OT: In High School I've seen the same thing. Most every kid in my class struggles to read the most simple things, as if they weren't even trying.

Personally, I think people avoided reading because it wasn't "cool". And according to Persona 4, popularity leads to intimacy.
Sweet, Sweet Intimacy.

 

[Jadak]

I'm a high School senior and for some reason whenever my english teacher assigns any kind of reading assignment it sounds like someone is being tortured, grunts and moans of dismay flood my ears and that got me wondering, when did reading become the thing of nightmares? Yeah sure it could be said that reading can be boring but they make it out as this horrible thing which is taking them to a dark room somewhere to torture them. I would like to know all of your opinions on this matter.

It has nothing to do with not wanting to read (well, some people really do just not like reading), but it's mostly just that people don't want to read something they didn't choose to read, not have to "discuss" it afterwards.

 

[Banana Phone Man]

I like to read but I am very picky on what it will be. I will always give every book I'm given a try but I can't say that i will enjoy reading it.

 

[trueluigi7]

My class is the same way...my school has a lot of pathetic people in it

 

[Talvrae]

I'm a high School senior and for some reason whenever my english teacher assigns any kind of reading assignment it sounds like someone is being tortured, grunts and moans of dismay flood my ears and that got me wondering, when did reading become the thing of nightmares? Yeah sure it could be said that reading can be boring but they make it out as this horrible thing which is taking them to a dark room somewhere to torture them. I would like to know all of your opinions on this matter.

Well there always have been a lot of poeple who hate to read...It was the same in my times when i was in schools... And it's somehow funny that me, someone who always have read a lot, have quite often joined my voce to thouse who hated to read we got an assignement... Mostly whn they forced me to pick a particular book, it was always some really boring uninteresting book they offered... I say it the clasics book of French Canadian literrature (Nammelly the books writen by Gabrielle Roy mostly) are increadibly boring....