When did reading become a thing to hate?

[werepossum]

While I'm sure every English teacher out there would love for the students to understand the symbolism of any given book, that doesn't alter the fact that there is an awful lot of bullshit that gets spouted in English Literature lessons. I myself have always thought that the colour of Gatsby's car is not important. The average English teacher however will tell you that 'Nooooooo, the colour of the car is very important, as it represents all sorts of irony within the context of the novel.'

One of my wife's favorite stories is about an author being interviewed in a college seminar. He had written a book about a struggle between an Indian and a bear which had been adopted as the definitive allegory of the Cold War. When the interviewer asked how he came up with such well-scripted symbolism, the author shrugged and said "Look, I just wrote a story about an Indian and a bear." (This would probably be a better story if I knew the names of the book or the author...)

I think reading went out of vogue when entertainment became so widespread. When I was growing up there was one television and one telephone in the house if you were lucky. The movie theater had one movie for two to four weeks. And there were no video games. Kids grew up with their parents reading to them and grew to love the stories and by extension reading. Now many parents don't read to their children at all; the kids have televisions and computers and game consoles and toys that play with themselves given batteries, and the parents have their own computers and cable TV and cell phones. Stimulation is widespread.

One of the young designers in our office summed it up: "Why would I spend all day reading a book when I can watch the movie in two hours, then go cut the grass and play some COD?"
EDIT: I should add that he's very smart, bored of mechanical engineering and taking nursing classes at night. He just doesn't like to read.

 

[Yan-Yan]

What five books would you have on the UK/US curriculum as 'Must Reads'?
(Don't want to divert the topic that much, but it doesn't really deserve a topic of it's own)

I won't go into what five, as that could shift to whatever I happen to be reading. I will, however, suggest Guns, Germs, And Steel by Jared Diamond. It's a very revealing look at the growth of human societies and why some peoples grew to be so powerful compared to others. I've nearly finished it, and it's been a great and educational read from cover to cover.


As for the topic? I can't help but joining others in blaming English classes for forcing people to associate reading with dissecting. I'm sure a bit of the blame goes to the people themselves. Just as there are people who enjoy reading for the sake of reading, there will be people who loathe reading.

 

[stompy]

I like reading. The funny thing is, when I was in Year 5, we had to read 20 books from a list (if your from NSW, you might know it. I'm referring to the Premier's Reading Challenge). Anyway, before it, I hated reading. After it, I love reading. And I'm pretty fast (800 page book in 4 days). Regardless, I like reading.

But, with the continual dissection, and the way my teacher is ramming books down my class's throat (come on, 3 books a term (which is 10 weeks). That's way too much for Year 10), I'm losing interest. I'd rather spend the whole term dissecting one book in detail, rather than quickly brush over many books. The whole thing seems like busy work...

Uh, I seem to have ranted. Sorry there. The point I was trying to make is that books are getting forced down our throat. It's annoying. So, if you weren't a very good reader/interested in reading to start of with, than, most likely, nothing is gonna make you start reading now. Maybe that's why people find reading a 'lame' past time.

Oh, and I hate poetry and plays. I wasn't interested by them in the first place, and the work we have to do with them just makes me hate them. With a passion. But, 'live and let live'.

- A procrastinator

 

[Ultrajoe]

ive noticed that in the more illiterate students, trying to get them to read above their level is more a deterrent than encouragement, they see reading as a chore now

 

[Saskwach]

I'm going to trot out a pet theory I got from John Carey's "The Intellectuals and the Masses: Pride and Prejudice in the Literary Intelligentsia" and "What Good are the Arts?" In these two books he makes the very well defended point that in the last few centuries Western culture has recreated its concept of art, literature with it, to be a very elitist thing that not only separates the intellectuals from the masses, but actively despises them. Now I'm not too sure how aware of this the average idiot gamer would be. However, if the theory is correct then I wouldn't be surprised that by now those who would be clumped in "the masses", itself a derogatory term coined by literary intellectuals, have grown an instinctual understanding of this and as a result avoid the works of art that so actively distance themselves from those "masses".
[/pet theory]
Of course this theory both does and does not explain how the real world works so while debunking it understand that this is just an interesting little thought experiment. For example, non-fiction and non-literary fiction are more popular than literary fiction, but are still not hugely mainstream. These genres would sell more than literary fiction probably because they are so often written with the layman in mind. Still, millions of people actively avoid books, not just literary books and while this may be a sort of kneejerk reaction to the above theory, it's hard to say.

 

[PurpleRain]

Reading becomes a chore when your teacher tells you to do it

Oh god yes. I never read half the books we had at school. I had to read King Lear while every other class got to read Macbeth. I never forgave the school after that.

I really enjoy reading. Something that can make me think or leave my imagination at the door such as: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series, and I loved The Hobbit. I never got into the Harry Potter books but I do like the Chronicles of Narnia.

 

[Razzle Bathbone]

One of my wife's favorite stories is about an author being interviewed in a college seminar. He had written a book about a struggle between an Indian and a bear which had been adopted as the definitive allegory of the Cold War. When the interviewer asked how he came up with such well-scripted symbolism, the author shrugged and said "Look, I just wrote a story about an Indian and a bear."

Reminds me of a true story about Tolkien. When he was asked for the umpteenth time about the WWII symbolism in Lord of the Rings, he angrily replied: "If I wanted allegory, I'd read C.S. Lewis."

My school years didn't teach me to hate all literature. Just Thomas Hardy. And pretty much anybody writing in English in the 19th century (okay, okay, except for Wilde). Seriously, what the fuck happened to all the writers in that century to make them suck so much? Was it because they were paid by the word? Ugh.

And if Heinlein's SF makes you feel like you need a shower (like me), try Iain M. Banks, starting with The Player of Games, Consider Phlebas and Use of Weapons. Tales of an ultra-tech civilization with no prime directive.

 

[Voodoo Child]

Reading becomes a chore when your teacher tells you to do it

Oh god yes. I never read half the books we had at school. I had to read King Lear while every other class got to read Macbeth. I never forgave the school after that.

At least you got to read it, we had to watch the movie. Never got to touch a book.

I absolutely love reading, and we usually get to choose our own books to compare with the subject. I really don't have a favourite genre, but I prefer to choose anything I haven't read with help from the librarians. I love His Dark Materials, The Sally Lockhart Series, and anything by James Patterson. Has anyone read Vertical Run by Joseph Garber? My God that was an amazing book.

Never been insulted for liking books, but I have heard "How do you read books that long?" (The funny thing is, the book I was reading at the time was about 120 pages long.)

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Oh, and I hate poetry and plays. I wasn't interested by them in the first place, and the work we have to do with them just makes me hate them. With a passion. But, 'live and let live'.

- A procrastinator

Poetry is something you really grow into I think. Read some Spike Milligan or Michael Rosenburg and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I got forcefed the War Poems and went off it for a very long time.

"The sausage is a cunning bird,
With feathers long and way,
It makes it's nest in a frying pan,
and swims around in gravy!"

As for plays, again, you can look to the world of pantomime, Wrestling, scripts or even the Nerd favourite of Fanfiction.

Stephen Fry's "An ode less travelled" does manage to teach poetry without the "dissecting a frog" response.

I remember getting kicked out of English class, on more than one occasion where at the end of "All Quiet on the Western Front" the main guy gets shot. We all burst out laughing.
(Yes it is a very poignant moment, but we'd been waiting for him to die for ages)

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

The Sally Lockhart Series

What did you think to the recent adaptation with Billy "Rose, innit" Piper? I was confused as hell.

 

[Ultrajoe]

this is the poetry i like, when someone want to say, 'Look what i can do with words!'
the rest is a little slow for my tastes, but i give a little time to all literary forms.


In Medias res goes off with a bang!
And Sarcasms quite hard to spot
Palindromes? Dare I try? Dammit I?m mad
Misdirection is not what It?s not

I find metaphor is a cunning rogue
And yet simile is like that as well
Oxymoron is quite a subtle shock
While rhyme is as calm as a bell

A direct address is looking at you
Paradox just could not be included
Farce is a doorknob blown up by a pea
Repetition is best left eluded

Repetition is best left eluded
Why is rhetoric so common these days?
A Plot device keeps things moving along
Innuendo can go down a few ways.

Malapropism will compound the slow
Understatement is a good one to drop
But in a list of my favoured techniques
Conclusion would be right at the top

 

[Voodoo Child]

The Sally Lockhart Series

What did you think to the recent adaptation with Billy "Rose, innit" Piper? I was confused as hell.

I haven't actually seen it. I'd like to, but it's not really an imperative for me.

 

[jim_doki]

see, i was one of those guys who was like "LOTR is cool" then get beat up guys before the movie came out. I'm a reader and i think there should be some kind of federal law demanding that everyone reads the book before going into the movie. I stress this goes double for the upcoming Watchmen film.

books to read before ye die:
Maus, Art Spiegelman
The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Millar
Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
The Sandman, Neil Gaiman
Soul Music, Terry Pratchett

 

[Easykill]

I see no advantages of poetry over prose.

Let me give you one: you can make a sharp, direct statement that you can't in prose (which is the exact opposite of the way you're categorizing all poetry).

I'm a big Marge Piercy fan. I loved _Small Changes_ and that's a damn thick book with everything spelled out. However, in a book like that you can't make a memorable, short statement like you can in poetry. In one of her poems ("What's That Smell in the Kitchen") she writes: "Burning dinner is not incompetence but war." No way that line would stand out the way it does if it were in a book.

In a book you can't, but a short story can do it a hell of a lot better than a poem. I realize most people won't agree with me, and I wasn't trying to insult anyone. I just don't see it.

 

[owenstine]

my objection to english class is that they tear apart a book for some of the most trivial thing that may or may not be true. like "what is the symbolism in this chapter?"

Totally agree. Shakespear was ruined for me by having to overanalyse all his work.

On a related note, given we have some readers here:

What five books would you have on the UK/US curriculum as 'Must Reads'?
(Don't want to divert the topic that much, but it doesn't really deserve a topic of it's own)

For me...
Watchmen - Alan Moore.
Maus - Art Spiegelman
Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham
Watership Down - Richard Adams
& NightWatch - Terry Pratchett.

For me, I would say...

World War Z - Max Brooks(Spellcheck?)

My Canary Yellow Star (In a pinch) - Eva Wiseman

Dune - Frank Herbert

Any of the Years Best Sci-Fi . In case you can't guess, its the Year's best Sci-Fi short stores, =).

Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks. Amazing read, and you also have the right to yell at the top of your lungs to people who call you weird, 'At least I'm prepared!', xD.

Any of the Harry Potter books, I'm just obsessed.

Shakespear up to bat - I forget. D:. Its about this kiddo who was local star baseball player, who gets mono, and he tells his story through poetry.

I suppose thats it.

On topic, I really am disapointed in youth these days...Thats all I have to say, actually. I think that sums up my feelings.

Edit: Actually, I think I'm going to write a story about a Dystopian England, by 'Blint Heshell' , present it to my teacher, and ask her to read it. I'm hoping she'll think that its worth it's wait in gold, and then I'll say, 'I wrote that.' I have the basic plot worked out in my mind, but I need a title. Any suggestions?

 

[ayoama]

Anyway my fine Escapistians(?) when do you think reading books became a shunnable offence?

Has reading books truly become a shunnable offence for our society as a whole? I mean, generally speaking young people have always seemed to reject literature - at least "classic" lit - due to its relation with school, but for adults reading seems to be still connected to a higher social status, therefore soemthing good and nobilitating.

 

[Fangface74]

Here in Blighty you can get away with reading. It's a noble pursuit that improves literacy, sharpens the mind and, in the cases of a very good book, can set off fireworks in the imagination. Though in my experience, chavs tend to steer clear from libraries. Ah, the British youth of today...

Tis true, I imagine a dystopian England whereby we adopt an 'I Am Legend' stance by taking refuge in libraries at night, in the distance, guttural snarls and the clinking of Elizabeth Duke jewelry and sovereign rings can be heard, only to be drowned out by souped up Ford Escorts roaring triumphantly....into lamp posts (hopefully).

 

[Sib]

Anyway my fine Escapistians(?) when do you think reading books became a shunnable offence?

Has reading books truly become a shunnable offence for our society as a whole? I mean, generally speaking young people have always seemed to reject literature - at least "classic" lit - due to its relation with school, but for adults reading seems to be still connected to a higher social status, therefore soemthing good and nobilitating.

Thats sort of my point, because I'm only 16, the majority of people I interact with ARE the so-called young people who shun literature. These are the people who will be leading the world in a decade or so, I don't suppose you read my other thread which got locked because this is sort of linking in with it.

 

[Fire Daemon]

I agree with everyone who has said that English courses are in need of a fix. A man can dream though.

I don't think reading should be a disgrace. Pretending to be Gangsta should be seen as a disgrace. Thats society for ya.