It’s pretty simple—you read three terrible books in a row, decide the fourth one is going to be just as awful, and skip it. But then you never actually find out that the fourth one was actually great. Or, you just get lucky and stumble onto a winner right away, which gets you hooked on the rest of the series.
And let's face it, there are plenty of trashy titles out there, so that first scenario happens all the time.
But hey, why would you even listen to me? Since I don't agree with you, I guess I obviously have no clue what I'm talking about.
And what do you mean, "whoever loves, will love"? You have to actually *like* someone before you can love them—that's elementary school stuff. Sure, people say it's set in stone by high school, but that doesn't mean things can't change when they need to.
It’s honestly such a struggle trying to get people here to understand—we’re losing readers for a million different reasons. Mandatory school reading lists just make kids hate books entirely. Sure, we have e-books and some local titles available, but let's be real: the selection is thin and nobody is actually promoting it. You can't even borrow e-books from the public library yet, and if you want audiobooks, you're stuck with old CDs that require a disability certificate just to access them? I don't get it. Is this some copyright nonsense or just pure stupidity? It should be as easy as clicking a button, just like an e-book. Honestly, insisting on physical books in a digital age is a losing battle—and refusing to update those outdated school reading lists? Same thing.
Mind you, okay, they have introduced plenty of new and great resources in elementary schools lately—though unfortunately, they've added some idiocy in there too. But high school? It's pretty much the same mess it was back in my day.
briskjackal5 said:Seriously? So everyone you hang out with also "grew up" in the library, and now that feels like some kind of universal rule to you? 😁
okay, fine, maybe I read a little more than the average student, but honestly, everyone in my group absolutely hated required reading. whether people were reading or not wasn't the issue in my circle—it was just the specific books they picked for us.
So, is the "problem" just because students don't find one specific title to be the most exciting thing in the world out of every possible book they could ever pick?
Because, I mean, that's probably not enough reason to claim there's an actual "problem." And I guess that shouldn't even be our main criteria when we're deciding which books to choose, right?
and they're totally not age-appropriate, which is something you might only realize once you've aged a bit.
If you grasp 50%, that's still pretty good!
-Stipe
No, I'm just saying—yeah, maybe I read more than the average person, but it’s hardly a miracle. And honestly, I wasn't some special outlier when it came to hating required reading; people hated those books whether they were avid readers or not.
Look, some titles are actually decent and should stay on the list. But others... good grief, they're practically a death sentence. Of course, people who don't normally read are going to want to read even less after being forced through stuff like that. Not everyone has to love everything, sure, but there are those few specific things that are just painful for everyone—those really ought to be cut.
Back in high school, we had the option to pick five books out of a list of twenty, which was okay, but even then—I would've wanted more choices. Like, fine, let's do Hemingway, but give me a few different works to choose from! Why on earth did we have to do that one guy, Philip? I would've had way more fun analyzing something like *The Catcher in the Rye*. Actually, I did—and I ended up getting three assignments done, but I was basically held up in front of the class as a "bad example," while my classmates were actually clapping for me. And the teacher? Well, they clearly lost their mind. 😬
briskjackal5 said:But don't you think you might be kind of an outlier there? 😁
-Stipe
Well... not really. Okay, fine—maybe I did read a bit more than the average kid, but let's be honest, everyone in my circle absolutely loathed required reading. Whether we actually picked up a book or not wasn't the real issue; it was the terrible selection of titles they forced on us.
I mean, some of those books aren't even touched again in college because they're so dense or just focus on specific niche parts—but in high school, they expect you to master the whole thing.
And then there's the stuff that's totally age-inappropriate—you know, things you can only truly grasp once you've actually grown up a little.
Really? I feel you—I basically grew up in the local library myself. I started transcribing required reading lists when I was just a kid, and honestly, looking back at my middle school and high school years, I probably only actually read three or four titles from those lists. I avoided the rest entirely out of pure spite for being forced to read certain books.
I did pick some up later on and felt pretty bad about misjudging them initially. Some others? Still haven't touched them and don't plan to, though maybe one day if I find the time. For instance, I have zero interest in revisiting *The Catcher in the Rye*, even though I can practically recite *Edge of Sanity* from memory. It’s such a shame they don't just assign an author and let people choose their own titles, like
Nowadays, I’m a moderate reader—actually, not much of a reader at all. I spend my time with all sorts of people, from folks who never touch a book to absolute bibliophiles... and honestly, who knows? You meet everyone. There are wonderful people and then there's just straight-up uncultured trash. I really don't think it's my place to judge someone based on their reading list; that's just not how I roll.
Though, granted, I'm not exactly hanging out at dive bars or local sports clubs, so maybe I don't run into as many people who struggle to spell their own names.
urbantinker8 said:so here, in case anyone else finds themselves stuck with this kind of nonsense for school reading assignments.😁
I wouldn't necessarily go so far as to say parents are underestimating their kids, actually, I don't think that's quite it.
It isn't really about thinking, "wow, this characterization is so dark, surely my little Timmy is too young to grasp this." Rather, it’s more like, "this characterization is so intense, my kid is way too young for this—let them just play outside and do what they want, why are we feeding them this garbage?" And then you throw those Skarnicle things into the mix... it just sort of completes the whole mess, I suppose.😁
With eBay, the only tiny little issue is waiting four to seven weeks for delivery—and school assignments usually have much tighter deadlines, don't they?
I mean, I don't really get why it’s an issue—why not just walk down to the local grocery store and grab some onions? But hey, whatever.
We used those books too, but I only managed to hang onto DJ3. It’s such a bummer that I don't have anything left from PID—that guy was a total genius 😍
Wait, did we even have semi-annual reviews or quarterly ones back then? I remember there was a period where we did quarterly check-ins, but honestly, I can't quite remember if they still exist anymore.
I was eighty-nine when I started school—back then, they made us do cursive, and we had to get through it even though nobody actually wanted to. It was just printed stuff, really. We were forced to read things like "neither in heaven nor on earth." Honestly? I don't think I ever actually read it properly. My friend, a lady who was quite kind, never even called on me to recite it because I’d just read so quietly—she didn't want to make a fuss over me.
I tried to wrap my head around learning how to write in cursive, but man, looking at it just gives me a massive headache. To me, all those letters look exactly the same!😬
Wait, didn't we start out with big print in the first half, then switch to smaller print in the second—and then only get cursive in the second grade? I know for a fact Cyrillic wasn't until third grade, but honestly, I can't quite remember the rest.
- Refuses to use the plastic cup in the bathroom when brushing her teeth. She’s insisting on glass because she thinks it looks "cool." - Her reasoning? The plastic one is just STUPID.
We don't exactly keep glassware in the bathroom here (much to her intense disapproval), so I got her a slightly different plastic cup to replace the old one—one that clearly isn't "stupid." 🤣🤣🤣
Why not though?
And if they're being used in the kitchen, what's the logic there?
I mean, you can break them in either room—so that’s hardly a valid argument, right? Glass is glass, regardless of where it's sitting.
Honestly, I don't even use glass cups much myself, so this whole selective thing seems pretty weird to me. It's not like they won't shatter in the kitchen if one hits the floor.
I agree with what everyone said above—plus, everything you’re mentioning is clearly listed right there on the side effect handout that comes with the medication. Basically—if it doesn't feel right, change it.