What's the point of required reading?

Karen Richardson3 said:Personally, I have a massive issue with how we approach American English classes—specifically this rigid principle of teaching literary history.
To me, it feels like a total fog, and I honestly can't see a logical reason why it's structured this way, other than the fact that the curriculum is clearly dictated by PhDs specializing in literary history. 😁

Don't get me wrong, studying literary history is definitely valuable. But what about the modern era? How many works by contemporary authors, whether they're American or international, have you actually read or discussed during your English classes?

Isn't it just common sense that books reflecting the world we actually live in right now would be much more relatable and engaging for teenagers?

Why is it that a fifteen-year-old is stuck reading The Iliad, then moves on to The Decameron at sixteen, followed by some Neoclassical drama at seventeen, only to reach senior year at eighteen where they barely even glance at a few mid-20th-century authors because everyone is too busy stressing over SAT prep and graduation?

I've always been a reader—actually, I still am—but most of my required school readings were just an absolute drag.
I would finish them (most of them, anyway), and I could always figure out "what the author was trying to say," which meant I always pulled straight A's in English, but man, those selected books were just brutal.

For kids who don't already love reading, these mandatory lists just reinforce the idea that books are boring things to be avoided at all costs. Meanwhile, the kids who actually enjoy reading know there's a huge, fascinating world of literature outside the school curriculum, so they usually just suck it up and endure it.

Looking at the reading lists proposed by the NPIP for Elementary School, most of the works are contemporary (and if you ask me, many lack any real literary merit). You can find the full list on the Department of Health and Social Welfare website.
For every grade level, there are about thirty suggested books, from which a teacher selects seven to nine depending on the age group, and only three per grade are mandatory.
Furthermore, every teacher has the autonomy to assign readings outside of this list, provided they meet certain criteria—namely, that they align with the students' cognitive abilities, possess literary value, and satisfy fundamental educational goals.
It is also permitted to choose, for example, a book listed for sixth grade for a fifth grader if the teacher deems it appropriate and the students haven't read it yet.
The study of literary history is gradually introduced starting in seventh grade, not through assigned reading, but during regular English classes.
It is true that among the thirty or so non-mandatory books, there are some that aren't entirely age-appropriate (for instance, > Travels isn't exactly a children's novel), but that is precisely why the teacher is there—to select the right books for their specific students.

In my view, the Elementary School list is quite acceptable given the freedom to choose other children's books; it simply falls to the teachers to utilize the flexibility the system provides.
As for High School, however, the list is abysmal, particularly for vocational schools. While students in academic tracks should probably follow the sequence to build a general cultural foundation, I would suggest broader options for everyone else—they should be allowed to read something, even if it's lighter, including works by contemporary authors.

wanderinggardener12 said:Good grief. Looking back through some of these threads, I’m struck by just how much heavy lifting is actually required here—and I don't mean the writing itself, but the fundamental cultivation of a reading habit.

But we aren't talking about the way things are currently handled in our schools.

Every one of us is a unique individual from the moment we're born, yet isn't it true that there exists a core collection of perhaps a hundred books that almost anyone would find captivating if they had the chance during their formative years? If those books were actually selected specifically for the person being recommended, wouldn't it be nearly impossible not to catch the reading bug? And if you pair that right choice with an environment that actually encourages exploration, aren't we all just a few steps closer to meaningful communication on every possible level?

It honestly pains me to think that some of you missed out on the sheer joy and intellectual nourishment that comes from a good book. You can look directly at your parents or your teachers for that; go ahead, hold them accountable for the deprivation they caused. It’s fundamentally the same as someone trying to strip the pleasure out of intimacy or the satisfaction of a great meal by forcing you into a hollow encounter with someone you find repulsive, or making you choke down something you consider absolute garbage, all while demanding that you sit there and provide a detailed, clinical description of the experience...

I mostly agree with that...
...but then again, I also feel like when we're putting together a reading list, it might be good to toss in something that actually makes us a little uncomfortable—just to stir the pot a bit and spark some real debate or thought. A healthy mix of "reading for fun" and "reading to challenge your worldview" seems like the move.

rowdypanther12 said:Oh, I don't think it's quite that simple. It isn't strictly the fault of teachers or parents, though there is certainly a group of people who grew to hate books because of school assignments—even if they usually end up finding a book they love later on.
I've always been a total bookworm. I'd say I owe it to my mom, who read to me constantly growing up. But my sister hasn't read three books in her entire life, despite my mom trying just as hard with her. She just wasn't interested. My partner is the same way; he just doesn't care for books or reading.
Since I think he's a smart guy 😍 and, as a lifelong lover of the written word, I struggle to understand how someone can dislike books, I tried to "convert" him. It didn't work. 😁
To him, books are just ink on paper. He reads the words, but he doesn't truly see them.
Even when a story is interesting, it's just letters on a page rather than a magical new world waiting behind the cover.
That isn't something you can force; maybe you can spark it in childhood, but not if you're just handing out random books instead of ones tailored to the person. 😁
I suppose it's just one of those things you either have or you don't.

Personally, I always found reading pretty dull; the only thing that ever kept me awake was Kafka.🙂

I honestly think it's just one of those things—you either have it or you don't.

It feels to me like that "missing piece" might be because it wasn't nurtured or sparked early on—specifically that sense of imagination required to turn raw sentences into that "magical new world" people talk about when they open a cover...

The whole trick with reading is how it builds entirely new worlds and relationships inside your own head—it kicks the emotional engine into gear, stirs the conscience, or forces you to question yourself. A book is arguably more valuable than a movie because it doesn't let us sit there as passive observers. To actually digest a story, we HAVE to build everything ourselves in our minds—visualizing every presence and absence—and I suppose that process makes us a bit more spiritually enriched.

I honestly feel like we’re all just circling the same drain when it comes to this topic, you know? It reminds me of those old philosophical debates about fate versus free will that you’d stumble upon while reading *The Iliad*, where everything feels preordained even when you're fighting tooth and nail to change it. I was sitting there thinking about how much effort we put into these little daily struggles, almost like we're chasing a ghost, and it really makes you wonder if any of it actually moves the needle. It’s kind of like when someone spends their whole life working toward a Nobel Prize in Literature only to realize the most profound truths were actually found in the simplest, most unglamorous moments of life. We get so caught up in the grand design that we miss the texture of the actual experience, which is pretty wild if you think about it. kaže:
I mean, honestly, who else would you even trust to design a literature curriculum or hand-pick the reading list besides someone with a PhD in literature? It just feels like common sense to me, right? Like, if you were looking to overhaul the engineering program at MIT or redesign the medical syllabus at Johns Hopkins, you wouldn't just ask some random person off the street—you'd go straight to the experts who have actually spent their lives studying the craft. It’s the same logic here; when it comes to deciding which classics define our education, you want someone who truly lives and breathes the subject matter. 😁

If you're looking to go all in on academia, a PhD in literature isn't just one narrow path; you can actually specialize in things like literary history, contemporary works, interdisciplinary studies, or even teaching methodology. It’s pretty broad once you get into the weeds of it.
If you ask me, the people who actually live and breathe literary theory and pedagogy should be the ones calling the shots when it comes to designing school curricula, but honestly, that’s just not how things work in the real world.
Look, at the end of the day, everyone is just looking out for their own interests—it’s all about the bottom line, really. That’s basically the driving force behind this whole mess with those three different spelling guides they're pushing right now. When money is the main motivation behind the scenes, you can't be surprised that things are stuck exactly where they are.

Look, we really shouldn't start playing the relativity game here. If we go down that road and start questioning everything, we’ll eventually end up nitpicking every single subject in the curriculum and questioning the entire point of mandatory schooling itself, which honestly doesn't get us anywhere at all.

I honestly feel like obsessively overanalyzing every single detail of how we teach just leads us into a total dead end. It’s like we spend all this energy trying to micromanage every tiny little movement in a lesson plan, thinking if we just tweak one more thing, everything will suddenly click, but it really doesn't go anywhere. 😕
It’s really about steering everything toward a more modern way of teaching—something that actually clicks with the students we're doing all this for in the first place.

Look, if your whole mission—one of the biggest reasons you’re doing this in the first place—is to actually spark that genuine curiosity and hunger for learning in kids, how on earth can you not take a hard look at the curriculum? It’s like if you were trying to teach someone how to cook by giving them a broken stove and expired ingredients; you can't really expect them to get excited about the craft if the tools they're working with are fundamentally flawed from the jump. You have to question whether what we're feeding them is actually worth their time and energy, because if the foundation is shaky, you aren't building thinkers, you're just going through the motions. 😕

Look, I’m definitely not saying we should just toss literary history out the window or stop teaching the classics altogether, because obviously that would be a mistake. What I’m getting at is that it really needs to stop being treated like this untouchable, isolated pillar of education and instead become just one part of a much larger conversation—one where it sits right alongside contemporary literature and modern media culture. We need to start treating today's digital landscape and current storytelling with the same level of respect and academic weight as we do the old stuff, creating a balanced curriculum where the culture of right now holds the same real value as the stories from our past.

I honestly feel like we need to rethink how we approach literature in school, because just staring at a textbook doesn't cut it. If you really want to actually "learn" literary history rather than just memorizing dates for a test, you have to teach it alongside things like music history or fine arts. It’s all connected, right? Like, you can't fully wrap your head around the soul of an era just by reading words on a page; you need to hear the melodies that were playing in the background or see the brushstrokes on the canvas from that same period to truly get the vibe. It should be an integrated experience where everything flows together, making the whole subject come alive instead of feeling like some isolated, dusty chore.
I know that most subjects are designed to cover roughly the same historical eras at the same time, but honestly, looking back at my own time in school, it never felt like we were actually synchronized like that at all.
It felt like you were just rattling off a list of dry facts the whole time, honestly; it’s like you’ve never actually sat down to really soak in a masterpiece while letting the music from that same era play in the background to set the mood.
You can't really "learn" culture just by hitting the books; you have to actually feel it and live it to get it. Honestly, just grinding through endless lists of facts about the fashion or etiquette of some specific historical era doesn't do squat when it comes to actually nurturing the soul of a nation.😁That’s exactly why our culture stays right where it is—it's all tied to those deeper roots we've built over time.

When you really step back and look at the grand timeline of everything ever written, modern literature is such a tiny, microscopic sliver of the whole story; it’s basically just an afterthought tucked away at the very end of the curriculum. By the time students actually get to it, they're already drowning in senior year stress and obsessing over their SATs, so they barely have the headspace to actually engage with what's happening in books right now.

But look, she’s exactly what we’re living through right now. She’s happening in real-time. You can actually feel her, you know? There's this raw, honest way she forces you to confront the mess we're currently stuck in, which makes her so much more relevant than something like The Iliad ever could be.

Hey everyone, just wanted to drop in and say good morning! Hope you all slept well and are feeling ready to tackle whatever the day throws at you. kaže:
Honestly, the high school reading list is a total disaster, especially when you look at what they're handing to vocational students. It’s like, fine, if you’re in a traditional prep school, go ahead and grind through the classics to get that general knowledge base—that’s what you signed up for. But for everyone else? I really wish we gave them a bit more breathing room. They should definitely be reading, sure, but it doesn't always have to be some ancient slog; we should be throwing in contemporary authors and stuff that’s actually engaging and easier to digest.

My bad, I wasn't being super clear before—I was specifically talking about the high school level.

And honestly, I think the real issue is that even kids graduating from those top-tier prep schools come out the other side without having a clue who the people winning the Nobel Prize in Literature are these days, for example.

Good grief, I have no intention of wading through that entire PDF. I'll just say this: the mere sight of the thread title left me absolutely speechless...

Jeffrey Kelly said:Good grief, I have no intention of wading through that entire PDF. I'll just say this: the mere sight of the thread title left me absolutely speechless...

...do parents actually wonder what their kids are thinking? Or does the kid even bother to ask what "required reading" is supposed to be for anyway? It wouldn't surprise me if at least half of these kids don't see any point in wading through some massive tome.

wanderinggardener12 said:Looking at the reading lists proposed by the NPIP for Elementary School, most of the works are contemporary (and if you ask me, many lack any real literary merit). You can find the full list on the Department of Health and Social Welfare website.
For every grade level, there are about thirty suggested books, from which a teacher selects seven to nine depending on the age group, and only three per grade are mandatory.
Furthermore, every teacher has the autonomy to assign readings outside of this list, provided they meet certain criteria—namely, that they align with the students' cognitive abilities, possess literary value, and satisfy fundamental educational goals.
It is also permitted to choose, for example, a book listed for sixth grade for a fifth grader if the teacher deems it appropriate and the students haven't read it yet.
The study of literary history is gradually introduced starting in seventh grade, not through assigned reading, but during regular English classes.
It is true that among the thirty or so non-mandatory books, there are some that aren't entirely age-appropriate (for instance, > Travels isn't exactly a children's novel), but that is precisely why the teacher is there—to select the right books for their specific students.

In my view, the Elementary School list is quite acceptable given the freedom to choose other children's books; it simply falls to the teachers to utilize the flexibility the system provides.
As for High School, however, the list is abysmal, particularly for vocational schools. While students in academic tracks should probably follow the sequence to build a general cultural foundation, I would suggest broader options for everyone else—they should be allowed to read something, even if it's lighter, including works by contemporary authors.

Hmm. You know, some people already complain because vocational students have a lighter curriculum than the prep kids, which makes certain parts of the SAT harder for them... can you imagine if they didn't even have these required reading lists, yet still had to take the tests?
Honestly, I kind of agree. If we did that, they'd just have to teach themselves everything, and you just know there'd be plenty of people whining about it.

Look, people don't read just to pass some high school exit exam. You read to actually become literate—to travel through different eras and places without leaving your couch, and to basically get inside someone else's head to see how they think. It’s a way to experience things you haven't lived through yourself (thank God for that!!), to have a laugh, unwind, or learn how to actually empathize with people.

Sure, there are plenty of people who hate reading and won't pick up a book if they can help it, but at least through required reading, they’ll pick up better grammar, expand their vocabulary, and gain some general knowledge.
Maybe we just need to update the reading list, but we definitely shouldn't stop treating literature as something important.

Honestly, for whoever asked that question... OH MY GOD.

Michelle Bailey4 said:Look, people don't read just to pass some high school exit exam. You read to actually become literate—to travel through different eras and places without leaving your couch, and to basically get inside someone else's head to see how they think. It’s a way to experience things you haven't lived through yourself (thank God for that!!), to have a laugh, unwind, or learn how to actually empathize with people.

Sure, there are plenty of people who hate reading and won't pick up a book if they can help it, but at least through required reading, they’ll pick up better grammar, expand their vocabulary, and gain some general knowledge.
Maybe we just need to update the reading list, but we definitely shouldn't stop treating literature as something important.

Honestly, for whoever asked that question... OH MY GOD.

I only asked because I'm genuinely curious about what the point of assigned reading even is if parents just end up reading it themselves and writing the reports for their kids (I actually posted this under a different thread).

The whole reason for having required reading should be crystal clear to both parents and students—just like they should know why they're even going to school in the first place. But honestly, who knows... My take is that kids have no clue what the purpose is, which extends to why they should bother reading books... they aren't motivated to explore or hunt for answers... In the end, it all just boils down to a formal announcement.

Michelle Bailey4 said:Look, people don't read just to pass some high school exit exam. You read to actually become literate—to travel through different eras and places without leaving your couch, and to basically get inside someone else's head to see how they think. It’s a way to experience things you haven't lived through yourself (thank God for that!!), to have a laugh, unwind, or learn how to actually empathize with people.

Sure, there are plenty of people who hate reading and won't pick up a book if they can help it, but at least through required reading, they’ll pick up better grammar, expand their vocabulary, and gain some general knowledge.
Maybe we just need to update the reading list, but we definitely shouldn't stop treating literature as something important.

Honestly, for whoever asked that question... OH MY GOD.

Even math problems aren't solved just for some standardized test.
But honestly, showing up to the exam and being totally lost because you skipped everything in class? That's a bad look.

Honestly, parents really ought to prep their kids before school starts—set some expectations, explain what’s coming their way, and all that stuff.

The same goes for reading assignments. We should be telling them that they'll actually get the chance to dive into some great stories, which can lead to cool discussions about how fun it is, or how a good book serves as a perfect escape from homework or a way to wind down before bed.
One of the biggest things parents can do for their kids is just foster a genuine love for reading. Whether it's reading to them at bedtime (or whenever they feel like it), buying them books, or taking them to the local library to pick out their own titles... to me, that’s what actual parenting looks like.

Michelle Bailey4 said:Honestly, parents really ought to prep their kids before school starts—set some expectations, explain what’s coming their way, and all that stuff.

The same goes for reading assignments. We should be telling them that they'll actually get the chance to dive into some great stories, which can lead to cool discussions about how fun it is, or how a good book serves as a perfect escape from homework or a way to wind down before bed.
One of the biggest things parents can do for their kids is just foster a genuine love for reading. Whether it's reading to them at bedtime (or whenever they feel like it), buying them books, or taking them to the local library to pick out their own titles... to me, that’s what actual parenting looks like.

Yeah, sure. That’s how it looks in some perfect, textbook scenario...
But honestly, looking at the actual test scores and results, how many people are actually following that approach?

On my mom's side, every single mother taught their kids to actually value books—buying them, taking care of them, and reading to us constantly. Honestly, I’m pretty grateful for that. We all had to plow through the required school reading lists, and sure, not every classic was a winner, but they definitely left an impression.

Michelle Bailey4 said:Honestly, parents really ought to prep their kids before school starts—set some expectations, explain what’s coming their way, and all that stuff.

The same goes for reading assignments. We should be telling them that they'll actually get the chance to dive into some great stories, which can lead to cool discussions about how fun it is, or how a good book serves as a perfect escape from homework or a way to wind down before bed.
One of the biggest things parents can do for their kids is just foster a genuine love for reading. Whether it's reading to them at bedtime (or whenever they feel like it), buying them books, or taking them to the local library to pick out their own titles... to me, that’s what actual parenting looks like.

I honestly think we need to pass on a love for math, physics, chem... history, geography, art, music... you name it.
It’s not enough to just read books and be clueless about everything else... fostering an interest in all those subjects... hmm, don't you see? Not every kid is going to be a bookworm or a math whiz...
...and it’s definitely not as easy as you're making it sound. At least, not for most kids.

Michelle Bailey4 said:On my mom's side, every single mother taught their kids to actually value books—buying them, taking care of them, and reading to us constantly. Honestly, I’m pretty grateful for that. We all had to plow through the required school reading lists, and sure, not every classic was a winner, but they definitely left an impression.

What’s that supposed to mean? Like, her maternal relatives or something?

Michelle Bailey4 said:On my mom's side, every single mother taught their kids to actually value books—buying them, taking care of them, and reading to us constantly. Honestly, I’m pretty grateful for that. We all had to plow through the required school reading lists, and sure, not every classic was a winner, but they definitely left an impression.

Based on that, it sounds like family upbringing and core values are being passed down like heirloom silver—generation after generation. Personally, I think that's something worth celebrating.

Well, I'll weigh in too...

I HATE ASSIGNED READING!!! 😠

There, I finally said it. 🤣

The story goes like this:
Ever since my mom signed me up for a card at the local public library back before first grade, I basically spent my entire childhood with my nose stuck in a book. Elementary school reading lists were actually fine—they weren't enough for me, though, so I just read whatever else I could find.
I used to love books and reading; I was never late returning anything. In fact, I’d probably be sprinting to the library a month before my books were even due because I’d already finished everything and needed something new. 🤣

And then came high school. 🙂

It killed me. Literally. They aren't sane!!!! It completely soured books for me. I mean, how are they supposed to encourage eloquence or literacy by essentially torturing us with works written in some archaic, regional dialect we can't even grasp?! I hated those assignments (they were at their worst in junior year—just total gibberish). I never understood them, and they absolutely crushed my desire to read. I mean, how are you supposed to get into a story, or a character, or even follow the plot when you have to flip to a glossary for every second word?! Honestly.
Okay, look, these are important works. Historical masterpieces. I get that.
But are we really going to stay this broken if we just cover them through a quick lecture in class instead of making them mandatory reading?

Anyway, it took me nearly ten years to recover from the trauma of high school reading lists before I could pick up a book again.
Isn't that sad?!

Now, I'm devouring books again. I love reading; I spend almost every spare moment doing it. I probably could have read a mountain of books if it hadn't been for that cursed high school curriculum. 😠 So, yeah, I truly feel scarred by those assignments. They basically robbed me of ten years because of the intense aversion they caused me. 🙄

Peter Doyle2 said:Well, I'll weigh in too...

I HATE ASSIGNED READING!!! 😠

There, I finally said it. 🤣

The story goes like this:
Ever since my mom signed me up for a card at the local public library back before first grade, I basically spent my entire childhood with my nose stuck in a book. Elementary school reading lists were actually fine—they weren't enough for me, though, so I just read whatever else I could find.
I used to love books and reading; I was never late returning anything. In fact, I’d probably be sprinting to the library a month before my books were even due because I’d already finished everything and needed something new. 🤣

And then came high school. 🙂

It killed me. Literally. They aren't sane!!!! It completely soured books for me. I mean, how are they supposed to encourage eloquence or literacy by essentially torturing us with works written in some archaic, regional dialect we can't even grasp?! I hated those assignments (they were at their worst in junior year—just total gibberish). I never understood them, and they absolutely crushed my desire to read. I mean, how are you supposed to get into a story, or a character, or even follow the plot when you have to flip to a glossary for every second word?! Honestly.
Okay, look, these are important works. Historical masterpieces. I get that.
But are we really going to stay this broken if we just cover them through a quick lecture in class instead of making them mandatory reading?

Anyway, it took me nearly ten years to recover from the trauma of high school reading lists before I could pick up a book again.
Isn't that sad?!

Now, I'm devouring books again. I love reading; I spend almost every spare moment doing it. I probably could have read a mountain of books if it hadn't been for that cursed high school curriculum. 😠 So, yeah, I truly feel scarred by those assignments. They basically robbed me of ten years because of the intense aversion they caused me. 🙄

it really is pretty tragic

now I'm back at it—actually swallowing books, enjoying the process, basically carving out every spare second just to read. honestly, I probably could've finished a mountain of literature by now if those damn mandatory high school assignments hadn't ruined everything for me.😠 yeah, I feel genuinely robbed because of those books. they cost me almost ten years thanks to the massive aversion they burned into my brain.🙄

It’s a shame you didn't have some empathetic soul to talk to back then—someone who could've helped you push through so those school assignments wouldn't have nuked your love for reading in the first place...

Luckily, you finally made it back to the fold.😉

There were times when, immediately after finishing a required school reading, I’d sprint to the local library just to find something decent to read—anything to cleanse my palate so I wouldn't grow to loathe literature entirely. It was much like needing to get back behind the wheel of a car as quickly as possible after being stuck in a gridlock of bumper-to-bumper traffic.

I honestly fail to see the objective here. Is the goal of the curriculum to ensure students graduate thinking books are an absolute misery, ensuring they never pick up a single page again for the rest of their lives? 🤷

brisktiger56 said:it really is pretty tragic

now I'm back at it—actually swallowing books, enjoying the process, basically carving out every spare second just to read. honestly, I probably could've finished a mountain of literature by now if those damn mandatory high school assignments hadn't ruined everything for me.😠 yeah, I feel genuinely robbed because of those books. they cost me almost ten years thanks to the massive aversion they burned into my brain.🙄

It’s a shame you didn't have some empathetic soul to talk to back then—someone who could've helped you push through so those school assignments wouldn't have nuked your love for reading in the first place...

Luckily, you finally made it back to the fold.😉

But to whom? Maybe some shrink, I guess, because that aversion was just too deep—books literally made me feel sick. If I couldn't even bring myself to read stuff like *The Outsiders*, which is, you know, a timeless classic, then it's pretty obvious. I tried, but it just wasn't happening. Brrr, thinking about it now gives me the chills.

Let's be real, the "popularity" of books and reading culture is tanking.
A huge percentage of kids and teens aren't reading. And honestly, the exhausting, confusing, and totally unnecessary grind of high school required reading isn't helping at all—especially in high school. Wouldn't it be better to actually encourage young people to read by giving them literature that actually speaks to them? Instead of pushing them away from books with "too heavy" works? I mean, what does it even matter if these works are "great classics" if, in 90% of cases, they stay unread anyway because kids just use SparkNotes or the internet to get by? 🤷
As I said, you can cover all that fine through a history textbook or a lecture. For required reading, maybe stick to light teen fiction—stuff that's actually accessible. I'm not saying the entire current curriculum is bad, but most of it is.

Linda Price5 said:There were times when, immediately after finishing a required school reading, I’d sprint to the local library just to find something decent to read—anything to cleanse my palate so I wouldn't grow to loathe literature entirely. It was much like needing to get back behind the wheel of a car as quickly as possible after being stuck in a gridlock of bumper-to-bumper traffic.

I honestly fail to see the objective here. Is the goal of the curriculum to ensure students graduate thinking books are an absolute misery, ensuring they never pick up a single page again for the rest of their lives? 🤷

Exactly. That’s basically what happened to me, and I know plenty of others too.
Personally, I used to feel like an incompetent, immature moron—kind of convinced that "adult literature" just wasn't for me, like I was stuck at an elementary school intellectual level whenever it came to reading.
To be honest, even now, I mostly stick to YA, fiction, or fantasy.
I guess it's because I'm only just now trying to catch up on all the stuff I actually should have been interested in during puberty. 🤣
But hey, maybe I'll eventually reach that "adult" level. 🙂 🤣
Then again, when I remember devouring Taylor Swift back when I was 13 or 14... today, that feels... weird, maybe? It's a bit heavy... it actually makes me want to cry. 😢

Thanks for nothing, high school curriculum. 🙂