When you think of chores, you probably think of things like sweeping, doing the dishes, and other menial household tasks. But when someone told me that they don’t read because, “it feels like a chore,” I was shocked. How could something that brings so much joy to me, feel like a chore? How could it feel like a chore to get to be a part of a whole new world?
I think there’s often a negative connotation around reading due to people only being familiar with the literature read in schools. Which, yes, some of it is extremely good, some of it made me never want to pick up a book again. Talking about you Charles Dickens… If you never allow yourself to try anything else though, you won’t know what you’re missing out on. I don’t mean to say you should entirely deter from reading these books because they do teach valuable lessons. They give us a different perspective on history, immerse us into different cultures, and allow us to form connections to modern literature. With everything going on in the world today, politically especially, it’s extremely important for us to be able to form those connections and prevent some of our world’s past mistakes. But for some, reading modern literature is just so much more enjoyable.
“We do kind of fall back on those tried and true time-tested books like The Great Gatsby and The Awakening, and all those books that we know or feel comfortable teaching. I wish more people did emphasize that reading is a lifelong skill and a hobby that can be pleasurable, and that you can enjoy. But it is hard for some people to make time for that when they feel like they’re under so much pressure to do X, Y, or Z,” North Penn English Teacher Mrs. Elizabeth Weizer stated.
When we were kids, we were so excited to learn how to read, so excited to pick books off the shelves for our parents to read to us, so excited to finally be able to pick four books at our school’s library. What happened? When did we stop reading for pleasure? We now often look at reading as required, because it is. But, there are so many good books out there that could change your life, except you would never know about them if you never look for them.
“I think that unfortunately, we kind of kill students’ love of reading because we are so focused on the like, what are you getting out of it?, what does the author mean?, the analysis piece of it. I think our culture is very focused on if we have something to show for what you’re doing. Reading is a very solitary pursuit, it’s very quiet, it’s very still. When you’re done with a book there seems to be nothing tangible that you can take away from it. And I think that’s part of it, it doesn’t feel like you’re filling your time with something “productive” when you’re reading,” Weizer explained.
It can be hard for students to feel a sense of accomplishment from reading when they can’t take away anything tangible. But there is so much more to take away from it. As you read, you familiarize yourself with different viewpoints, cultures, and experiences. You gain empathy for the characters in your books and you can immerse yourself into new worlds; giving yourself a broader perspective on life. Also, I think many readers don’t like to say this, but truly you can just read for fun. You can read silly stories about silly lives and just enjoy them in the moment and then never think about it again. Or like I prefer; you can read in-depth, emotional books that will leave you thinking for days, weeks. When you read, you don’t have to worry about what you’re learning from the book, what other people think of it, why it’s important; you really can just read whatever you want for whatever reason.
So I leave you with this: read! Consume literature in any way you can. Read a book, listen to a book, join a book club, talk about books with your friends. When you need a break from the world, sit down and pick up a book and just enjoy it, without worrying about anything else.
