A Chick Ponders Bookish Things: Read What You Want

I know I've said it many times before, but reading should be for enjoyment. (That is if you aren't in school...then it is for education and often torturous purposes).

When I go to pick out my next read, I don't think, I have to read this because everyone else is reading it, or because it is on a list of books everyone should read before they die or some other such nonsense. I pick up a book because I want to enjoy it and to have fun while I'm reading it.

That's why I hate lists...like "Books every woman should read..."

Sure some of them are great books. I loved A Wrinkle In Time and To Kill A Mockingbird, but others like Jane Eyre never really kept my attention.

That's why I've always felt that schools should teach reading enjoyment, rather than literature. And if you can't get away from Classic Literature, students should be able to decide which books they want to read. I still have panic attacks when I look at a copy of Moby Dick.

I have to say, no matter how hard I tried, I never could finish that damn book.

I hated it with a passion.

I'd rather create a world with children and adults that have a passion for books and reading, whether on ereaders and tablets or print than people that cringe at the sight of a book because of English class.

Let's face it, the more people read, even if it is a Harlequin novel, the more likely they'll be to be open to other ideas, or want to learn more about things. I know that through my love of historical fiction, I've learned more history than I would have otherwise.

So lets be glad that there were books out there in recent years that made kids and young adults passionate about reading.

Yay for Harry Potter.....Yay for Twilight (even though I say that reluctantly). Any book that brings the masses to the printed word, can't be half bad.

What are you thoughts on what people should read?