Reading

Why has it become "cool" to not read?

It seems as if people are embarrassed to say they do any reading. Anytime I talk to teenagers, they promptly state they do not like reading. Most of these adolescents have not even spent time picking up a book. But what's so bad about it? What makes it not "cool"? Most of your favorite movies derived from famous novels, and if you took the time to read the work, you would realize it's probably much better than the film. Why? Because reading is about imagination. You become lost in the story, and develop feelings for characters. You build them up, and leave it to your imagination as to what they look like. You read about the details and the history of each person. Reading also teaches us better spelling and grammar, more than you will ever learn from any movie. So why do a lot of teenagers refuse to read?

Many of told me they simply believe it takes too much time to read a book. It may take weeks and months, and that they do not simply have the time for it. Others claim they get confused and distracted while reading. In my opinion, I rather read a book than watch a movie. I enjoy leaving it up to my imagination and getting lost in it. I honestly do not have much free time myself, so how am I able to enjoy a good read? I set time aside, not every day, but whenever I can, to read as much as possible. I don't have a TV in my room anymore, and there's only so much you can do when you're at home, so I resort to reading.

I am currently reading "A Pale View of Hills" by Kazuo Ishiguro for my English class. I normally dislike the books teachers assign, but this isn't bad. Pretty interesting, I must say. It's about Etsuko, a Japanese woman who lives in England, who's eldest daughter has just committed suicide. In the novel, Etsuko goes back and forth to the past, remembering how it was before she was born, and recalls a time she met a mysterious woman named Sachiko and her daughter Mariko. I have also started three other books, which I had to stop because of this assignment. Those books are "Message In A Bottle" by Nicholas Sparks, "Requiem for a Dream" by Hubert Selby, Jr. and "Early Glendale" by Juliet M. Arroyo. I will go back and start each book from the beginning since I like to read the entire thing at once.

I hope more people will turn to reading and experience the joys each book brings. Unfortunately, with this change in our society, I am afraid that won't be likely. Teenagers are becoming brainwashed by modern technology, which consists of iPods, and the highly praised website, MySpace.