Reading? No thanks.
Posted by webbmaster on January 22, 2008
I hate reading. Enough said.
Okay so that’s not entirely true, but for the most part, reading is not one of my passions. In fact, I rarely read which is a habit I’m not too proud to have. When I say I rarely read, what I am referring to are books. It all started at a very early time in my educational career when I happened to be an extremely busy individual. Sports took up the majority of my time, and it wasn’t just one sport but three, year-round, and with daily practices and games, I wasn’t left with much time to take part in things of lesser importance, such as, you guessed it, reading. I managed to make time for my homework as well as watching television, eating, surfing the internet, sleeping, and romance. But the whole reading thing never really found a spot in my schedule. Some may wonder how I managed to earn excellent grades throughout high school while never taking the time to read a single book. I’ll admit that Sparknotes played a part in my success. I learned something in high school, and that was the fact that I could easily get by without picking up a book, and by book I mean the novels and stories we get in English class and sometimes History.
Now that I am in college, things haven’t drastically changed. I do read textbooks simply because it is necessary for me to earn As. But as far as novels are concerned, I am still continuing my same old ways. Over the course of the first semester, my English class was assigned a total of five different books to read. How many did I read? A whoppin’ 0! Well actually I read five chapters of one of the books, but I don’t think that counts. Despite my lack of reading, I still earned an A in the class. I didn’t say this before, so I’ll say it now. To me, reading is not fun, enjoyable, or any other positive feeling. Reading is the devil in disguise and I absolutely hate it! (Once again, I am referring to books.)
Although I don’t necessarily read books (with the exception of all seven of the Harry Potter series, which I absolutely love), I do, however, read other things. Every so often I will pick up the newspaper and read from it. I will even read from certain magazines, such as Sportscenter and ESPN. But more often than that, I read many different things on the internet–nothing in particular, just whatever I find that sparks my interest. So when I say I hate reading, I guess I really only mean fictional novels as well as most non-fiction.
A part of me wishes I did read more, but since I’m fine with the amount of reading that I currently do, and since I can still get by school-wise, I don’t see my habits changing anytime soon. If only my reading habits had been better while I was in middle school I think I would be a more avid reader, but they weren’t so oh well. I understand why some people love reading, and I understand that reading can help your writing, your vocabulary, and help to make you smarter. I agree. But I feel that most books are just too boring and time consuming to be worth my while, and the books that I’m sure I might actually enjoy, well I’m just too lazy and busy with other things to pick the book up and start reading.
amanda112 said
It’s interesting to think about the difference between reading on the Internet and reading books. Do you think more people in your generation read on the Internet as opposed to picking up a book b/c it’s more convenient, or easier to find something you know you’ll like, or b/c it doesn’t seem like reading at all?
webbmaster said
Well for me, I prefer reading things on the internet because it is more convenient to find things that interest me. I can easily find information on whatever it is I want to know very quickly and without having to physically go anywhere. Also, in a way, it really doesn’t feel like I’m reading where as picking up a book and reading from it does. I guess I would say that reading things on the internet is much more entertaining and fun compared to a boring page from a book.