6 Reasons to Love and Hate Required School Reading

by First Mate Keira, guest blogger

3 Reasons to Love Required School Reading:

1. You can relate to the book’s characters and situations. Usually, but not always, and especially for the newer selections on reading lists, they are bildungsromans. I bet you’re thinking that’s a made up word, but I swear it’s an actual one. It means:
   

   Bil⋅dungs⋅ro⋅man: a type of novel concerned with the education, development, and maturing of a young protagonist. (dictionary.com)

   In other words it’s a coming of age story and as such should be modern enough to be relatable. Stories could be about (but aren’t limited to) growing-up, friendship, family, and school.

2. You can find books that really interest you that you never knew existed. Be honest, how many of the books teachers select for reading would you have picked up on your own? I bet the book selection never overlaps!
3. Ease of selection. If you have trouble picking out books because you aren’t sure what you like, required reading means you don't have to because your teacher does it for you! That’s what I call a no-brainer!

3 Reasons to Hate Required School Reading:

1. You don’t have a choice. Being forced to read something is rarely fun or enjoyable. I mean come on when was the last time you liked or offered to do (more) chores? It’s the same principle! Assignments and deadlines only make matters more unpleasant.
2. The topics or genres are boring. They don’t interest you and you can’t believe you’re wasting valuable time on them. Too mature topics could be the culprit here. Books should be chosen for the right age group.
3. It’s hard to read. Again with the age group, the reading level should match the student’s ability. Books that are dated read dated. Audio format might be the best option in these cases to make the books more accessible.

Where do you fall when it comes to required school reading? Love it or loath it?

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Keira runs a book review blog for readers by readers on romance novels entitled Love Romance Passion. She’s been reading romance since she was in her teens and began blogging about romance so she could share her passion for her favorite genre. She loves reading paranormal, Regency, historical America, and highlander most of all and completely adores blind and wounded heroes.

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