Unfortunately, everyone I know absolutely hates reading—especially non-academically. Even worse, I have no one to talk to about the books I read. But if you think about it, books that we have to read in English class are understandably boring (no offence to those who love classic/historical short stories); every time I had to read a book in high school, like George Orwell’s 1984, it almost always managed to pause my passion for reading for a few months at minimum.
It’s actually kind of weird. Recently, I randomly thought about all the books I had to read throughout high school English, and I just realized that my preference is a bit strange—picky, almost. All my friends know that I adore English. In fact, during my senior year, I was strongly considering applying to creative writing programs. But when it came to the short stories unit, I was almost always disappointed because they were all old historical stories and plays we had to read and discuss.
Some examples of the usual books: 1984, Lord of The Flies, Brave New World, The Great Gatsby, and Shakespeare plays. Don’t get me wrong, I just don’t understand the hype behind them. After noting my lack of interest and displeasure when attempting to read them (I could never finish any of them), I realized that it’s not the plot I don’t like, it’s the way these books were written.
It’s hard to explain, but these books are written so… poetically and stiffly, which is something I’ve noticed in almost every book written in the 20th century. I’m probably being so dramatic, but the books are literally written in such a way that they sound like riddles—especially the dialogues. The characters feel so stiff and formal, and the entire book structure is frustrating to try to visualize. I fully know that it’s just the older generation who wrote like that, and the particular writing style was quite common back in the day. Either way, I absolutely hate it.
By the way, I actually searched why I don’t like classics on the internet, and many people think negatively of those who don’t. I understand in a way, because these classics are well-recognized and classics for a reason. However, despite not liking them, I do recognize their talent. And although my favourite books are mostly written by today’s writers and are young-adult oriented, I can definitely say the authors of these classics are more talented than those of the present.
But it gets worse. I’m not sure when my pickiness towards the 90s (and earlier) began, but unfortunately, it also applies to my movie and TV show preferences. Then again, I’m working on it! I’ve been wanting to watch the recognized classic movies such as the Star Wars series, as well as Star Trek, Ghostbusters, The Godfather, and more. Honestly, for this, I am the bad guy because the only reason I haven’t is that I don’t like the quality of old movies.
I’ll get to it, though. I’ve been home the entire winter semester (first and unemployed co-op term), so I should start watching them. But still, you’ll never catch me reading a classical book (lol).
Also, as for my writing process DIY article series, don’t worry, they’ll be up next time! At this point, I believe my entire Her Campus profile will involve books or writing articles–it genuinely feels like a diary!