reading

Top Stories
books on brown wooden shelf
Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash

CW: graphic depictions of novels.

When I was in eighth-grade honors English, our first book of the year was Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Unlike with other books, our eyes didn't glaze over as we read. In fact, we were enthralled.

We were very invested in the characters, we all cried at the end, and even though the book didn't have a happy ending, we bonded through the sadness and were still happy we were able to read the book.

My mom, who passed on her love of reading to me, always read the books we were assigned for school. She hated this one.

While she could appreciate the story and understood it was a product of its time, she thought the story, especially the end, maybe a bit inappropriate for students my age. She was not the type to make a stink about things, but she let me know her feelings.

My mom's opinion was not all that unique. There are lots of parents who weren't always fans of what their kids had to read for school.

Sometimes it's because they would've liked their child to be a little older when they read a particular book. This was my mom's complaint about Of Mice and Men. Other people don't think particular books are appropriate for school at all.

Those people took to Reddit to share what books they read in school that they wouldn't want their kids to read in school today...at least, not until they are a little older.

Keep reading... Show less

Last summer, I was pretty bored and looking for a new book to read, preferably a horror novel. i stumbled upon Nick Cutter's The Troop, which tells the story about a troop of scouts who go spend time at a cabin in the woods and come down with an... um... interesting infection.

I'm not going to say more about the plot to avoid giving out spoilers but let's just say that the book gave me exactly what I wanted. I was definitely disturbed by it... and uncomfortable. Sooo uncomfortable. I still think about it a fair amount.

There are plenty of other books out there that made people feel similarly taken aback, as we were so kindly reminded by Redditor NeedSomeUpDog asked the online community,

"What's the most WTF book you've ever read?"
Keep reading... Show less
People Describe The Most F**ked Up Piece Of Literature They've Ever Read
Matias North on Unsplash

Books that demand full attention from the reader is a testament to the imagery an author provides.

Keep reading... Show less

There are few feelings I enjoy more than the one I experience when I lose myself in a good book.

The thing about reading is that you can never hope to get through everything you want to read. It's impossible.

But the journey you go on as you uncover good books? It's magical.

Naturally, there are some books out there that are quite praised and others that have managed to touch people very deeply.

Keep reading... Show less
People Share The Books Everyone Should Read At Least Once In Their Life
Image by Yerson Retamal from Pixabay

Books are life. Recently studies have been published that reading for fun, reading for knowledge, just interest in reading in general is down, and that is a tragedy.

We've become too obsessed with our binge watching and ADHD mindset that we've lost focus on one of life's greatest joys... literature.

There are some stories and books that should be a mandatory read for life. There should be age benchmarks that require knowledge of certain books in order to progress. I know, how "1984" of me. ;)

Redditor u/bugtanks33d wanted to hear about what literature we should all be familiar with sooner than later by asking:

What's a book everyone should read at least once in their lives?
Keep reading... Show less