[PJ-Comix]

Lately I've really been into reading the classics.

That happens a lot. The reason is often that our school system kills all interest in literary novels. I remember how boring Shakespeare seemed in high school until I rediscovered it on the outside. Same thing goes with literature. One reason is that students are reading these novels with the idea that they will be quizzed on it so they can't just sit back, relax, and enjoy the novels. High School is the biggest reason for the dearth of interest in great literature.

[HairOfTheDog]

High School is the biggest reason for the dearth of interest in great literature.

High school kids are the wrong audience for Shakespeare. They hate everything. You enjoyed it later because you were ready.

[Sword_of_Gideon]

Now I'll sound like an old codger (even though I'm not), but a lot of the blame can be laid at the feet of the mass media. It is almost single handedly responsible for the reduction in attention span. TV shows, videos, thrill rides, comic books, etc. are simply a barage of colors, sounds & textures. In is in effect simply sensory overload. I used to love comic books, I can not bear to open them any more due to the excessive colors & complicated graphics.... it is impossible to discern the plot in the midst. So you have a generation or more raised on that mind set of continuous sensory bombardment & then you ask them to sit, read, think, & comtemplate upon a novel... just doesnt happen anymore. It's strange, as I finished re-reading Farenheit 451 the other day I thought how we won't need minorities to destroy books to control, they'll simply die from inattention due to the mass brainwashing taking place in the mass media.

[Aquinasfan]

High School is the biggest reason for the dearth of interest in great literature.

That was true in my case. After high school I used to proudly tell people: "if it's a book I haven't read it." I also hated literature because teachers kept telling me that modern authors were geniuses but couldn't give me a compelling reason as to why.