The classics: Hallmark of literature, or silent reader killer?

There's something about reading a classic that makes you feel smarter. More refined. Reading a classic is your ticket into an elite, long-standing club of readers. Read a classic and you'll be respected. Read many classics and others will believe just about anything you have to say about literature, and other topics as well.

Americans are also reading less than they ever have (although recent studies show there's been a slight resurgence lately). Ask any adult how many books they've read this year, and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who gives you a number that isn't in the single digits, unless you run around with an unusually bookish crowd.

I've been out of the public school system for quite a few years now so I don't know what teachers are assigning kids to read these days. But I've often wondered if the classics teachers make their students read are the reason people don't seek out books on their own. I've loved books since birth, but until college I rarely enjoyed the books I read in school. When one of my Sunday school teachers told me her kids were required to read a couple of the classics every summer, two words flashed across my mind: child abuse.

If all I had to go on was that you can't do better than books like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and A Tale of Two Cities, I wouldn't bother reading for leisure. I'd much rather watch TV or go outside for entertainment.

Luckily my parents weren't too worried about their kids being corrupted by books that are actually enjoyable reading experiences, so establishing a home of willing readers happened naturally. And eventually I did learn to appreciate the "important" books (Great Expectations, Anna Karenina, The Grapes of Wrath). Some of them I even loved (Jane Eyre, Little Women, Persuasion).

But even with a BA and MFA (both in English) under my belt, having studied many of the esteemed greats both voluntarily and involuntarily (71 in total, according to my personal Goodreads accounting system), I still despise a good number of them (The Scarlet Letter, Mrs. Dalloway, As I Lay Dying). Everyone has their own tastes, sure, but more and more I'm wondering if people who praise the classics above all else are just liars trying to sound smart. I mean seriously, how could anyone in their right mind recommend On the Road as a good way to spend your time?

The classics have their place in the literary world. An important one. Maybe they even have a place on your favorites shelf. But in general, they are esteemed far more than they should be. There are countless amazing books out there whose titles deserve to be recognized just as much as Pride and Prejudice or Moby Dick. I firmly believe there's a "written just for me" book out there for everyone, even the non-readers, but how will we find them if we're expected to love what generations before us said we should love?

Live a little; read for you, and own it.