Quote Originally Posted by Shoeberto View Post
It's unfortunate that so many people seem to have gotten turned off to classic literature by high school courses. It's a really bad environment to try and explore the themes of complex novels, I guess, particularly since teachers frequently want you to walk away with their interpretation.
Very true, especially that last bit. Also, for me, sometimes I don't want to explore the themes of everything I read. I just like to read stuff because it's entertaining, not because it's some metaphor for the author's social climate or whatever. In English class we analyzed stuff so deeply that it made me lose enjoyment for the words on the page. Good writing is good writing regardless of when it was written. Just let me enjoy the plot already!