Lit specialist welcomes comments.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I certainly believe that being an avid reader gives one a great start in life. Especially at university-level education where one has to go and read books and learn things for ones-self, rather than being "spoon-fed" it by a teacher. An "appetite" for books is an enormous advantage then!

I can never remember a time when I wasn't a reader - books have been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember.

I concur with this too.

I do love to concur.

[jshea1571]

Well, as a former teacher, I have to say that I used to say, 'Show me a book reader and I'll show you a fantastic student.' And we don't mean bright or clever, a fantastic student is someone who is pleasant to be in the same room as and who is often a pleasure to teach.
As for the sexism thing, well, when you take an older class - age 16+ - for English Lit, you notice that boys make up maybe 10-20% of the class at best. So, as a previous poster pointed out, in the same way I encourage the girls to take up the traditional 'male' subjects, I am always looking out for new ruses to encourage boys into Literature.
When I was at Uni, I think I was outnumbered ten to one in the Lit classes...