Not all books are created equally but...

Genre fiction isn't necessarily less worthy than literary fiction in the messages they portray, but they are less worthy in the way that they aren't as well written, deep, or have the same artistic value in the way that they tell the story. In a school's curriculum, genre fiction isn't valued as much as literary works such as Catcher in the Rye, or Romeo and Juliet are, but to say that a genre fiction is less worthy is an insult to the writer and the readers that so enjoy those kind of books.

Gallagher has a good point about Readicide, but he's not completely right. It is all about balance. We could remove some of the most painfully dull books such as Romeo and Juliet and read a similar genre fiction that could potentially teach us more than Shakespeare ever could. There’s no way that we should completely remove Shakespeare from our current curriculum, but it makes sense that we could regularly update the reading list so that more people would stay interested and read newer and more relatable books. (Whatever book it is, genre fiction or likewise, we have to get real and accept the fact that it’s not going to be all “fun n’ games.” It is school after all; it has to be at least a little academic but reading more books people like in school might encourage reading outside of school and in adult life.)

As time goes on and things change, the basic ideas books teach generally stay the same, but the kind of books that teach us those messages constantly change . . . so it would make sense to read some of those genre fictions. Plus, who’s to say what a classic is and isn't? Today's popular genre fiction book that an average English teacher might frown upon could become a great classic in 20 years.

Overall, Shakespeare isn't going to prepare someone for the real world, but it might teach them good reading and analytical skills that will help them in the real world. Genre fiction, on the other hand, might have the opposite affect. Even though you don't learn to analyze or look for symbols and writing style, the actually story might have a lot more impact on you and teach you things you can use in the real world.

Not all books are created equally—we need to pick and choose for ourselves instead of reading what someone else says is great. And there needs to be more balance between literary and genre fiction because learning isn’t just about breezing through a book, and it’s not about sticky-noting every page, it’s about finding the true value of what we’re reading with a little nudge from the teacher—not a slap in the face.