Being a reader does not mean that you have to read all of the classics like Don Quixote or The Great Gatsby. It took me a long time to understand and accept this. I agree that it helps to read the classics to understand the references made to them and to gain insight on what makes writing timeless. When I became an English (Ed.) major, I chose the career out of love for reading and writing. I read young adult novels, and I wrote abstract emotional poetry. But what I didn’t know then was that I’d get to read all types of literature from different time periods. I don’t even think that I knew that some books were considered classics. I was an oblivious first-year generation college student just meeting the course requirements. I then found out that I didn’t like some of the classics or some of the most famous authors’ writing styles. It took effort to understand some works like Beowulf. This could have been lack of critical thinking on my part. When …