When I was kid, I was quite proud with the fact that I knew the names of all the 9 planets (yes it was 9 back then) in the Solar System. I read about them in books and one of my favourite book was the Oxford Children's Pocket Book of Facts. It's like a mini encyclopedia with lots of colorful illustration.
In high school, however, the only books that I read or rather forced to read are textbooks. Textbooks are these evil tomes of facts strung together in random order to vaguely resemble a story. Basically, reading a textbook is boring and that somehow made reading itself seemed boring too.
My passion for reading books was re-ignited with the release of The Da Vinci Code after I just entered the workforce. From there, I went on to non-fiction books like The Innovator's Dilemma, Crossing the Chasm and Permission Marketing. It's more fun when you get to choose what to read.
Some of these books literally changed my life and the best part is about reading is that the more you read, the more you want to. There is always more things to learn out there. Things you'll never learn in school.
So is it possible that the negative experience from reading textbooks in school is the reason many of us stop reading? Or could it be that the education system actually stifled our curiosity and creativity? Whatever the reason, I do hope everyone can rediscover their passion to read again. It shouldn't be that hard. After all, you are reading this post.