Give it up

Why is it that everyone with a profile on a social networking site seems to consider F. Scott Fitzgerald and Harper Lee among their favorite authors? Were either of them really that great? No. No they were fucking not. They are, however, on most eighth grade required reading lists.

Look, if you don't read recreationally, that's cool. If you're using Myspace, then clearly you're at least functionally literate, and that's all that really matters. If a person openly declares that they don't enjoy reading books, but they have extensive knowledge in other areas (say, motocross or Italian sports cars), then I'll have considerably more respect for them than the person who claims to love Catcher in the Rye and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (incidentally, my favorite myspace misspelling is "One Flew Over Coco Nest").

It's kind of a given that we've all read these things (we were, after all, forced to), and if that's all you've ever read, then yes, it's probably your favorite. Exclusively listing 20th Century classics written for adolescents shows us that you don't like to read, but it also shows us that you're ashamed of it. Be true to yourselves, my friends. You should never feel pressured to lie about your hobbies. Myspace gives you the option to leave that portion of your profile blank. Show some pride and take that option.