“When the dark comes rising, six shall turn it back …”

by Alan:

Until I was 10, I thought reading fiction was a waste of time. Why focus on fun when I could be learning? One of the turning points in my life was an assignment given by my 5th grade teacher. I had to read a Newbery Medal winner. I chose Susan Cooper’s The Grey King (1975). Afterward, I devoured the rest of Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series, C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia and then moved on to Tolkien’s works. I learned the value of fun, the value of fiction. The value of art, including art like this: https://museumofbadart.org/zoo/

I still wish more total Internet time were spent learning and less time were spent raging, but here we are.

Setting that aside, do you remember a school assignment that made your life better? Have you read a book that transformed your view of the world?