Do you like <i>Moby Dick</i>?" he asks. "I hate it," she says. "And I don't say that about many things. Teachers assign it, and parents are happy be… - Gabrielle Zevin

Teachers assign it, and parents are happy because their kids are reading something of 'quality.' But it's forcing kids to read books like that that make them think they hate reading.

He was skilled — — at the end of the level, he could make Mario land at the top of the flagpole, something Sadie had never mastered. Although Sadie liked to be the player, there was a pleasure to watching someone who was a dexterous player — -it was like watching a dance. He never looked over at her. He cleared the first boss battle, and the words BUT OUR PRINCESS IS IN ANOTHER CASTLE appeared on the screen.

I'm allergic to sad memories. It's the worst.

But it is worth noting that to be good at something is not quite the same as loving it.