The power of pleasure: Why reading for fun deserves a place in every classroom

They say reading shapes the mind. But what they don’t often say is that it also shapes the soul.

Step into any classroom today and you’ll see students swimming in deadlines, test prep, structured assignments, and rubrics.

There are benchmarks to hit, essays to submit, summaries to write, annotations to explain. In all this pressure to perform, something essential is being lost – the quiet and personal joy of picking up a book simply because it speaks to you.

The kind of reading that feels less like a task and more like coming home.

But the truth is simple and urgent: when students read for fun, their minds grow in ways no test can capture. And recent research proves it.

Dr. Sandra Martin-Chang, a professor of education at Concordia University, has spent years studying how voluntary reading affects young minds.

Her most recent study published in Reading and Writing, adds clarity to what book lovers have always known by instinct: reading for pleasure not only strengthens language skills – it nurtures empathy, creativity, resilience, and lifelong curiosity.

These aren’t soft skills. They’re the foundation of a thoughtful, capable, emotionally intelligent human being.

The two readers in the room

Martin Chang’s study surveyed 200 university students. They were asked about their reading habits: what they read, how often, and why. Were they drawn to books like fantasy novels, thrillers, manga? Or did they mostly read because school required it?

Then came the assessments – vocabulary, reading comprehension, and language fluency.

The results were revealing. Students who read for pleasure – not because they had to but because they wanted to consistently outperform those who read only for academic requirements. Their language was richer. Their reading is more fluent. Their thinking is more flexible.

But the study also uncovered something troubling.

About 35 percent of students said that being forced to analyse books in high school had ruined their love of reading. They remembered reading as a task – to dissect, annotate, or summarise rather than something to enjoy, reflect on or carry with them.

That kind of pressure changes the meaning of books. It turns stories into tests. It drains them of life.

Reading as a habit, not a task

Martin-Chang explains it best: reading should be like exercise. “We don’t just want kids exercising in gym class – we want them to keep moving when they go home. It’s the same with reading.”

In early childhood, reading is a joy. It’s shared. It’s warm. A parent’s lap. A teacher’s voice. Picture books with rhymes and rhythm. Magic on every page.

But as students grow older, books begin to feel heavier. Not in weight, but in pressure. Expectations replace exploration. Grades take over curiosity. The joy fades.

And when reading becomes nothing more than an assignment, many students stop reading altogether.

This loss isn’t just academic – it’s personal. Reading shapes our thinking, but more than that as it shapes our way of seeing others –  of feeling the world, of imagining lives beyond our own.

What counts as reading?

There’s an unspoken hierarchy in many classrooms.

Classics are serious. Comic books aren’t. Shakespeare builds character. Manga doesn’t. Literary fiction is worthy. Fantasy is fluff.

Martin-Chang calls this a false dichotomy. And she’s right.

When we separate “serious” reading from “fun” reading, we miss the point. All reading when done with engagement and interest has value. Vocabulary grows whether you’re reading Macbeth or Percy Jackson. Empathy expands in the pages of a classic or a comic.

It’s not the genre that matters. It’s the connection.

Letting students read what excites them isn’t lowering standards. It’s inviting them in.

The power of choice

If there’s a single thread running through Martin-Chang’s work, it’s the importance of choice.

Students need options. They need to see books that reflect their lives – books that speak their language, mirror their realities and honor their imaginations.

Let them read The Fault in Our Stars and Romeo and Juliet. Let them hold graphic novels, memoirs, contemporary fiction, poetry, sports journalism. Let them explore.

When students choose their reading, they own it. And ownership leads to investment. Investment leads to growth.

It doesn’t mean we throw out the classics. It means we place them beside contemporary voices, not above them. We create a shelf that includes everyone.

Teachers matter more than we know

Ask someone why they love reading  and you’ll often hear about a teacher.

Someone who reads aloud with heart. Someone who handed them the right book at the right time. Someone who made books feel like conversations, not chores.

But ask someone why they stopped reading, and you’ll also hear about a teacher. One who overanalysed every sentence. One who gave reading logs and worksheets. One who treated books like a box to tick.

Martin-Chang’s research reveals something sobering: more than half of pre-service teachers say they no longer enjoy reading themselves. Many trace that loss back to school.

That’s a cycle we must break.

Because if our teachers don’t love reading, how can our students?

How to bring joy back into the classroom

Incorporating reading for pleasure into the classroom doesn’t mean abandoning structure. It means softening the walls, opening the windows, and letting curiosity breathe.

Here’s what that might look like:

Create a classroom library. Fill it with voices from everywhere – different genres, cultures, experiences, and identities.

Set aside time to read. Ten minutes a day. Quiet. No assignments. Just reading.

Start conversations. Book clubs. Peer reading. Shared journals. Reader’s theatre. Let books be shared, not just analysed.

Avoid punishment-based tools. Ditch the forced reading logs. Try open-ended reflections, sketches, or book talks.

Use books across the curriculum. A science lesson can begin with The Martian. A history class can pair with Born a Crime. Literature connects to everything.

Model reading. Share what you are reading. Talk about it. Be a reader amongst your students.

Most of all respect what your students choose to read. Celebrate it. Make it feel seen.

The view from the mountain

Martin-Chang offers a final, moving thought: “It’s important to teach children how to read. And once we do that, we need to make it worthwhile. We’ve got to give them a reason. We’ve got to give them a view once they climb that mountain.”

That view doesn’t have to be grand.

Sometimes it’s just one line that stays with them. A character who feels like a friend. A story that makes them cry. A sentence they underline and keep coming back to.

That’s the reward. That’s the reason. That’s the view.

A final word

Reading for fun isn’t extra. It isn’t optional. It isn’t an afterthought.

It’s the beating heart of what it means to be curious, compassionate, and human.

If we want to raise thinkers, we must first raise readers.

And to do that, we must bring back the joy.

Let’s not teach children how to read, only to forget to tell them why.

Let’s not give them a mountain without a view.

Gowher Majeed Bhat is a creative writer and educator based in Kashmir. He writes on society, education, and culture.