Decadence of Reading

Recently I came across an article written by a scholar on his concerns on the deterioration of literature among the Indian students and teachers. He being a scholar in the field of literature and language found it extremely disappointing to come across the fact that more and more teachers are unaware of the Indian authors in the modern day English literature. The article obviously got me hooked from the go and it provided a very deep insight on the condition of literature in our country. If asked my personal opinion, I would rather not raise a finger on the teachers because till now, whoever teachers I've come across, were quite well read in literature and their knowledge were not just encompassed within the boundaries of a textbook but way beyond it. The students, on the other hand, do need to bear with my criticism! Reading a book, for them, was always their textbook and the favorite excuse that I've received from them was "I don't get enough time to finish my textbook, how do I manage to read another book?" this I think is the most stupid excuse ever. And those who do read are only limited within the reach of Chetan Bhagat and the likes of many other new Indian writers. I do not mean any offence to them; I myself follow the books of Chetan Bhagat (although his recent book lulled me to sleep) but there are authors who way better than these writers. Writers like Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Seth, Khaled Hosseini are some of the few who write "standard" stuff! Of late I have seen a new reading trend among my generation and that is the fantasy novels, mostly based on the human-vampire love story. Every other person is rushing to the bookstore to grab a copy of the Twilight series or The Vampire Diaries series. I have also read these books. They were not exactly horrible. It's very exciting in the beginning to follow the portrayal of an ordinary girl like Bella or Elena but as the story or rather the love story evolves, you tend to get tired of the repetition of the same story. Specially speaking of the Twilight series, everyone knew from the very first book that Bella was paired up with Edward. All the four books dwell with the same story with just a few diversions here and there. The other fantasy books also follow the same league. They are basically "feel-good" books, to be enjoyed just while you read them. There's definitely nothing in them that makes you Think in the real sense of the term. On the other hand, such books obviously have a very positive effect on the youth. Be it a "book" book or an e-book, they have certainly got the younger and the larger audience hooked. But I wish they would also explore beyond these fantasy books and take this habit of reading a bit more seriously and read more quality books. For mad caps like me, who voluntarily takes it to analyze and criticize every book I lay my hands upon, reading is definitely more than flipping the pages and following the story with the protagonist of the story. But for the commoners, it would be better if they would acquaint themselves with the better writers of their literature.