Hey kids! Don't go to the Humboldt Public Library in Humboldt, Iowa to play Guitar Hero. It's all a ruse. A clever attempt to trick you into reading the written word, perpetrated not by some wily librarian with a chip on her shoulder, but by your own, treacherous peers. Members of the Humboldt Public Library Teen Advisory Board are using video games to lure fellow students to the library, waiting for them to line up for a chance to play before leaping from the shadows, suggested reading in hand, in order to foster an interest in reading, which is what many of us did before video games were invented. Think of it as a lengthy prologue without voiceover if it helps. The group seeks to use the power of coolness to succeed where older, unhip librarians have failed.

TAB members say other students appreciate the advice.''They're usually very receptive because you're another cool teenager,'' said 17-year-old Sarah Wright, a senior in the fall.

If you referred to yourself as a 'cool teen' in my high school your body wouldn't be found for weeks.

TAB has been around for going on ten years now, founded by then librarian Deanna Hendren, who felt that teens suggesting books to teens would be far more effective than an old woman in a cardigan, and yes that is an unfair librarian stereotype. I've known plenty of hot librarians in my time, but that is a story never to be told. The point here is teens relate to other teens, because oftentimes teens are extremely stupid.

They also talked about removing books, labeled by adults as classics, that had sat on the shelves for years without being read. (TAB member Sam) Lenz said he and other students displayed a definite preference for newer titles.

''Keep it modern,'' he said, noting that books written a century or more ago ''have a different way of being written that we don't fully get today.''

*stares* What!? Classics are classics for a reason! We read them so we continue to 'get' how books were written back then! Besides, I had to read the damn things so today's children have too as well. It's only fair.

So what would they be reading instead of the classics?

They displayed particular fondness for books that delved into serious — and sometimes taboo — topics, such as affairs with teachers, suicide and self-mutilation.

There you have it kids! Reading is so much better than playing video games. You too can be a well-balanced person fascinated with sleeping with your teacher to the point where you carve their name in your arm. You wanna be a cool teen, don't you?

Students bring teen touch to reading recommendations [The Fort Dodge Messenger via Game Politics]