David Narter has taught English and AP Language and Composition at Leyden High School for 19 years. As a high school English teacher, it breaks his heart to see a gradual shedding of pleasure reading and its academic benefits. Yet, it is a trend he says he has grown familiar with among his best students, who, as they grow older, are taught that their natural and successful approach to reading is not good enough, and that only when they have taken to reading with a pencil in their hands will they be the kinds of readers valued in middle school and high school English classes. Graphic organizers, reflection journals, and annotation requirements today accompany literature as if they were shrink-wrapped and bundled with the original publications, and students are explicitly told that good readers do not just read; they read actively. In this article, Narter explores his concerns that annotation, prediction, vocabulary study, and other metacognitive reading strategies interfere with proficient readers' enjoyment and engagement with literary texts. His hope is that teachers will continue to help students become lifelong readers, rather than discouraged, alienated "former" readers.