Whatever happened to …

… Coles Notes?

This graphic appeared in my timeline recently.

Normally, I would just smile and move on but for some reason, I took a look at the titles and realized that so many of them were assigned reading in my secondary school life.

I honestly tried to read them and understand them but often there were so many things that classmates and my teachers pulled from the books that just flew over my head.

Then, I heard about Coles Notes. Written by people that had a deeper understanding than me, they helped me understand the books. Neither the reading of the book or the Coles Notes stuck – I just scrolled up and down that list and I can kind of remember the plot to “Lord of the Flies” but that’s about it. These were not things that stuck with me.

For a reluctant reader, the irony of reading a book to understand another book doesn’t go by unnoticed. At the time, we had to drive to London to actually find a Coles store! It was kind of a blast from the past a couple of years ago when I found that there actually was still a Coles store in Windsor.

For a Sunday, your thoughts?

• how many of the books in the graphic have you read?
• did reading and understanding high school books makes sense to you?
• did you ever use Coles notes as a supplement or a cheat?
• would you consider using this cheating?
• is there a modern equivalent to Coles notes that can be accessed online?
• do you have a Coles store in your community or has it been swallowed up by Chapters-Indigo

Could you take a moment to share your thoughts via comment below?

This is a regular Sunday morning post just for some fun and to bring back memories. Please enjoy.