A study was conducted to determine why students were rejecting books recommended by their teachers for independent reading assignments. Approximately 80 eighth-grade students were given a reading interest survey/questionnaire to establish student reading interests. Students were then given a list of 15 independent reading selections compiled by the Educational Media Association to choose from for their independent reading assignments for approximately 5 months. The books were classified into 1 of the 20 categories on the interest survey. The student interest survey was compared to the book classifications for compatibility. Results indicated that students were rejecting books recommended by their teachers for independent reading assignments because educators were ignoring student interests. (Three tables of data are included and 47 references are attached. Appendixes include the reading interest surveys.) (MG)