This paper deals with attitudes of secondary school pupils towards compulsory book reading at school, being the integral part of the subject Croat language and literature teaching subject, and its possible impact on their book (not-)reading in their leisure time. It is based on the research carried out through five-point Likert-type scale in secondary schools in Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina), in the second half of 2014. The research was conducted on the convenience, stratified sample consisted of 260 secondary school pupils, attending the final class of grammar (130) and vocational (130) school. The results obtained could give an insight into the book reading culture of secondary school pupils within their leisure related to their experience of compulsory book reading at school. It results that compulsory book reading has still been an uninteresting school task for both the strata of the research sample. Moreover, it results that compulsory book reading at school has a certain influence on book reading decrease in both sample strata's leisure time. However, some guidelines how to increase the students' interest in compulsory book reading at (secondary) school as well as in book culture within their leisure time are given in this paper.