Why Are Books Not Cool?

When my son was a baby, he would make his way into his bedroom as best as he could to sit by himself and look through books we brought home from the library. Up until the 4th grade he was a good reader. He LOVED Magic Treehouse books!! My daughter was a good reader too. She lasted until 5th grade. Her favorite books were Ivy and Bean and she loved all things realistic fiction. And then the day came...

MIDDLE SCHOOL!!

My son now HATES books and reading. It's a passion that I could only hope he would direct in a positive way into his studies. He is very auditory so I've even gotten him some books on "tape". Our library has these nifty little Playaway packs. They come with a book and a small MP3 player. You can also get them with just the MP3 player. He wants nothing to do with them. Although he is too far gone, I will never give up.

My daughter... there may be hope. She can touch a book without getting upset unlike my son. She has read some books for school AND has mentioned something about summer reading lists. I still have hope for her. I have sat down with her and asked - So what's up? Why no books? The answer? Besides having too much homework and being forced to read by the school... books are for geeks. No one reads anymore. Kids tease kids with books. *GASP*

What in the world is going on?! Why are readers labeled geeks? Although I think being is a geek is endearing, I'm also not 14. What is the problem with books? This is a real question because I seriously do not have an answer to.

HELP ME!!!