A Study of Reading Habits

I feel like the author of this poem is talking about the phases in his life in which he reads, and does not. The first stanza is the first phase, when he is captured by earlier choices of reading. Clifford maybe? The second stanza proceeds to tell of the next phase, deep into science fiction and teen reading. Harry Potter comes to mind immediately. As well as the line included in the first stanza: "It was worth ruining my eyes," the second stanza responds with the line: "Later, with inch-thick specs...." That is one of the elements that tells me that with each stanza, time passes. With the last stanza he talks about how he doesn't read much anymore. He talks about how all of the old stories are just that--old. And at this point, in the last line, he seems to take a nihilistic stance. He seems to give up on books in an almost self-destructive manner. I sort of like how Larkin starts out with hope and shine and glimmer, and then he just burns it all to pieces by the end of the poem. It seems like the true path of literature: dwindling path of destruction. It's depressing, but in the way that makes one feel good.