Maybe it is all just clickbait, luring us into a paranoia for an impending doom. In the past few months, The Atlantic has published America is Sliding Toward Illiteracy and The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books. The New York Times has its own doomsday submission with 12th Grade Reading Skills Hit a New Low and American Public Media published the podcast series, Sold a Story: How Teaching Reading to Kids Went So Wrong.
The blame game has many targets, some of which are predictable — the ubiquity of smartphones, COVID, lowering standards, less aggressive state testing.
While we don’t seek to counter any of these narratives, we do seek to offer a fresh look at students that are reading. In a follow up to last week’s article on the Reading Lives of English Teachers, this week we focus on students that are reading and what this mode of life has meant to them.
Jane D. (New York)
1. What are the last three books you finished?
The last three books I finished were 1984 by George Orwell, Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins , and Welcome to the Hyunam-dong bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum translated by Shanna Tran. Welcome to the Hyuanam-dong bookshop, was one of my most comforting reads this year. Hwang’s description of an independently owned bookstore and its owner who decided to open a bookstore to find herself and community, after the loss of her relationship and the support system she had built is inspiring. One of the best lines I’ve read in recent years about growing up and taking control of your life is from the opening pages of the novel when describing how her life used to be controlled by the words passion and willpower and how words are just words that can seem large and overpowering but to change action must be taken, and can only be taken by yourself.
2. What type of books have captured your attention lately?
As someone who has a goal to read a book a week, I recently decided to revisit the books I loved growing up. Specifically The Hunger Games, in part due to the grueling college admissions process and wanting a familiar escape, and in part to reflect on the current state of our world. Outside of revisiting the past I’ve gravitated to R.F Kuang, as someone who grew up a fantasy fan, I enjoy her relatively simplistic systems of fantasy magic (specifically in her novel Babel), instead choosing to focus on her characters and intensity on the moral choices they make.
3. How do you find the time to read?
When I was approaching my 15th birthday and my parents asked me what I wanted, I asked for a Kindle Unlimited subscription, and while at the time I was not a fan of reading on my phone, it was something that interested me. Since then I have almost exclusively read on my phone, due to the fact that I bring it everywhere with me, from reading before concerts to long car rides. Although the phone ban has made it almost impossible to read in my preferred manner in school, it gives me more motivation to read outside of school, especially winding down at night.
4. What is one strategy you use to stay focused while reading?
I am almost always listening to music, literally. I have the highest Spotify listening minutes of everyone I know (almost 190,000) and while I can acknowledge that this is problematic, music has become something I rely on to focus while reading. My playlists for reading mainly consist of R&B, Adele and modern classical music (mainly from movie scores). Besides music, as someone who reads primarily on my phone, I always have my phone on do-not-disturb when reading, and I only exit the app on which I’m reading to switch songs or playlists.
Kholeigh T. (Massachusetts)
1. What are the last three books you finished?
The last three books that I have finished are The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, All That Remains by Sue Black and Suffer the Children by Craig DiLouie. As one can see, I explore all kinds of genres.
2. What type of books have captured your attention lately?
Lately I’ve found myself really into dystopian pieces. I like the similarities you can find in our real society and in the books. I really like things that challenge my own way of thinking and the dystopian genre gives a lot of room for that to happen.
3. How do you find the time to read?
Like many people, I get very busy very quickly. However, I am also a big book worm. So, to find the time to read, I often am strict with myself to get work done so that I can relax. Sometimes I will give myself small breaks when working so that I can read a chapter or two.
4. What is one specific strategy that you use to maintain focus while reading?
I love to read when it is raining and the temperature is warm enough so that I can crack a window open with some candles burning. However, optimal weather for that is only seasonal. So, one technique that helps me keep focus when reading is looping a song over and over again. It helps me “zone” into the book as background noise becomes a constant and starts to drown out. Bonus points if the song I’m listening to connects to what I’m reading.
Charlton H. (California)
1) The last 3 books that I have finished are The Picture of Dorian Gray, East of Eden, and The Myth of Sisyphus.
2) Recently I have been more attracted to classic literature with philosophical content. When I go to college I wish to pursue a degree in philosophy so recently I have been diving into a slew of classic literature that all stems from deep philosophical questions. For instance in Dorain Gray, as the reader watched Dorian’s descent, a question of whether beauty and fame is more significant than one’s moral standing was proposed. This constant thought provoking style of writing that many other classical literature authors such as Kafka, Camus, Dostoyevsky, and etc. thoroughly intrigue me and make me want to read more. I have a bookshelf full of books that I have yet to read all tying back to philosophy within classic literature, with some of the titles including Crime and Punishment, The Stranger, The Count of Monte Cristo, etc.
3) I try to read whenever I can. Most of the time I read before bed, I plug in my phone and set it in a different room to have complete focus on the book. Doing this also improves my quality of sleep as I usually read around 30-60 minutes before bed so it gives me time to unwind. I also read at school if I have any dead time in my classes, for instance if I finish a test early I will read as long as I can even if it may be for a few minutes.
4) One strategy I use to maintain focus while reading is to really try to picture the scenes in my head. When I’m reading I’m not just scanning the text, I take my time so I am able to hear it in my head and really visualize what is going on in the book. This especially helps me because I am a very energetic person and struggle to focus on most things, but when I am able to see the story play out in my mind, it is almost as if I am in the book itself.
Jackson L. (Minnesota)
1. What are the last three books you finished?
“The Naturals” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, “A Whole New World” by Liz Braswell, and “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie. These are in order of most recently finished to not most recently finished.
2. What type of books have captured your attention lately?
Classic books or books that intend to leave a message/important life lesson.
3. How do you find the time to read?
I read whenever I’m fully free and don’t need to do anything so I can read in larger chunks of time, or I just read whenever I’m reading a book that’s too good to put down.
4. What is one specific strategy that you use to maintain focus while reading?
I turn my phone on silent and put it face down so I don’t get distracted by random notifications.
