Editorial: What happened to reading?

I admit it, I love to read. 

This didn’t happen by accident. My mom always read to me or brought me to the library when I was young. I fell in love with reading and I still love to open a book from time to time. Of course, this is not the case for everyone. 

It is prevalent for English class to have a unit where students are asked to pick a free-read book and I wasn’t bothered by the assignment, but everyone else would complain. Why, though? You get to pick a book that appeals to your interest. I understand when we have to read a book chosen by the curriculum, it will not always appeal to people's interests. I absolutely, undeniably HATED reading Death of a Salesman in sophomore year but that is just me. 

But I am not here to talk about the books we must read, but rather the books we have the CHOICE to read. There is a book out there for everyone, and understandably, reading can be a daunting task, especially if you do not read regularly. 

The question is; why is reading such a chore to some people? My possible answer is that it is due to the school system. 

Think about it -- when you were younger, fairy tales, short stories, and the books read to you by your parents were fun and captivating. These were ‘cult classics’ but once required reading became prominent in English classes, the books did not always appeal to us. Students stopped reading the assigned books which correlated with them to stop reading altogether. 

According to a study conducted by CNN, “When it came to screen time, kids who used screens more than one hour a day had poorer emerging literacy skills, less ability to use expressive language, and tested lower on the ability to rapidly name objects.” This is just children, imagine teenagers and adults who have been around screens their whole lives. 

This leads to an entirely separate problem of ‘screenagers’. People's attention span has dwindled to nothing because of phones, now reading a short passage in class is a daunting task. I am guilty of the mindless scrolling on TikTok, I understand how easy and comfortable doom scrolling is, but in the long run, people are not benefiting from the excessive screen time. 

I have heard countless times from my friends or people in class who have said, “How can you read a 300-page book? I haven’t read a book since third grade?!” 

That isn’t something to be proud of. Try picking up a book - you might like it!!

Book Recommendations from Staff and Students

Mary Ference - Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Fiction)

Mr. Honig- The Martian by Andy Weir (Sci-Fi)

Mrs. Lipari- Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy (Romance/ Drama)

Mr. Chorazy- Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien (Fantasy)

Kiley M- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Romance)

Mrs. Davis-  Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Historical Fiction)

Ms. Blau- Normal People by Sally Rooney (Coming of Age, Romance)

Grace Dolan- Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (Psychological Thriller)

Gabriella Rodriguez - A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (Mystery)