Students Learn Joy of Reading Through School Book Club

Some students at Southington High School are discovering the joy of reading through a school book club that allows them to read what they love. 

The book club started at the beginning of this school year. 

“I didn’t really read books before, but when I started to, I actually really liked it and I just enjoy reading now,” Lianna Rivera, a senior at the high school, said.

Outside of book club, they have to read books written decades, even centuries, before they were born. 

They’d rather read urban literature, with characters and plots they can relate to, such as “13 Reasons Why,” “Perfect Chemistry” and the “Bluford Series.” 

“The books that I like to read and that I enjoy reading, I actually put time into reading and understanding.  And, I read slower and I understand the concept,” Dejanae Carpenter, a senior, said.

The first rule of this book club is that you must read the selected book before the roundtable discussion, or you are out. 

Considering these students devoured close to 60 books this school year, that’s a lot of reading. 

But the chance to be part of this literary family makes it all worth it, in more ways than one. 

“It makes me feel good because you find other people who have the same enjoyment as you,” Moesha Martinez said.

Jennifer Paul, a literary specialist, said the students went from not reading at all, to reading two or three books each week. 

“So now when they get their classic English novel, they can read it.  They have the stamina and capacity to do what they’ve been doing and they can transfer that skill.  So the pleasure reading, that independent skill, is resonating into the classroom and their grades are improving too,” she said.

 

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