“What’s your favorite book?”

How would you answer? Nowadays, many students simply mumble the title of their current class novel or a one-hit wonder released five years ago.

Why has please reading become obsolete?

Many teenagers favor Snapchat and Instagram, which seemingly provide more interactive—and understandable—forms of entertainment. While children grow up with strong attachments to book characters—Greg Heffley from Diary of a Wimpy Kid, for example, or even Harry Potter from the eponymous series—reading for pleasure evolves into baby clothes at a garage sale: a lost, overlooked relic. Long gone are the days when one could find a paperback stuffed inside a backpack.

The average student faces time deprivation and must re-evaluate leisure activities nowadays. Double Down, recently debuted in 2016, supplements the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. While a recognizable title to many elementary school students, high schoolers may not realize that the Wimpy Kid series endures with new content.

Jessie Kransdorf ‘18, an avid reader, proudly admits that “pleasure reading is a totally different experience from reading in English for a grade. I think people don’t realize that there are interesting and appealing books outside of English!” Indeed, students often limit their scope of literature to what is handed out in class, resulting in less attention to personal preferences.

If you ask anyone in the cafeteria about the last few novels that they have read, it may cause a recitation of English homework: 1984, Oedipus Rex, Fahrenheit 451, and Catcher in the Rye. These titles are associated with “DIDLSS” analysis and quote connections to “overarching themes.” As a result, reading is reduced to the daunting process of essays and complex multiple-choice questions. Rigid parameters of assigned projects also discourage curiosity. In the face of high expectations, a droopy attitude prevails among the student body. Socratic Seminars? Expect a collective groan.

Moreover, as popular bestsellers, including Hunger Games and Divergent, translate to the big screen, many students simply opt to go to the theater. Movie adaptations, however, lack the rich, descriptive medium through which readers can truly empathize with the characters and live vicariously through them. While many argue that reading is a tedious task, the reader must play an active role with the text. Technology provides visual and sound, but books bridge the author’s imagination and the reader’s, thus allowing the reader to internalize the text as their own.

Matthew Luu ‘20 reaffirms that reading without boundaries is a simple joy of life because “it’s fun to know more.” Knowledge aside, books provide an alternate universe in which people form inside-joke connections and friendships.

Are you ready to continue on your pleasure reading journey? If you desire a heart-thumping thriller, enter the Shadowhunters world, created by Cassandra Clare. Currently, there are three series in publication: Mortal Instruments, Infernal Devices, and Dark Artifices.

Another great paranormal series? Gone by Michael Grant presents a “what-if” situation where children must learn to survive when all adults disappear.

A blend of realism and fiction, the Rainbow Rowell-penned Eleanor and Park provides unapologetic insights into how teenage experiences leave lasting memories.

For a visual manga treat, consider the Fruits Basket series, which explores how determination overcomes a seemingly unshakable prophecy. Layers of emotions unfold at each page-turn, thus leaving the reader addicted. See how fast you zoom through all 23 volumes!

This time, don’t worry about annotating—just find a book and devote a few spare minutes to reading. In Infernal Devices, Will Herondale reflects, “Life is a book, and there are a thousand pages I have not yet read.” Whether a school or personal book, allow your imagination to flow with the plot as you enter a new world.