I get paid to read for fun.
I'll pause while you run off and fill out your job application to come join me. It doesn't get any better than this, folks. And yes, Logos *is* now hiring.
I enjoy recommending silent reading books to students and hearing about their favorites - it's a great conversation starter. (Fun fact: for a while when I was little, I wanted to be a librarian.) Not only that, but I believe silent reading is great for students too. Having time to read daily helps them discover the type of books they like, promoting a habit of life-long reading. Many studies suggest that reading is the most effective way to improve students' grammar and vocabulary as they learn from writers who are superior to their current level. That's important for all students, but especially for English language learners, who comprise probably 80-90% of our student body. Our principal actually instituted silent reading as part of his master's degree program - it's part of his school improvement plan, and he's hoping to study the results among our students.
Some students already enjoyed reading on their own, but not most. I can say from experience (and I've read research agreeing) that reading in a second language takes a loooot more effort. Even when you know all the words, your brain processes sentences more slowly. Therefore, many of our students are reluctant to read more than they have to, since just assigned reading takes them long enough. An informal poll in my English classes showed not much change in 9th grade reading habits, but quite a few grade 11-12 students reported reading for fun outside of school more frequently than last year.
There have been minor hiccups, but overall it's going great. I'm seeing benefits already. When Brit Lit students finished their quizzes last Friday, most of them took out their silent reading books while waiting for others to finish...not because I told them to, but because they wanted to. I see students reading for fun in the hallways before class. I hear them recommending books to each other. I don't know whether standardized tests would reveal improvement yet, but in my mind it's a success.
Here are several books I've read and enjoyed in silent reading so far:
A poignant, funny, riveting novel based on the four Mirabal sisters, who stood up to Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo in the 1960s. Since it starts with Dede as an old woman, remembering her sisters' deaths, the question of tragedy is not "if" but "how." The sisters take turns narrating their childhood and transition into political activists.
I found this in the library waiting to be catalogued, and read it on a whim. It starts with an 11-year-old girl's essay on Smekday, the holiday commemorating aliens' invasion of Earth. She goes on to tell about her search for her mother (abducted by the aliens) accompanied by an alien named J. Lo. It's laugh-out-loud funny and very clever. I just saw that there's a movie adaptation coming out this year!
I've appreciated some of his sermons (he pastors Redeemer Church in New York City) and heard good things about his other books. So when a Bible class that meets in my classroom started reading this, I decided to join them. I found it a profound, yet readable examination of modern-day idols - from money to stability to family values - that can derail our lives if we pursue them above God. It juxtaposes Bible characters with modern trends to expose the empty promises of these idols and the true hope available in Christ.
I hated this book back in my 10th grade American Literature class - just a depressing story about selfish rich people. But watching the movie inspired me to give it another try. I wanted to see how closely the film version reflected the book. Answer: very! It was often word-for-word. Reading this book with a bit more life experience, as well as just after Counterfeit Gods, showed me some of its depth, urgency, and truth that I hadn't appreciated twelve years ago. When Jay Gatsby says that Daisy's voice sounded like money, I got chills.
