November 16, 2017

Reading is one activity of many that improves and stimulates functions in the brain. Since Elementary school we have been assigned books to read and told what to look for, how much to read and we eventually began to lose time to read for our own pleasure.

Some people believe that reading lets you escape and unwind, it helps enhance your creativity and changes your perspective of the world. The New York Times #1 Best Seller List for Young Adults can be a very useful resource for students to look for new brain candy books to read.

Mrs. Kohlbeck gave a suggestion, her favorite book, “The Stand” by Stephen King. “It’s a post-apocalyptic story. A disease decimates 98.2% of the population. The remaining few quickly find themselves divided into one of two camps, either definitively good, or absolutely evil. It’s interesting seeing which character falls into which camp, and why. While it’s a long book, it’s a quick read because of the engaging story line that just sucks you in”. With a page count of 823 and in the post-apocalyptic fiction genre, it has acquired a rating of 4.3 out of 5 on Goodreads.

Mr. Trunkey also gave his input, “I highly recommend Bacigalupi’s Ship Breaker series. They too are ecological dystopia novels, but the violence and language are toned down appropriately for teens. The last book in the series is coming out soon”. There are three books already released from this series, they are all rated between a high three and a low four on Goodreads.

Christina Calma, junior, exclaims that, “Reading expands my knowledge and creativity. It’s also interesting and soothing to get into book and just read without a page limit or just read because the context is actually interesting”. If you do not have enough time in the day to read as much as you would like you could just try and start out with 10 minutes a night before bed, it will really end up benefiting you in the long run.