Benefits of reading outside of the classroom

By Ryan, February 12, 2016

By Alexis Ancel // News Editor

Reading can often be thought of as a solitary activity, but it can also be a way to bring people together, as is the case for the High Point University Book Club. This librarian-run group formed by Jennifer Scully and currently run by Leanne Jernigan continues to help HPU students connect through a mutual love of books and reading.
The group aims to meet at least once a month and reads around two to three books per semester. Participation varies at each meeting but has generally been increasing since the club first formed, as shown by the 92 interested students at the activities fair.
While interest has increased in the past three years since it began, the club is still relatively small. However, the small groups of roughly five to eight people help create interesting conversations and often friendships amongst the members.
“We want to give them something to look forward to and foster relationships between students who are book lovers,” Jernigan said.
The club members and librarians try to stick with young adult novels and have figured out through trial and error which books will be both enjoyable and stimulate meaningful conversations. It is also important that these books are easy enough for college students to fit into their schedule that reading them is not a chore.
Some of these books include “Red Queen” by Victoria Aveyard and “The Invasion of the Tearling” by Erika Johansen. Others include “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” by Ransom Riggs and “All the Bright Places” by Jennifer Niven. All of these novels have sparked in-depth conversations about current issues.
“Leanne tries hard to make sure that our book selections are fun and interesting and our meetings are fun because we just sit and talk about books and the various elements in them,” said Kayla Jones, sophomore. “I’ve always been an avid reader so it’s nice to be able to discuss them with like-minded people.”
The students in the club also get to contribute ideas of what books they read. Typically the group votes from a selection of book titles put together by both the librarians and the students. This not only gets everyone involved, but also ensures that the chosen books will be relevant and interesting to the club members.
“A lot of the time we choose books that we wouldn’t necessarily read on our own, so it’s a good way to branch out into new literary genres,” said Amanda Moreton, junior. “The books are wonderful themselves, but it’s also nice to be able to talk to someone who understands. I met a few really good friends through the book club and I’ll be forever grateful to the librarians that make me feel so welcome at our school.”
The book club has also switched from an email group to a GoodReads account, an online page that the club uses to discuss the books they are currently reading and vote on which books to read next. This allows students with busy schedules to still be involved if they cannot attend monthly meetings and has also helped boost interest in the club with 28 current active members.
“You can come to the meetings even if you didn’t get a chance to read the book,” Jernigan said. “If you just want to come one day and see what’s it’s all about, come check it out.”