While reading through the text “Sometimes Reading is Hard”, I came across, on page 155, the Reading Interest Survey and I took some time to contemplate the existence and necessity of such a tool. With a Reading Interest Survey, you can ignite excitement about reading simply by having students recall multiple occasions wherein they enjoyed the act of reading. I distinctly recall, as a young student, being asked by a teacher who my favourite author and book was and at the time, I was all too excited to info-dump on my teacher about the book ‘The Thief Lord” by Cornellia Funke, which I had just read for the first (of many) time. I also connect this concept to hyper fixations in general. If a student can be engaged about reading in a way that directly appeals to their senses and interests, it can cause a drastic increase in reading. For myself, my wife and I will often describe our hobbies going through “phases”, for instance sometimes I will be utterly obsessed with movies and watch several a day for a month or two, but then once I move on from that “phase” and engage with another hobby of mine, often reading or video games, I have a hard time engaging in other hobbies. In my own personal experience, it only takes one really strong experience to shift a mindset and create an obsession. If we engage with students about what books they love most, they may want to continue engaging with us about that hobby, which in turn could influence students to read a lot more.
I have always been a proprietor of the phrase “I wouldn’t ask you to do something I wouldn’t”, so for the remainder of this post, I will give my personally curated answers to each of the questions on the survey. In doing so, I am able to engage with the students about my answers to each of the questions and compare how our answers differ and how they are similar.
QUESTION 1: How do you feel about reading? Tell me about it.
I love this question, because the answer is plain and simple. I love to read. I am an avid fiction reader, and although I have dipped my toes into non-fiction, I know that I have a hard time focusing or self-motivating when there isn’t a narrative to follow. I spend as much time as I can engaging with the hobby and through my years have tried to read a varied spread of genres, typically ranging in highly rated classics to underperforming deep cuts. I try to carry around a novel around with me at all times, because even when it feels like you might not get a minute or two throughout the day to read, you never know.
QUESTION 2: What types of books do you like to read?
While, as mentioned above, I do like to keep myself informed on how many genres are written, I certainly have a couple of preferences. Particularly, I am huge fan of science fiction and horror novels. I great enjoy the thrill of being able travel and explore the universe through creative and exciting writing. With horror, I just simply enjoy being scared out of my wits. Plain and simple. Horror books in particular feel so intense that my brain has a hard time putting them down. With all that suspense, I am always dying to know what might happen next to either hinder or further the characters.
QUESTION 3: List some hobbies and things you like to do outside of school.
When I am not engaging with my learning, I lean heavily on my personal hobbies for contentment. When not reading, you can find me engaging with film and discussing the intricacies of the adjoining industry, playing video games and doing research on the history thereof, and most prominently, I am always engaging with my community’s theatre scene. Whether that be acting on stage for the millionth time or stage managing from afar, I am always interest in curating my theatre knowledge.
QUESTION 4: Who are your favourite authors?
Oh boy, there are so many that I love and respect. If I had to pinpoint one specific author that I love more than the rest, I would certainly have to go with Stephen King. The way he writes feels incredibly relatable, like he’s telling you a story in a coffee shop over donuts. I particularly feel this way when I read works like 11/22/63 (Which honestly might be my favourite book of all time), The Shining and The Outsider. As a fan of sci-fi, however I must say I am fairly partial to Mike Resnick, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and H.G. Wells. Each of these authors takes a great deal of care crafting their worlds (Clarke’s Odyssey series and Asimov’s Foundation series are both excellent examples of aforementioned care) that pull me directly out of real life and onto the page.
QUESTION 5: Tell me a bit about the last book you read that you really enjoyed.
This last Summer, I decided to read a heavily recommended book for the first time. This Summer, I finally read Margaret Atwood’s masterpiece The Handmaid’s Tale. I couldn’t put it down. Over 800 pages, and I was able to pound through it in just a couple of days. I was so entranced by the characters and the suspense of the world created. This book mixes my favourite genres of both science fiction, as the story takes place in an apocalyptic future, and horror as the events of the book leave you feeling terrified and uneasy. An incredible book with an important message about gender treatment.
QUESTION 6: Tell me a bit about what you have been doing since last semester during your winter break. How have you been spending your time?
Over the last month, I have spent a lot of time engaging with my hobbies. I took some time over the break to rest and refresh my mind. It was the last month of rehearsal for the community production of Jesus Christ Superstar, so I spent a great deal of time preparing and showcasing my talent through that medium. When not engaging with that, I spent a lot of time watching new movies to prepare myself for the upcoming Oscar season as well as playing some video games I had been meaning to get to. I worked a little bit, but honestly tried to limit myself as I felt incredibly burnt out from the previous semester. It was a wonderful and restful holiday.
QUESTION 7: What subjects or topics do you like learning about?
When engaging in my down time, I spend a lot of time doing personal research on the history of video games and musical theatre, as well as spend a lot of time researching the vast expanse of the universe. My interests are incredibly specific and true to myself. When in school, I find that Mathematics speaks to me in a way that is both logical and calculated. This is simple for me to understand and allows me to make connections to my learning through math. (ie: While I struggle in Science, Physics makes sense to me because of its mathematic component)
QUESTION 8: If you could read a book about one thing, what would that be?
Space. Plain and simple, novels that take place in space or a galactic empire of some kind are the most engaging and fascinating to me. I love the idea that authors have deeply considered the possibility of creating political systems on the basis of interplanetary travel. I think Isaac Asimov does an excellent job of creating a believable economic system within many of his books, but Frank Herbert’s Dune is the epitome of what intergalactic politics can and likely would be. I love this kind of relational writing that takes something fantastical and contextualizes in a way that feels comfortable and easy to read, giving the reader the full understanding and then expanding on it. When all else fails though, Lord of the Rings is always a comfort for me and I can curl up with that series for days at a time.
