For some students, fun and reading might not be found in the same sentence, let alone in the same chapter. But for the bookworm, reading and fun go hand-in-hand.
“I like stepping out of my world and being in a different story,” junior Hillary Farmer said.
Farmer said it takes her about one to two weeks to finish a book. She reads a little every night before going to bed and finds it very relaxing.
“I love the feeling of finishing a book,” she said.
Farmer may like reading for fun, but she knows her schoolwork comes first.
“I always make sure I have my reading for class done before I read for fun,” she said.
Farmer considers herself a bookworm, and has never really found it to be a negative thing.
“I like it, (people) know I am, and come to me for suggestions,” she said.
For others, “bookworm” isn’t the preferred term.
“I wouldn’t say I’m a bookworm. I’m a book connoisseur,” senior Brantley Bennett said.
For Bennett, the best part of reading is the suspense of not knowing what’s going to happen next.
“When I’m reading, there’s suspense and you can’t fast forward,” she said. “You have to figure it out.”
Bennett said she likes to read pretty much any genre of book, but like Farmer, she makes sure she gets her class readings done before she reads for fun.
For some, reading outside the classroom began long before college.
Ever since fifth grade, junior Josh Morgan has been reading a lot of books and really enjoys it.
“I like the trip my imagination takes me on,” Morgan said.
But Morgan doesn’t really consider himself a bookworm. He reads a lot, but thinks a bookworm is someone who reads a wide variety of books, and he tends not to veer from science fiction and fantasy books.
“I prefer goblins to people,” Morgan said.
Since most of his classes involve a lot of reading and discussion, he reads his assignments during the day and uses his nights and weekends to read, as long as he’s caught up on schoolwork.
Like Morgan, sophomore Will Duncan has been interested in reading since he was a child.
Duncan said it was his parents who got him interested in reading, but he doesn’t really consider himself a bookworm.
“I’d call myself half a worm,” Duncan said with a chuckle.
While they didn’t agree on what to call themselves, everyone seemed to agree that reading for fun is a great way to deal with stress.
“You can take the time to get lost in a book and forget about everything that’s happening,” Bennett said.
“It’s very relaxing and takes away a lot of the stress of the day. It winds you down,” Duncan said.
A few even had advice for students who may not necessarily be able to balance classroom reading and reading for fun.
Bennett said to pick a random page and if it intrigues you, to try it. She said that’s how she picks which books she wants to read.
Morgan said to just take a little time every other day to read just one chapter.
When you read a good book, you want to keep reading. It’s easy to ignore classwork,” Duncan said.
So he suggests picking a time when schoolwork won’t be a distraction and setting it aside to read for fun.
Farmer said the best way to get into reading is to find an interesting and understandable genre.
“You take the time to relax, so why not read a book?” Farmer said.