I am thrilled to report that Reading for Pleasure is alive and well at my high school. Due to the almost daily requests for certain authors, titles, genres and subjects, our Library Media Center’s fiction collection is growing in leaps and bounds. Our FICTION section was literally “bursting at the seams,” and we had to create specialized sections, in other library locations, in order to accommodate the new YA arrivals that were ordered this year. We also weeded many older, less popular titles to make room for the new. However, we still shelve literary classics that have staying power for all time. We moved “Adult Fiction” titles to a different section, and we also relocated the Graphic Novel and Short Story collections.

Due to the popularity of the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings series, fantasy has become a very frequently requested genre, especially, of late, those books containing teen vampire characters, such as the Twilight and Cirque du Freak series. There are many more titles with these types of characters, and our students are voracious in their quest for these as well.

Another “in demand” genre is realistic or what I call “angst” fiction – stories that depict teenagers whose lives are difficult because of a variety of problematic situations. These include family dysfunction, substance abuse, risky behavior, juvenile crime, death and grief, abandonment, and many other scenarios with challenges to surmount. Of course, there are still always fans of mystery & suspense, romance, friendship stories, sports themes, sci fi and horror, humor and historical fiction. I have started a “Blurb” binder, with separate sections for the “angst” titles, and those of other genres. The students like to browse these when seeking new reads. As they are not sure what they are looking for, they enjoy this method as opposed to using the online catalog. I am hoping to add these “blurbs” to my web page.

As we in the profession are the spokespeople for literature of all genres, I always profess to my students that reading is one of life’s greatest and most satisfying pastimes. It is inexpensive, especially when the library is the supplier. It does not involve costly equipment, special clothing, or change of location. I go on to say that it, in fact, allows one to travel, by description, to all sorts of exotic and fascinating destinations, without moving a muscle – except for the eyeball (or none if a listening device is being used). It is a portable activity – books go everywhere – and they are lightweight (most of the time). As I have always been enamored of books (as are we all in this profession), I usually become very animated when discussing them with students. I extol copious praises on this glorious activity, while hammering home the message that the benefits of reading are infinite. I sum up by chanting that lifelong readers are people who usually have successful and enriched lives, and never have to endure boredom.