Austin Scholar #20: Three Rules For Getting Teenagers to Read Over the Summer
Book Recommendations Included :)
Hey, y'all!
During my freshman year at Alpha High, I wrote an article called “I Read 125 Books in 2020.” While the writing quality left something to be desired, that article made me known as “the reader” among the Alpha community.
Because of this, I’ve been the go-to person for book recommendations for a few years now. And so, at the end of this newsletter, I will present my official book recommendation list.
But I’m getting a little ahead of myself.
This week from Austin Scholar...
Austin’s Anecdote: How I read 125 books in a year
Three rules for getting teenagers to read over the summer
Scholar’s Sources: My book list
This past week was my first week of summer! And yes, I have been sleeping in :)
It has been quite a busy week. Besides the work I’ve been doing with Write of Passage, I’ve also been learning about growing on Twitter, so I went through Sahil Bloom’s Audience Building course, which was so content-rich. I’m super excited to begin posting on my Twitter and should start over the next week – if you want to follow along.
Austin’s Anecdote: How I Read 125 Books In a Year
I have loved reading since, well... forever, really. Starting in elementary school, my mom has been physically taking books out of my hands to force me to stop reading and go to sleep (Sorry, mom!).
I'm definitely a fiction person. When there are fantastical worlds and twisted mysteries, why would I want to read about reality?
Becoming a different person, if only for a few hours, and being transported into a new world is always a magical experience. Reading has taken me on hundreds of incredible adventures.
Not only that, but getting a chance to love the characters and be inspired by them has made me want to work as hard as Hermione Granger and be as good of a sister as Beth March. Reading has also made me a better person.
Always having a book in my hand is my main personality trait. I probably have over fifty books in my bedroom, and BookPeople is my happy place. I'm a reader.
So, on December 31, 2019, I made a New Year's Resolution to read 125 books in 2020.
That's 2.5 books per week!
My dad had read 100 books in one year when he was a teenager, so I, obviously, had to read more than he did. Honestly, I don't really know what I was thinking. My sister thought I was actually insane.
Anyway, like most New Year's Resolutions, I expected to drop the project after a few weeks. But then, quarantine happened. Yay!
Like many others, my mental health wasn't great during the quarantine. I hated the isolation. Everything seemed horrible.
Except, of course, when I was reading.
I read So. Much. At one point, I was literally reading a book every day. I was absorbing so many stories and characters and learning what made an interesting plot and how to surprise people and how to create my own voice and so much more. I was blocking out the unfortunate reality and trading it with beautiful fiction. Reading is what got me through 2020.
And, because of my obsessive reading to avoid the negative emotions of quarantine (at least I'm self-aware?), I finished 125 books by November. Pretty cool, right?
And because I've read so much for so long, I've gathered a few of my best tips for getting teenagers to read over the summer.
Three Rules For Getting Teenagers to Read Over the Summer
Getting teenagers to read over the summer can seem impossible, especially when there are so many distractions. When given the choice between watching TikTok or going to a party and reading a book, most teens will pick TikTok and partying.
But, you’ll be surprised how willing teenagers are to read when they are given the right content.
Here are my three rules for getting teenagers to read over the summer.
Rule Number One: Let them read what they love to read, even if it is about crystal rituals or a murder game.