Roaming Reporter: What are Barons reading?

“During middle school, I seemed to lose touch with reading, but recently…I’ve found that the joy I used to feel has gradually resurfaced and I accredit this to COVID-19…Reading helps me escape into another world when there’s too much noise and chaos happening in my life, it’s a temporary escape. Especially with 2020 being an eye-opening year, I’ve found that reading people’s stories helps me become more empathetic and understanding…Let’s do the top three that I’ve read recently (within the past 3 months): ‘Homegoing’ by Yaa Gysi, ‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney, and ‘Call Me By Your Name’ by André Aciman. I loved ‘Homegoing’ so much that [I] lent it to my best friend to read. ‘Homegoing’ follows the path of two half-sisters who lived completely different in the time of African tribal wars. Thorugh 8 generations, Ya Gyassi explores and highlights how institutionaled slavery is the foundation that the United States is built upon… ‘Homegoing’ talks about raw and not spoken about topics…I usually don’t finish an entire novel in one sitting because my attention span is all over the place, but ‘Homegoing’ was an exception,” junior Katie Vo said. 

“I would consider myself an avid reader; when I have the time I try to read and I currently have 272 books in my room…I don’t have any preferences for genres; if it’s well written I enjoy everything from biographies to science fiction. Most of the time, I reread the books I have in my room, mainly YA action books, since I can’t go to the library or borrow books from friends..I read the most books this summer, since I had more time. However, during the school year, I have been so busy with homework that I haven’t had the time nor the motivation to read…My favorite book that I read recently was The ‘Queen’s Gambit.’ I enjoyed reading it because I’ve never seen a TV show copy a book so closely before. It was satisfying to read a line that had been spoken word for word in the show,” sophomore Isabella Greenbaum said. 

“[W]hen I started high school, I started reading less and less. I would say that this happened because of an increase in my work load and extracurriculars causing me to have less time to read for pleasure. Now, I’ve been trying to implement reading into my daily schedule again. I LOVE fictional novels and that’s pretty much what I read most of the time because they offer an escape from the chaos of everyday life… Because of the pandemic, I’ve had a lot more time for my hobbies compared to when things were “normal.” Recently, I’ve been reading the Harry Potter series again because I’m a huge Harry Potter fan! I enjoy reading the books again because it brings back fond memories that I have from when I read the series for the first time. I also recently picked up the book ‘In Cold Blood’ by Truman Capote, which is a nonfiction novel covering a murder that happened in 1959. I started reading it because it’s a true crime novel and I’m enjoying it so far!,” junior Divya Mehta said. 

“When it comes to books, I prefer more of a light read, I love books that have old people, kids, I just have a soft spot for them. I find myself reading a lot of romance novels, poetry and self discovery books a lot. I just love the themes and lessons you can take away from it…COVID-19 has definitely increased my reading intake because I feel like I have more time. Before the pandemic, I always felt like I was so busy all the time but I’ve started picking up books again since March and I would like to continue to read more…This sounds childish but one of my favorite books I’ve read recently is ‘The Little Prince.’ It’s a very simple and short book for little kids but the lessons are so important and Saint-Exupery’s messages really stuck with me,” senior Ashley Phan said. 

“I’ve loved reading ever since I learned how to read. A good book can get me reading during breakfast and between classes and it isn’t too hard to get a book to interest me…My favorite book series of all time is the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo. It’s about an impossible heist that just might save the world. The first book was fantastic but the second book, ‘Crooked Kingdom,’ was somehow even better. The series as a whole has all of the elements that I love in a book: complex characters, action, magic, comedic banter, high stakes, shocking twists that I actually didn’t see coming, and so much more. While ‘Six of Crows’ drew me in and took me on a wild exciting ride, ‘Crooked Kingdom’ made me realize that I didn’t need a character death to give me the major feels. It made me very emotional and I even had to put the book down a couple of times to compose myself. Overall I loved the series and recommend it to anyone willing to read…If you don’t like reading but are interested in the story, there is a show coming out on Netflix in April that combines the Six of Crows duology and another book series by the same author that takes place in the same world. The show will be called ‘Shadow and Bone’,” senior Marissa Harper said.