In his book, The Power of Reading, Stephen Krashen discusses the educational benefits that come from pleasure reading. For instance, people who read more, typically read better, have a more mature writing style, and a larger vocabulary. Pleasure reading has been linked to better performance on reading comprehension tests. And, as Terrance Paul reports in Patterns of Reading Practice, recent studies have shown that increasing reading positively impacts performance in other subjects such as math. The more you read, the better you are at it. The better you are at it, the more you do read.
The research is good because it validates what we already know: reading is worthwhile. But it also has the effect of making reading — pleasure reading — seem awfully formal; the fact that reading is FUN comes across as secondary. And it shouldn’t be.
This is a list of some of the best books that we know; there are some marvelous titles here that explore all aspects of the human experience. Except for the required titles, these lists shouldn’t be seen as prescriptive. Use them as guides or as places to start. But remember that pleasure reading should be just that: pleasure. Spend the summer reading—anything and everything. Enjoy.
Katherine Koenig
Director of Libraries
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