Students celebrate National Read a Book Day Sunday

Kyara Morales-Rodriguez

National Read a Book Day is celebrated on September 6 every year as a day to encourage people to read books of their choice.

Many people mark this day by picking their favorite book and spending the day reading it.

Mitzi Morales, a senior mathematics student, enjoys reading because it is relaxing for her.

“I like reading more as a past-time. I don’t like being forced to read, but when I choose to read, it is relaxing. It’s a stress reliever,” Morales said.

Morales really enjoys reading science fiction and dystopian fiction, her favorite book at the moment is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who creates a monster.

In the story, Victor struggles with pressures from his family, his fear of the monster he created, among other issues.

“Last fall, we read it for a class. Typically, I hate books that we read for class but I really liked this one and the amount of focus I put into it,” Morales said. “The class and the professor really helped me like it more.”

Haley Hsu, a freshman music education student concentrating in instrumental studies, likes the creativity and imagination behind both book writing and reading.

“I love the creativity from authors,” Hsu said.” It’s very interesting to see how their imagination could be put into words and how I can interpret [their writing] in a different way from how they wanted it interpreted when they wrote it.”

Hsu loves reading books of many different genres but some she especially loves are nonfiction, mystery, and thriller.

Her favorite book is the famous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, a story about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families.

“I love all the symbolic meanings and motifs. I love the way it is written because you really have to interpret it in your own way. You have to study the meaning behind the words, the play on words, and all that,” Hsu said. “It’s fun being able to analyze and try to figure out what Shakespeare is saying.”

Tiffany Ayres-Dunn, a senior English student studying literary studies and creative writing, enjoys reading because it takes her to another world.

“You can get so lost in reading that you forget you are just sitting on a couch and reading a book,” Ayres-Dunn said.

Ayres-Dunn reads a lot of classic literature and one of her favorite authors is Oscar Wilde.

In fact, her favorite book is The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, a Gothic novel about a man named Dorian who sells his soul to not age.

Instead of him aging, a portrait of him ages, so he can be young and beautiful forever.

Dorian then pursues a life full of amoral experiences, while his portrait ages and records every sin he commits.

“It’s my favorite because Oscar Wilde wrote it and I’m a bit biased about his works. I just thought it was really interesting and I had a connection to it that I don’t know how to explain that well. That kind of genre of literature is really interesting, especially because it’s in a different time period,” Ayres-Dunn said. “Overall, it’s just really good.”

Like Ayres-Dunn, Makenna Boyd, a junior English education student, also likes how reading can transport her to another world.

“I can just zone out, only focus on that, and not think about anything else for that moment,” Boyd said.

Boyd loves reading horror novels and psychological thrillers.

Her favorite book at the moment is The Good Samaritan by John Marrs, a psychological thriller about a woman who works for a suicide call center and instead of helping the callers, she encourages them to kill themselves.

“It’s really twisted but it’s really good. It’s my mom’s favorite book so I decided to give it a try and I really like it. I really like books that make you think,” Boyd said. “You really gotta get inside [the character’s] head and think of why they are doing what they are doing.”

Xhyla Abazi, a senior English student concentrating in professional and creative writing, loves reading because reading allows her to experience different things and feelings she would not be able to experience without ever having to leave her house.

Abazi loves fantasy novels and her favorite book series is Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, a series about Percy Jackson, a young boy who finds out he is the son of Poseidon and his life is never the same since.

“It has been my favorite since I was around twelve when I first read it. I have not found anything that I love more yet. It’s my favorite because it’s easy to read and comprehend without being dumbed down even though it is geared toward a younger audience. Sometimes [young adult fiction] can seem childish but this series doesn’t pull any punches as far as the realistic aspects of battle, war, and losing people,” Abazi said. “Plus, all of the characters are so well-written and so relatable in different ways.”

 

Kyara Morales-Rodriguez can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].