Most English teachers worth their salt will have reminded their students to check out a book from the school library before they head off into the summer holidays – after all, it’s a great way to catch up on reading time which can be squeezed out of the busy school day – and is so versatile, you can read a book anywhere, anytime. But how many of us – teachers and parents alike, are starting to wonder whether any teenager these days has the attention span to sit and read for hours on end, in order to let the novel work its magic and subsume us in its world? And for busy adults, the time needed to devote yourself to reading can feel unrealistic when you’re juggling work, parenting, food prep and shopping. Not to mention the jealous focus it demands, to the exclusion of all others. I remember my daughter and husband would often gang up, complaining that I was always lounging on the sofa ‘still reading’. It felt selfish – and wonderful!- – but I would always use the excuse that it was for work – after all, I was an English teacher. It didn’t fool them.
Books make us think. Having the basic freedom to think your own thoughts is the most precious of human rights, but it shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Start the habit
It can be difficult to get into the reading habit, but I’m sure James Clear of Atomic Habits fame would agree with me. If you want to get into running, the first thing, he says, is that you have to put your trainers on. Because if you don’t commit to putting on your runners, you won’t run for 2 minutes, let alone 20. The same goes for reading. Commit to opening your book every day and reading at least three pages. If you never do this, you’ll never get any further with your reading. Keep your book lying around where you can easily see it (remember Clear’s point about putting the bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter so you see this first, before you feel the urge to ransack the cupboard for a cookie?) Don’t keep your book buried in the bookshelf.
The importance of developing a reading habit was brought home to me recently through a conversation with a friend, Ann-Marie, who brought up three boys single-handedly, all of whom struggled with dyslexia. When they were still at school, the summer holidays was an essential time for them to catch up with, or get ahead of, their peers, many of whom blithely embraced the ‘summer slide’. One research study has suggested that children who do not read at all over the summer, experience a loss of reading skills equivalent to as much as an entire grade level. Ann-Marie’s youngest son, Zachary, 23, who is thriving academically and about to enter his third year at Manchester University doing a BA in Geography and Mandarin, still sticks to the reading routine his mother developed for him and forced on him when he was young and a very reluctant reader (he couldn’t read till he was about twelve): “It was hard – I used to hate it,” Zachary remembers, “but Mum would always say we couldn’t go out for the day until all three of us had done our 20 minutes’ reading.” The rule was that they could read anything – stories, news, even cartoons describing how car engines worked. On a rainy day, Ann-Marie would give each boy £1 to spend on a book at a charity bookshop (a common feature of UK high streets) so that having and holding the book became something special. Zachary still prefers reading a book he can hold in his hands, but these days, he’s often having to read academic papers online. He credits his reading habit to his success at university; it means he’s always well prepared for seminars and can engage well in academic conversations with his lecturers, which in turn prompts further development and new areas to read up on.
When you can’t read, listen
Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz
Zachary’s older brother, Tobias, gravitates more to podcasts and audiobooks. Spotify has thousands of audio books of all different genres.
Audiobooks are also the way to go for younger readers who may not have the skills yet to read books pitched to their typical age level, but can definitely enjoy a narrated story. The Alex Rider and How to Train Your Dragon series are great listens for elementary school children, as my 10-year old nephew Will, will avouch.
Develop your interests through reading
Most families will be travelling for part of the summer. Why not encourage your child to read books connected with their hobby, and/or the place you may be visiting this summer? Fourteen-year old Henry, who attends BISS in Minhang, is really into aviation – his ambition is to be a passenger airline pilot. On a family 3-day trip to Paris this June, he’s bypassing the Eiffel Tower to head straight to the National Air and Space Museum of France. He’s reading books on Pan Am to fuel his interest.
Engage with topical social issues
If you have a child that tends to gravitate to non-fiction or realistic fiction, a book that’s made headlines recently, is “Crossing the Line”. Pitched at middle schoolers who are interested in exploring gritty contemporary social issues, this accessible novel-in-verse is based on the real-life experiences of a son of a friend of the author. It gives an empathetic insight into how children like Erik, the protagonist, are groomed and coerced by adult criminals to run drugs for gangs along county lines.
Another novel gaining rave reviews, which deals with the aftermath of trauma, is the latest by New Zealand best-selling author Kate de Goldi. “Eddy, Eddy” is a coming-of-age story, a love story, an earthquake story and a story of finding your way back from grief. Written with overtones of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, it’s recommended for children from 12 years up.
Getting younger kids hooked into reading
Over the summer many English language libraries run initiatives to foster reading for children. If you’re not able to take advantage of story-time at your local library whilst holidaying abroad in English-speaking countries, you can incentivize your child to read by using books available online. For younger children (0-12 years), you can find age-appropriate stories and activities for parents to do with their kids on many websites, including https://wordsforlife.org.uk. There are songs, audiobook recommendations, writing ideas and craft activities designed to build youngsters’ skills over the summer.
For children able to read, there are several summer English reading programmes available free of charge. At https://www.rif.org/literacy-central there are reading logs, activity calendars, levelled reading passages with visual trackers to help kids focus, and a 30-day free trial to Skybrary – a reading app for kids to gain access to 900 ebooks.
Bookseller Barnes & Noble offers an annual summer reading program with book lists and recommendations https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/top-young-reader-books-for-your-2024-summer-reading-list/_/N-2qxf. If you are in the US over July and August, children can claim their free book after logging eight books they’ve read in a downloadable reading journal - see https://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/our-stores-communities/summer-reading-program/.
Often having a reward at the end of a reading marathon (and at stages along the way!) will help children keep at their reading habit. It goes without saying that parents should lead the way with modelling good reading habits; think about how you’re showing your children that you also value spending time with a book every day. And I don’t mean on a phone.
Make it social
For adults trying to build their reading habit, there’s no better motivator than spending time with friends. Book + social time = book club, a simple and effective way of reading with a purpose and rewarding yourself with a good time – as well as the more-than-occasional friendly argument. If you’re not already part of one, get some friends together and start reading a novel to spark a discussion. It can help us stay connected even when friends move away. About seven years ago a group of female friends in Shanghai got together and started a book club, with the aim of reading a book every 6 weeks or so. We’d gather at someone’s house (usually the person who’d chosen the book/nominated the choices that were voted on) to discuss it over wine and snacks. That worked pretty well for a while, but then some of us left Shanghai for jobs in other places. Book club kept us together, so we went virtual, and are still going strong today. We are now dispersed over Dubai, Singapore, Switzerland, the UK, Greece and Shanghai, but relish our zoom meeting socials/book discussions. Here are a few picks of our best-loved books from the past six months. Not loved by everyone, I should add, but that’s often the way with a book club. Remember empathy and sharing perspectives?
Book Club Reads
- Page-tuner, quick read, “Everyone Here is Lying.”
- A meatier read and more emotionally demanding, “The Bee Sting.”
- Breezy historical fiction zipping between London’s East End and Florence with a bit of magic thrown in, “Still Life.”
In spite of my best efforts to introduce non-fiction to the group, no-one seems interested. I think the last non-fiction we read – ages ago now - was “Becoming” by Michelle Obama, and not everyone enjoyed it. So we’ll be sticking to fiction this summer. I’ve just got started on bestseller “Yellowface” by Rebecca F Kuang. What will you read next?
"Crossing the Line" by Tia Fisher
"Eddy, Eddy" by Kate de Goldi
"Everyone Here is Lying" by Shari Lapena
"The Bee Sting" by Paul Murray
“Still Life" by Sarah Winman
