Reading: more or less important than it was in earlier years?

With the stress of school and the pressure to do well academically, is reading for fun a priority anymore?

According to sophomore Neha Anand, it was much easier to find time to read before high school. Anand said that in an average week, she now only reads 3-4 hours as opposed to 8-10 hours a week when she was younger.

“In middle school I used to read about 60-70 books per year, but since high school started and I do sports and other things, I don’t get as much time,” Anand said. “I really only get time to read when I’m finished with all of my homework and I’m trying to relax.”

Freshman Nupur Maheshwari said the transition into high school made it harder for her to find time to read because of extracurricular activities and a heavier workload.

“I used to read a lot more than I do now,” Maheshwari said. “Last year at Redwood we didn’t have homework over the weekends so it was really easy to read books.”

Both Anand and Maheshwari said that they are  motivated to read because they enjoy reading.

“My mom used to read to me before I could talk, so it has literally always been something I’ve enjoyed to do,” Anand said.

However, other students are not so keen on using their free time to read books. Junior Sachi Verma finds that she has less time for leisurely activities than she did before high school.

“There’s so many more things to keep track of, and so many different things to do that I don’t have time to read,” Verma said.

Verma said that when she does have free time, she isn’t inclined to spend it on reading books, and instead watches TV or goes on the computer.

On the other end of the spectrum, there’s junior Katie Burns, who has picked up reading more and more throughout the years, spending 10-20 hours a week on books.

“I read way more than I did in elementary school because in first grade I refused to learn how to read, and I used to make my dad read everything for me,” Burns said.

Burns finds time to read in her free time as a break from homework, or before she goes to sleep.

“I used to hate reading, but then I discovered I could go to new worlds with [reading] and that’s why I like reading now,” Burns said. “I feel like I’m more creative now that I read more.”