Where's the "recreation" in reading?

Our average day includes an amalgam of the following: Waking up, showering, meals, classes, homework, extra-curriculars, watching television on Hulu and sleeping. It's an arduous schedule, but students generally have it under wraps, keeping precise day planners and making use of every moment. The weekend holds promise of some semblance of a social life, but returning to books for solace from a stressful week seems like the last thing on a student's mind.

Last week, Society Zeta Alpha (ZA) hosted a literary trivia night at Punch's Alley, in an attempt not only to give students a study break, but also to explore their knowledge of major (and sometimes obscure) works in a Wellesley Woman's college career. Questions ranged from specific references to the literary canon, to sound-byte knowledge of more commercial works.

Autumn 2009 Zeta Alpha Vice President/ Secretary Jessica Underwood explained one of the fundamental purposes of ZA as a literary club, saying "we try to have literary-related events to benefit the entire Wellesley College community.  We felt that a Literary Trivia night provide a fun study break on campus.  We're all so busy on campus it is sometimes hard to take time to see academic events as "fun" and not required, but this was supposed to be a fun laid back literary event."

Fellow ZA member Makkah Ali '10 agreed, saying "Everyone loves trivia! Plus it's a nice way to put all that Harry Potter knowledge you have accumulated to use." Ali added, "Lit Trivia is my favorite event of the year because it's a nice way for Zeta Alphates and Wellesley Students to stop thinking about the readings they have to do for class the following day, and instead reflect on the works that make us excited."

In coming weeks, literary events seem on the rise, from poetry readings to author visits. It takes a lot for us to tear ourselves away from required reading, even if the endeavor is in pursuit of a different venue of literature. The question then is this: what are you reading out there, besides text-books and community? Is there anything else for you, or any time for women, by tradition, so thoroughly dedicated to the required written word?

Apart from intense exercises in scholasticism, the College itself does not deter students from participating in outside reading. In fact, the reverse seems to be true. On campus, the Margaret Clapp Library devotes an entire section of the second floor to recreational reading ventures, including such titles as Bill Bryson's "I'm a Stranger Here Myself" to Jasper Fford's "Thursday Next" series to a large collection of Nora Roberts novels. There is also a wide collection of faculty-written books, as well as an area for students to relax and read.

Sarah Dickerson '10 finds that even with the improved accessibility to "fun" books, she doesn't spend her free time on outside reading. "I would have time to read recreationally," she said "if I didn't have a social life." While an influx of reading groups could foster a community feeling towards recreational reading, the general sentiment from students tends not towards an aversion to outside reading but instead towards overwhelming concern regarding the prioritization of time.

Ali finds herself at a crossroads as well: "I think that it's hard for anyone at Wellesley to get much leisure reading done during the semester. A book is more of a commitment than an hour long episode of Gossip Girl. And if you're anything like me, it's nice to be able to read a book straight, rather than pick it up and put it down again every time you have something else you need to do."

The members of ZA see mental exhaustion apparent throughout campus. Underwood explained, "Unfortunately, I think our course load here prevents many of us from doing the amount of leisure reading we'd like, but Wellesley women are also remarkable in their ability to juggle a million different interests and activities.  In ZA we try to encourage some 'fun' reading.  Last year we read ‘Love in the Time of Cholera' as a group and were able to all take time to do some leisure reading and discuss it together."

English major Justine Portmann '12 finds recreational reading difficult, especially with her major requiring so much literary exploration and with many of her classes requiring six or more books each semester. Even in other subjects, e-reserves take up hundreds and hundreds of pages, equaling nearly the same amount. While she loves books, Portmann confessed, "Wellesley takes the recreation out of all reading."

While both Portmann and Dickerson find their schedules to be full, both have outside reading books on their "to-do" lists, reinforcing a love of reading prevalent in many students on campus.  Dickerson said, "I really want to read ‘Eat, Pray, Love' but there just isn't time." Portmann is a little less skeptical about her task, explaining, "Dan Brown's ‘The Lost Symbol' is my treat for finishing ‘Moby Dick.' If I ever actually finish."

The difference between authors like Herman Melville and Dan Brown is their place in the literary canon: automatically, one becomes "high literature" and the other "commercial." Reading has become divided between work and fun, though these labels should not be mutually exclusive.

Underwood believes there is a link between commercial and "high canon" reads, explaining, "I think that there is a time and a place for both of them.  You may get more intellectual stimulation from reading high canon works, but I don't think there's anything wrong with reading books purely for pleasure as opposed to reading books for the intellectual benefits you receive from them."

Underwood added, "That being said, I think it is narrow-minded to assume that we can't glean any intellectual benefit from books like "Twilight" or Harry Potter−we may just have to dig deeper to find their merits." Ali agrees, adding "Every day is not a Shakespeare day, nor is every day a "Twilight" day."