Student book groups and avid readers at AHS would disagree
Kendall Murphy || STAFF WRITER
As the students gathered after school in a circle of desks search for the right page, paragraph or sentence that grabbed them as they read the night before, the occasional flipping of pages punctuates a near-silence. It is a scene that is rarely seen. It is so timeless that you can almost see those students at a book club from the Victorian Era, the roaring twenties, or the turbulent 60s, gathering together to share something that is not just a hobby, but a passion.
Reading is something that holds both history and emotion. Throughout time, words have captivated people all over the world, but the feeling remains the same. “Creating a story in your head with the author is the most intimate you can be with a story,” said English teacher Jennifer Meagher.
Yet as technology becomes more addicting, fewer people are finding a home between the pages of a book. According to an article from EurekAlert!, a division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, there has been over a 40 percent decline in daily reading for pleasure in the past 20 years. So, has reading lost its merit, and its magic? Will it someday become a lost art?
At Andover High School, the enthusiasm for reading has stood the test of time just as stories themselves have. There are still students who have a place for reading in their hearts and minds. This margin of people at AHS aim to keep a love for literacy alive. Moreover, some have fostered this love and turned it into something powerful: a catalyst for creativity and change.
The Liberty through Literature Club is dedicated to reading and researching banned and challenged books. It fuses both a love for reading and activism against censorship. They meet on Mondays in room 245, not only to read a book but to uncover why it was banned and how it ties into current events.
“We talk a lot about censorship and how that plays out in today’s world,” said co-founder junior Diya Manikandan.
Manikandan and junior Olivia Wright created the club to find a place of leadership in the school that reflected something they felt strong about. “We could do something we like with other people too,” explained Wright.
“We want to spread awareness about media censorship and the importance of reading in general because we’re in a really big literacy crisis right now, so it’s important that everyone knows the importance of reading and fact-checking,” said Manikandan, speaking on the push to censor what books are available to the general public.
Data from PEN America Index of School Book Bans reported that during the 2024-2025 school year, there were 6,870 instances of book bans in the United States including 4,000 different titles. Liberty through Literature hopes to bring attention to these staggering statistics.
In the future, the club also aims to have fundraisers to support organizations that promote reading and literacy and give resources to communities that don’t have as much access to books.
However, they aren’t the only ones that enjoy a good page turner. After school every other Tuesday in room 303, the Book Buddies Club takes a step back in time to discuss classic literature.
Senior and leader Shelsey Rosario stressed how important reading and studying the classics are. “A lot of the ideas are still relevant today. You can kind of relate to what the writers were talking about almost even hundreds of years back,” she said.
She also explained the power of classic literature in the world—classics can have deep meanings and reflect on a broad scale of ideas and issues, often ones that are still present today. “There’s a lot to talk about with them.” Rosario said.
Reading is a notch under the entire umbrella of the passion for creativity. Ink Magazine is where creativity among students at AHS comes together. The club works over the year to compile student-works including poems, short stories, photographs, and artworks. The final product is a printed magazine in full color: a display of art and innovation.
The ability to share creative works in a school often dominated by STEM and athletics is an important part of Ink Magazine’s mission.
President of Ink Magazine junior Keira D’Angelo said, “I think giving students a chance to branch out and learn how to be creative is really important, especially today when technology is such a big part of our lives. Really using those muscles that help us create new things is really important.”
The rapid advancement of technology has also played a role in how reading is perceived and practiced.
“Technology has definitely hindered the ability to understand complex articles and complex art pieces,” argued D’Angelo. She reflected on how she sees technology play out in people’s interest in learning and creating as it becomes addicting and quick to reward you with dopamine. “Technology has let people stop thinking and they no longer know how to come up with creative works, which then makes them think that creating new things is too daunting.”
Despite these drawbacks, technology has also made books and reading available to more people. AHS itself uses platforms such as Sora, Follett Destiny and the AHS E-Library to make it easier and more efficient for students to learn. In addition, spaces such as Goodreads and BookTok have created a place for readers to express themselves and a community for like-minded people.
While the practice of reading may have changed over time, nothing new can mimic how it grows and changes the mind. “Reading is a different kind of interaction with the world,” concluded Meagher. “It’s a far more active and complex process than any other form of communication as far as I know. And this is important. Only active, creative, thinking brains can walk into tomorrow and build a humane and democratic world.”
