16 percent of Americans read for pleasure, according to Smithsonian Magazine. This sharp decline of roughly 40 percent from 2004 to 2023 can be attributed to the rapid decrease of attention spans worldwide with the rise of social media and short form content. Many students at Brookline High School suffer from the time and attention sucking qualities of social media, decreasing their willingness to read.
The high school’s Big Book Challenge, launched in 2019, is an extension of the summer reading program designed to boost independent reading and get students engaged with dense classics like “Les Miserables” and “War and Peace.” Students read a long, challenging book largely on their own, with occasional check-ins from teachers and peers throughout the summer.
English teacher and challenge organizer Evan Mousseau said the challenge helps bring students together, despite the bulk of the reading being done on their own time.
“We think reading is the thing that we do individually and in isolation,” Mousseau said. “But coming together and talking about the books that we read in a community is a really valuable thing.”
English teacher and avid challenge participant Eric Colburn added that the challenge pacing is largely up to the students.
“It’s definitely self motivated,” Colburn said. “People are often in really different places during the meetings. It’s pretty flexible.”
As an active participant in the challenge for multiple years, senior Finch Ferreira said that the periodic challenge meetings helped motivate them to finish the books. These meetings served as an incentive for them to get to the same place as everyone else so they could discuss the stories with others.
“It was very low pressure, but I also just wanted to have conversations with people. That, honestly, is what motivated me,” Ferreira said.
Mousseau said that social media is an attention economy, feeding us short bursts, while a book asks the reader to pay attention for a little longer than that.
“Sustained attention is not something that just turns on and off. You build it,” Mousseau said. “The Big Book Challenge isn’t the easiest way to build it, but it’s a good way to maintain it once you’ve got it.”
Ferreira said that the challenge can help students develop a deeper appreciation for reading and understanding books.
“You don’t have to be an avid reader,” Ferreira said. “Just try reading one book that you truly enjoy that is completely separate from school.”
Additionally, their experience has contributed to their daily reading habits and introduced new appreciation for reading.
“I feel like it made me more of an appreciator of huge literary feats. I’m reading ‘Midnight’s Children’ by Salman Rushdie right now by choice,” Ferreira said.
Colburn said that tackling a large book with a short attention span is doable when distractions are eliminated.
“I put my phone away and make myself a cup of tea and just relax,” Colburn said. “When I put my phone in the other room, it was much better.”
Mousseau acknowledged that it’s difficult to stay focused while reading, but increasing reading time through conduits like the Big Book Challenge are a great way to start.
“I think it’s a life skill to be able to sustain your attention while there’s lots out there trying to take it and undermine that in different ways,” Mousseau said. “Reading is one of the ways to do that.”
