Leisure Reading

Production Date: (Jun 9, 2008)

AC: Welcome to Tisch Talks, Tisch Library’s Ongoing Audio Magazine Series.  Today we are talking about Leisure Reading, and why it’s not just for fun.  This is Abby Cross, and I’m here talking with Laurie Sabol. 

The importance of leisure reading has become a prominent issue in libraries and schools after the National Endowment for the Arts released its recent report, “To Read or Not To Read: a Question of National Consequence.”  Laurie, what is so special about this report? 

LS:  The report links the decline in reading with a decline in academic and social performance.  Also, those who don’t read as much are less likely to participate in civic activities, which has implications for our democratic system. 

AC:  What in particular were its results?

LS:  Well, I’ll quote the NEA Chairman, Dana Gioia, who said the following: "The new NEA study is the first to bring together reliable, nationally representative data, including everything the federal government knows about reading.  This study shows the startling declines, in how much and how well Americans read, that are adversely affecting this country's culture, economy, and civic life as well as our children's educational achievement."

AC:  I know Tisch Library has been looking for ways to encourage leisure reading in the Tufts community, like the Leisure Reading Collection found in the Tower Café, and the blog, “What Sophia Recommends.”

LS:  Yes, the blog features postings before each academic break of books reviewed by staff.  Sometimes the postings will have a theme, other times we will feature guest compilers from around the university. 

AC:  The most recent blog posting for summer break had a theme of graphic novels.  Laurie, why don’t you give us a sample of one of the reviews?

LS:  Sure thing. It’s hard to choose because all the reviews are so interesting but one story really intrigued me, called The Arrival by Shaun Tan. The review is short enough that I can read the entire thing:

A silent story with no words told in lovely sepia pictures of a man’s immigration to a new land, and the adventures he has in trying to find a place to call home. Everything is odd and Tan has fully captured through his powerful illustrations the feeling of being in a strange new and bewildering world. Our man meets other immigrants who tell their own stories, establishes friendships, encounters mishaps, develops a fondness for the strange little white legged cat-like creature that has adopted him, and in the end finds a place for his family who eventually join him.
Although the book has been marketed as a children’s book, it can readily be appreciated by adults with its great emotional depth and its evocative and beautiful drawings - a rare gem indeed.

AC:  Thanks Laurie.  So how do we get to that blog?

LS: The address is

AC: Another way Tisch hopes to encourage reading is through the Tisch Friends Author Talks which happen several times a semester.  Authors give a talk about their latest publication and follow up with a book signing.  We also feature each author with an exhibit in the lobby.  More information on Author Talks is available from the Tisch website.  Laurie, what will you be reading this summer? 

LS:  I’ve got a few titles planned. The first is 21 Balloons, a children’s book about an explorer who starts out in a hot air balloon and winds up on Krakatoa. It was recommended to me by a Tufts student. The next one is Bel Canto by Anna Patchett, a recent PEN/Faulkner Award winner which I started a few years ago and never finished because I had to return it to my local public library. The third should be pretty funny and light; It’s I Feel Bad About my Neck, by Nora Ephron. She was the screenwriter for one of my favorite movies Abby, what about your summer reading?

AC: I, too, was inspired by Miriam’s review of the Arrival by Shaun Tan so I’ll be reading that. And I just started the Pickwick Papers and am very much enjoying how funny it is; it’s very tongue-in-cheek.

LS: I admire you for taking up Dickens in the summer. By the way, if you or someone you know would like to contribute to our “What Sophia Recommends,” the next installment will come out prior to Thanksgiving. The guidelines are simple: choose a book that is in the Tisch collection that you are thankful that you have read, and submit a review of it. Try to keep it to 200-300 words and email it to me, Laurie.sabol@tufts.edu by the beginning of November.

Thanks for joining us on Tisch Talks! 


Tufts University