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Devils' Advocate

The news site of Hinsdale Central High School

Devils' Advocate

The news site of Hinsdale Central High School

Devils' Advocate

Reading Marathon right on track

Reading+Marathon+right+on+track

As the holidays approach, the first trimester of the Reading Marathon is coming to an end. To participate in the Reading Marathon, participants must read 26.2 books in 25 weeks. The marathon started on Oct. 24 and marathoners will be crossing the finish line on Apr. 13. Marathoners will have crossed the first third on Thurs., Dec. 15.

Kathleen Krepps, Library Media Department Chair, said, “[The library staff] knows that Hinsdale Central students are very competitive and always enjoy a good challenge, and we thought we would try it.” Krepps expected about 25 people to take up the challenge; however, to her and the library staff’s pleasant surprise, about 170 students and faculty have signed up.

“Some of the students are just reading graphic novels. Some of them are finished because they just read graphic novels,” Krepps said. She is on her sixth book right now. “I need to pick up the pace, so I am definitely looking at how long books are before deciding to read them. Usually I don’t care, but I want to get my 26.2 books in,” Krepps said.

The prizes have not been decided yet, but everyone who completes the marathon will be eligible for a prize raffle, that will include some Kindles, according to Krepps. There are no prizes for finishing early.

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There are two rallies planned, one on Dec. 15 and one on Valentine’s day. “Next Thursday, we are going be serving sandwiches during all lunch periods for marathoners to give them a chance to get together, trade great titles, so that we can see what we want to read over break,” Krepps said, “The next [rally] is Valentine’s Day to show how much we love reading.”

“I think that’s it difficult for all of us to balance our lives, but I think that reading is such an important piece, just like eating and sleeping. Reading is such an important piece to keep active in your life as part of your relaxation and quality of life,” Krepps said. According to her, students and teachers at Central are very busy, but reading is so important. She is grateful that the library is well-funded and has so much to offer.

Anyone interested in the marathon can still join it, Krepps said. Her two favorite books from her Marathon list are Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson and the Paris Wife by Paula McClain, which is about Ernest Hemingway’s first wife.

Krepps’ advice to students is, “Keep reading! Keep turning those pages!”

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