Reading the Signs

The study may be a little dusty, but not enough to be irrelevant. In 1998, a survey of 470 freshmen at the University of California at Berkeley reported that its students---despite likely expectations to the contrary—enjoyed reading the latest best-sellers, and in fact, named Amy Tan, John Grisham, Michael Crichton, and Stephen King as favorite authors among the pop fiction stew.

Even in a town such as Berkeley, noted for its trove of bookstores, there must have been some head-shaking. The debate over what students should be reading outside of class, versus what they actually like to read on their own time, continues to be a touchy subject on college campuses nationwide. Survey coordinator Steve Tollefson, a faculty development coordinator in Berkeley's student life-educational development office, said this after the survey: "The surprise is that the results aren't very surprising. I think most people have certain expectations of students. Some probably think that students only read for classes, and that if they did read anything (for pleasure), it would be magazines or sports biographies. On the other hand, I suppose there are those who don't expect college students to be reading Stephen King."

Or, in fact, expect that college students, balancing heavy academic loads, would even have time for something called "pleasure reading."

Dean of students Jeff Huang, notes that last year, the median number of hours spent by graduating CMC students pleasure reading was "less than one." "Individually," Huang says, "86 percent reported reading less than two hours per week for pleasure.

"From my estimation," he says, "most CMC students don't have a lot of time for pleasure reading."

It doesn't always start off that way, however.

By contrast, Huang says, "Our students aren't like this when they first arrive at CMC. For the current sophomores, the median hours spent per week on reading for pleasure is 1-2 hours, but about 30 percent read for three or more hours per week."

He also noted that the majority of CMCers draw a sharp line between academic reading and what might qualify, by others' definitions, as reading for enjoyment. For them, "Academic reading includes books that are peripherally related to things they have studied, such as spin-offs or follow-up readings to ideas that they became excited about in a class," Huang says.

Marc Bathgate '05 says in a good week, he can squeeze in four to six hours for reading, although "when I do make the time, I don't usually read books--- only articles. Generally I'm reading news, especially from home, and anything related to technology. And if I have a little longer," he says, " I'll catch up on political commentary."

"The days are so jam-packed with classes, activities, people to see, and things to do that there isn't much time to read for fun," agrees senior Daisy Chou. "If I do read, it's for about two to three hours a week, in increments of 15-20 minutes."

This certainly would distinguish at least the study habits of CMC students from those at peer institutions.

In 2002, a Harris Interactive 360 College Explorer Outlook Study surveyed 2,930 American college students as well as some 700 young people, ages 18 to 24, who were not in college. It found that the average college student spends "a very small percentage of time hitting the books" ---with young adults averaging 1.7 hours in class per day, and only another 1.6 hours studying. But at least one-third or better are reading for fun in their unaccounted-for hours. Forty-four percent reported reading a non-campus related newspaper at least a few times a week, and 34 percent said they make time, weekly, for books not affiliated with college courses.

When the latest in the Harry Potter installment arrives at Huntley, students from The Claremont Colleges line up. The June 2003 release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix saw about 20 advance sales, says store manager Tom Bauer. Also turning over well is Huntley's new Los Angeles Times best-sellers section, charting strong recent sales of Dan Brown's thriller, The Da Vinci Code, Gary Larson's The Complete Far Side collection, and The South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatston.

Chou is among those hoping to crack The Da Vinci Code over winter break, as well as Sylvia Brownrigg's Pages For You. "Reading is still a favorite pastime on those rare occasions when you just prefer snuggling in bed with a good book," Chou says.

Bathgate, meanwhile, hopes the holiday break will provide enough time to plow through a "three-foot stack of magazines that has piled up this semester," and to "finally finish Atlas Shrugged."

Other students interested in pop fiction over the holidays may save a little money shopping at Huntley. As was the case last year, every Friday throughout the month of December, Huntley will again be offering a 20 percent discount on gifts, college memorabilia, clothing, and trade and holiday books. The sale was so successful last year that when Bauer ordered and discounted the complete Dr. Seuss line, "we sold fours and fives of almost every title," he said. "So I have to assume we get a lot of students who come in and shop for family gifts before heading home for the holidays."

Other steady sellers? Bauer has noticed a strong interest in Rand McNally travel books, which may be related to a possible increase in international students, he says. The most popular travel destinations: Nevada, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

He also says that books by prominent speakers who visit the campuses are nearly impossible to keep stocked. Last October, when Pomona, Pitzer and CMC colleges sponsored a talk by author and documentarian Michael Moore, "we were blowing out of his book," Bauer said. The same was expected for Arianna Huffington's January 2003 release, Pigs at the Trough: How Corporate Greed and Political Corruption Are Undermining America. For Huffington's Nov. 19 appearance at Scripps College, Huntley expected to sell all 300 of its copies.

"Within our community, there is enough high-end reading that has to be done," Bauer says. "So I think when students shop here, it's for something fun."

Back to Inside CMC

Sunshine and lawns make for peaceful reading.

A new section at Huntley Bookstore features a wall of best-sellers, with everything from Harry Potter to Patricia Cornwell. During the month of December, on every Friday before Christmas, Huntley will discount books, college memorabilia, clothing, and gifts by 20 percent.