Mississippi’s reading scores have climbed higher than ever, with fourth graders now beating the national average. But in classrooms, not every student is celebrating. Some students say books are their escape, while others would rather do anything but read. “I really never read,” Freshman, Connor Griswold said. “It takes a lot of time…and I really don’t understand what happens. If I could read in a group or with friends, it’d probably be better.” Griswold isn’t the only student who doesn’t like reading. For many, picking up a book can feel overwhelming, whether it’s the number of words, the pace of the story, or just not knowing where to start.  “In all seriousness, I just don’t like reading,” Freshman Dimitris Tsiouris said. “The last thing I want to do is hallucinate at words. Books are just scribbly lines on pieces of paper, and you’re hallucinating while reading that.” Not every student who avoids books actually dislikes reading itself. For some, the problem is what they’re being asked to read. “I think it’s certain books that are assigned. I feel like my outlook on reading is affected heavily by school,” Freshman Jonah Kerr said. “Because school doesn’t give interesting books, I fail to read that often.”

Even with many students pushing books aside, there are just as many who pull them close. “Reading teaches empathy,” Freshman Mary Gayle Wright said. “The more you put yourself in other people’s perspectives in books, the more you can do it in real life. Right now I’m reading A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder…it calms me down before I go to bed.” Others described how books can completely pull them in once they start reading. “Every night, I go home, I do my homework, and then there’s this set period of time where I read,” Freshman Andrew Cooper said. “I just truly get encapsulated into these stories as they drag me in and I can’t leave until I’ve found out the end.” For many, reading is fun and something they do often. “I read once to three times a month,” Freshman Sarah Kate Crowder said. “Usually they’re war stories.” Still, the books chosen for class don’t always hold the same appeal. “I hate the books at school,” Crowder said, “especially this year, I can’t even understand what we’re reading right now.” 

Mississippi’s reading scores may be climbing, but students’ experiences show that the journey with books is personal. Some struggle with school assignments that don’t capture their interest, while others dive into stories on their own, finding joy, adventure, and calm in the pages. No matter where students start, reading is a journey worth sticking with. “Most people stop when a book feels boring at the start,” Cooper said. “but you have to push through…get to the juicy part of the steak. Once you get that first bite, it allows you to truly enjoy the art that is writing.”