If you haven’t started it, let’s see if we can’t tempt you into it by the end of this blog post. Periodically, completely without warning, and sometimes completely without context, I will drop lines from one of the terrific selections on the 52 Weeks-52 Books booklist. And what better book to steal from than ‘The Book Thief’ by Marcus Zuzak, No. 27 on the 52W52B fiction list.
“Liesel steals books for two reasons: She becomes a voracious reader, and she views it as an act of subversion.”
Not an act of nerdiness, then. An act of subversion – an act of quietly challenging the status quo, unobtrusively felling Zuckerberg and Musk’s ironclad algorithms, by just picking up a book.
M.O.P. Vaishnav launched the simply and catchily named ‘52 weeks, 52 books’ initiative in July. Every week since then, a new title is displayed on the digital board outside the library, with a blurb about the book. Any given Monday can bring a surprise, with a handful of management and self-help books in the mix. In most cases, the library carries a hard copy of the title, and the book is displayed prominently that week. In all cases, a QR code on the digital display leads students to an e-book of the title – a case of making digital technology build the reading habit rather than destroy it.
Resurrecting the reading habit is the whole objective, says Principal Dr. Archna Prasad. “The 52 weeks, 52 books initiative was launched on the Founding Day of the College on July 13th,” she said. “I think that in today’s world, reading a book is not just a knowledge-gathering exercise, but a personality development exercise. Of the 52 books, if even one book can touch, or change a student for the better, it’s mission accomplished.”
“I like that every page in every book can have a gem on it.”
The book list was made with much care, consultation and research, say the teachers of the English Foundational Course. Award- and best-seller lists were scoured, librarians were consulted, as were students and teachers. The final list contains long sub-lists for award-winning young adult literature and best-selling novels, but the best of non-fiction, self-help and management books are also well-represented here.
Shrividhya Srinivasan, a student of II year B. Com Corporate Secretaryship and president of the English Club, says she made sure she left her imprint on the list. She saw the teachers considering the Agatha Christie novel ‘And Then There Were None.’ As a fan of the murder mystery genre, she leapt in with her ringing endorsement of the book and made sure that it made it onto the list, she says. Booklovers will recognise this feeling – collaring the nearest unsuspecting passerby and making them read this book that you loved so much!
“Somewhere, far down, there was an itch in his heart, but he made it a point not to scratch it. He was afraid of what might come leaking out.”
I’m going to leave those sentences there while we hear from Jumana Raja, a II year student of B.Sc. Psychology. The 52W52B titles that she had seen displayed every week on the digital board always piqued her curiosity, she says. A recent week’s title, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ by Mark Haddon jogged her memory about something. She went home and checked the stash of unread books that she had picked up at one of the used-book sales around the city where book-lovers can buy books by the kilo. And sure enough, there it was on her bookshelf. With the plug from 52W52B fresh on her mind, she immediately got to reading the book and no regrets, she says.
The titles on the 52W52B list are very diverse, says Zara Zafia, a II year student of Journalism. “I have seen many students read only a single genre and they only, only stick to that. It kind of narrows down their reading experience, and it’s so saddening. Personally, I think [52W52B] is very creative, because it has exposed me to new genres.”
“A patch of silence stood among them now. The man, the girl, the book. He picked it up and spoke soft as cotton.”
Constructing the initiative like a challenge was a great idea, says Shree Harshini Guhan, a Psychology student. “It’s something that students can look forward to at the end of the year. Saying ‘I’ve read 52 books at the end of the year,’ it’s an amazing achievement; you can feel proud about it.”
Reading has spillover effects in many other aspects of life, says the seasoned reader. “When you read books that are open-ended, there are a lot of hypotheses that you make. I feel there’s a lot of cognitive development that happens while I’m reading. Also, when you start reading a book, you build a community for yourself; you start connecting with people who read the same books.”
“Max and Liesel were held together by the quiet gathering of words.”
“I’ve realised that reading is like living a hundred lives,” Zara says. “Every book you read is a new life that you experience. The more you know about the world, the more beautiful and easier it gets. And living the lives of a hundred people, even though it is fictional, it makes life a bit more colourful.”
Marcus Zuzak couldn’t have said it better.With the International Literacy Day just behind us on September 8th, let’s thank our stars that we are in the fortunate position of making sense of this “quiet gathering of words” and make the most of this privilege. Happy reading!
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