Finding a love in books
Some students and faculty at Bethel University read for fun on top of their full schedules of work and homework.
By Megan Silmser and Sophia Meyers
Textbooks dominate typical college campus reading lists, but a closer look at the reading material of some students and professors reveals some books not listed in the syllabus. For these students and staff, reading is much more than a requirement.
Scott Dill, an adjunct English professor, can’t choose a favorite book, but stays busy reading for fun, as well as work. Dill teaches Topics in American Literature where students read a full book each week, meeting on Wednesday nights to talk about them.
“[We read] probably out of habit. … At a certain time in my life, I started really really enjoying [reading].” –Scott Dill, professor of English
Before assigning his students their weekly books, Dill had to discover his own affinity for reading. He was not a big reader as a kid, but in high school, he fell in love.
“Reading was the main thing I wanted to do, more than other things,” Dill said.
Reading became a habit for Dill, so much so that he would hide in his room with a flashlight and read at night.
Dill’s parents warned him about reading too much because they thought their son would read instead of doing homework. As an adult and reading hundreds of books later, Dill’s career combines both work and play.
Dill’s most recent read is a book called The Fraud by Zadie Smith. Next on his list is White Teeth, The Autograph Man, On Beauty, NW, Swing Time and his most read, The Fraud, he hopes to read each year.
Senior Molly Wilson reads for fun and as a way to relax.
“For a little bit, I get to go into a world outside myself… The characters do not have the same problems as me…I can watch them overthrow the government, which is great.” –Molly Wilson, senior
Wilson reads books by authors Louisa May Alcott and Leigh Bardugo, saying“I have an entire shelf dedicated to [Bardugo] in my — it’s technically not a library,” Wilson said. “There’s only 500 books compared to 1000s.”
In high school, Wilson also took her love of reading to the next level. She was recommended for the school newspaper The Heights Herald two years in a row by her English teachers.
“The advisor for the newspaper came up to me and said, ‘You should do this; join this class,’ ” Wilson said. “I joined the newspaper class, and by the time I graduated I was the news editor.”
According to Wilson, a popular book trend lately is The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
“I read that book in only 26 hours,” Wilson said.
Adjunct English professor Jamie Hudalla sees Hunger Games making a resurgence. She reads as a form of escapism.
“I read for fun to understand the stories of other people who are different from me,” Hudalla said.
Hudalla often finds herself drawn to magical realism authors, such as Aimee Bender and Zadie Smith, who is a spherical realist.
“[Bender is] so good at getting what is unexpected and what is strange about the world through her short stories,” Hudalla said.
Hudalla’s journey to a career that combines her passion with her reality took the help of a friend. Hudalla got into her love of reading first by writing.
“I got bulldozed into being a writing major by Scott Winter,” Hudalla said. “I was told ‘Hey, you can actually do writing for a living,’ and I was like ‘What?’”
Hudalla didn’t always want to be an English professor. But after working a typical office job that was “soul sucking,” she decided to give it a try.
“Talking to other students who care about the same things as you do,” Hudalla said, “that’s the most rewarding part about teaching.”
