In a school environment where reading is often guided by required texts, opportunities for students to explore literature freely can sometimes feel hard to come by. This past semester, Librarian Katherine Yan held events designed to bridge this gap by inviting students into the library to taste, or read short samples of, books across a wide variety of genres. 

By tailoring each book tasting to classroom themes and course material, the events connected independent reading to academic study, reinforcing the idea that literature extends beyond the curriculum. Ms. Yan contacted teachers before Thanksgiving to offer them the opportunity to bring classes to the library to find independent reading books. She then selected books based on which teachers requested to attend and led sessions with various classes. She said she has already hosted several book tastings this year, each tailored to a specific theme. 

“With Ms. Caiaccia, we had a phys-ed book tasting inspired by the Winter Olympics. I organized a Thanksgiving one for students to take out books during Thanksgiving break. I structured the event like a café as a metaphor to help students find books they might enjoy, using different blends to represent themes, like a dark roast for heavier topics and a lighter roast for romance and more lighthearted stories,” Ms. Yan said.

While sampling the books, students engaged in activities such as book reviewing to deepen their engagement with the texts.

Sophomore Amarachi Anyanwu said that when she attended the book tasting event with English teacher Eileen Ghastin’s class, she and her tablemates “rotated different books, rating and reading through some pages…while simultaneously answering specific questions about our thoughts.” Her classmate, sophomore Ramisha Nur, said that she was prompted to record “first impressions about the book, noting things like the genre, what caught your eye, and your interest level.”

Both Amarachi and Ramisha said that the experience strengthened their connection with reading and books, especially with pieces of literature they otherwise wouldn’t have tried. Amarachi said that the event allowed her to “read through and discover books that [she] would have passed along on a regular library day.” She specifically mentioned reading Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson, and said that she “would recommend it” because she “enjoyed how engaging it was.” Ramisha said, “I looked at genres that I usually wouldn’t look at and be interested in.”

Sophomore Daniel Kim, who visited the book tasting event with Ms. Caiaccia’s physical education class, said that he found the experience valuable “because it deepened [his] understanding of sports, specifically the ones that will be in the Winter Olympics.” He also said that he is more “interested in borrowing a book [from the library] now because [he] got to try out some new genres and types of books [he] normally wouldn’t read.”

Daniel said that one particular book, Chlorine Sky by Mahogany L. Browne, featured an “engaging and more fast paced” writing style, and that he liked its “poem format.” Sophomore Madison Wong mentioned seeing a book from the Sailor Moon series, and said that although she isn’t a fan of manga, she thought the book might be a good read for fans of the genre. 

Ms. Yan said she feels book tasting events are important for students because they can “choose their own books, instead of it just being assigned to them,” allowing them to figure out what they like, “[as] it’s not so easy all the time” to do so. 

“Students seemed really engaged and excited to be in the library,” Ms. Yan said, adding that as the year continues, she hopes “more teachers will be interested because [she’s] happy to put books in students’ hands.”