by: Kaitlin Daly – KTNA
Recently the Susitna Valley High School Battle of the Books team took second in the borough-wide competition. KTNA’s Kaitlin Daly has more:
Battle of the books is an academic sport that requires immense dedication and time. This years team for Susitna Valley consisted of senior Heidi Holcomb, freshman Heather Holcomb, freshman Anya Schwartz and coach Mrs. Kathy Trump. Together the girls read the twelve books on this years list. The team competed against eighteen other teams from various schools such as Colony or Mat-Su Career and Tech. Coach Kathy Trump describes Battle of the Books, or B.O.B for short as a competition of mental strength.
“I think in order to be really good at Battle of the Books, you have to be able to memorize a great deal of information, but you also have to be able to analyze. You have to take the question, break it apart, and figure out which book matches that question. So it’s really–well, you have to be smart. You have to be a critical thinker.”
The reason students join Battle of the Books varies for each one says Mrs. Trump. For Heidi Holcomb it is the chance to read books that she normally would not check out from the library. For Heather Holcomb, it was a chance to connect with her sister and try something new, while for Anya Schwartz it was simply to delight in her passion for reading. Heidi Holcomb says if you enjoy reading then it is definitely something that might interest you.
“I would suggest it to other people, but it’s definitely not for everyone. You have to be willing to read books that you wouldn’t necessarily pick otherwise, and you have to be able to get through them and remember the little details, so I would definitely recommend it to everybody who can do that.”
While there is a set schedule for most school related sports and activities or clubs Mrs. Trump says that Battle of the Books lacks this time structure and is special as a result.
“What’s very special about it is the fact that we don’t have any time during the school day to practice, and the girls also have sports after school, so we have to carve time out of lunches. These guys are willing to give up so much time to practice, and that’s what makes you really good is practicing those questions over and over again. They were very enthusiastic, and practiced up to three times a week, so we could get better, and better, and better.”
What each student takes from the experience is different, however there are some unifying points. For example, Heather Holcomb says that it directly impacts her education and learning abilities in positive ways.
“I think it’s a great way to memorize things, and try to see the value in the book instead of just reading it and forgetting about it. It’s a great way to explore new things and learn about lots of different things. I know in my books some of them were factual; some of them weren’t. I learned some stuff, just through reading it, that I didn’t know.”
Through hard work and hours spent reading chapter after chapter and book after book the team participated in the Battle of the Books competition. In this event they beat out ten other teams and placed second within the Mat-Su School District. A list of titles and authors of the books the team read will be placed online at KTNA.org if you’re interested to learn more.
2015 Battle of the Books reading List:
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Don’t Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon
Edge of Nowhere by John E. Smelcer
Ferenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Fault In Our Stars by John Green
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Outcasts United by Warren St. John
Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Virals by Kathy Reichs
