There was something strange about my summer reading assignment this year: it was fun.

All juniors participated in small-group book discussions during lunch Aug. 30 as part of a new summer reading program. English teacher Elon Walter, along with colleague Emily Glass, introduced the new program to provide students with a more meaningful and enjoyable summer reading experience.

“When you think of summer reading, the typical response from a student is not one of engagement and excitement, but disdain and dread, so we wanted to change that,” he said.  “I think overall they went well.”

Junior Heather Strauss enjoyed the opportunity to show knowledge by talking about a book rather than taking a quiz. The format alleviated stress, she said.

Over the summer, we each read one book out of 14 choices ranging from national best-sellers, tell-all memoirs, modern classics, comedic narrations and award-winning novels. To keep reading groups small, the department placed a cap on the number of students who could sign up for each book.

We did not receive a grade for our participation in the discussion, but we did complete that evening a graded reflection responding to a question raised during the discussion.

Honors English 11 and AP Language & Composition students also read a second book of their own choosing by the same author or of similar subject, theme or mood.

Teachers led the discussion groups, which included students in all class levels.  Principal Alan Goodwin pitched in, leading a discussion on Cormac McCarthy’s “All the Pretty Horses.” English teacher Todd Michaels led my group’s discussion of Richard Russo’s “Empire Falls,” a sensitive portrayal of small-town life in America.

“I like the assignment,” Michaels said. “We can get things in discussion that we can’t really get in writing.”

However, Michaels believes that teachers should give next-year’s students a better idea of the written assessment to keep in mind while reading over the summer.

During the discussions, we shared insights on structure, symbolism, character relationships and overall impressions of the book.

Though junior Nicki Gershberg, who read Jennifer Donnelly’s “Revolution,” said she would have preferred more structure in the discussions, she still found them worthwhile.

“You get more out of it because you see other people’s opinions, too, rather than just writing your own paper,” she said.  “You can see different ways to look at things that happened within the book.”