The Founding of the Battle

In 2005-2006, two new high schools opened in Loudoun County–Freedom and Briar Woods. Reading Specialists Betty Thomas (Briar Woods) and Marilyn Clerkin (Freedom) decided to assemble their book club members for a “little friendly competition.” Colleagues overheard their brainstorming, and Reading Specialists from Stone Bridge, Heritage, and Loudoun County wanted in, too. Why not? Betty and Marilyn thought. The more, the merrier!

And so began the planning for the first Battle of the Books competition.

The event continues to be a work in progress. Each year it evolves due to the feedback and input of many. Kinks are ironed out, suggestions considered and debated, and new ideas welcomed. As this event has grown, so have the suggestions.

Consider this (updated 2018)

  • 24% of American adults say they have not read a book in whole or in part in the past year, whether in print, electronic, or audio form. (Pew Research, 2108)
  • 37% of adults with a high school degree or less report not reading books in any format in the last year. (Pew Research, 2018)
  • less than 20% of US teens studied report reading a book, magazine, or newspaper daily for pleasure in recent years. And yet more than 80 percent say they use various social media every day. (Publishing Perspectives, 2018)
  • The proportion of children who are daily readers drops markedly from childhood to the tween and teenage years. One study (Scholastic, 2013) documents a drop from 48% of 6- to 8-year-olds down to 24% of 15- to 17-year-olds who are daily readers, and another (NCES, 2013) shows a drop from 53% of 9-year-olds to 19% of 17-year-olds. (Common Sense Media)
  • 19% of Americans 15 and older read for pleasure on any given day (The Washington Post, 2018)
  • Between 2004 and 2017, the amount of time Americans read per day has dropped from 23 minutes to 17 minutes. (The Washington Post, 2018)

We don’t want our students to become just another statistic. The Battle of the Books is one way of ensuring that the joys of reading for pleasure won’t easily be forgotten.

Marilyn J. Clerkin

Reading Specialist