George R.R. Martin once said, “I have lived a thousand lives and I have loved a thousand loves. I’ve walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time. Because I read.” Open the cover of a book to discover a one-way portal to a world constructed of black ink pressed upon pages with endless genres and stories to choose from.
Grace Hutapea, is a junior majoring in computer science... she enjoys reading because she can immerse herself in the experiences folded between the pages.
Hutapea: “I think it takes you to another world and just gives you like a bigger perspective, without you actually physically having to go anywhere. So I like that it helps broaden your perspective.”
Senior quantitative major Aman Sharma likes to create his own rendition of the story in his head.
Sharma: “The imagery is nice, just kind of imagining what’s going on. Maybe like pretending you’re there occasionally. It’s pretty fun.”
Despite living in a world consumed by technology and social media, a surprising amount of USC students still find time to read.
Industrial and systems engineering senior Bailey Johnson even tries to prioritize reading over scrolling!
Johnson: “I just know that I’m gonna get more out of reading my book than I am being on my phone. Being on my phone usually leaves me like pretty emotionally, like mentally depleted.”
Campus has been flooded with white tents for the LA Festival of Books happening this weekend. Celebrities like Octavia Spencer and notable authors like John Green will make appearances. Bookstores and authors from all around will set up shop drawing in book lovers from all over.
Like Hutapea! She looks forward to continuing her tradition of attending the festival.
Johnson: “I’ve gone every year since I was a freshman.”
Sharma will not be in town for the event but would go if he could. And, even if the event was not held on campus, he would travel to it... and he knows he wouldn’t be alone.
Sharma: “I would definitely go with friends who like love reading. I have a couple of good friends who like reading, so I would definitely ask them to go with me too.”
Looking toward the future, students are certain that books will remain a constant in society.
Sharma sees the future of books evolving but never disappearing.
Sharma: “I think books might transform into like a more mainly online thing if it hasn’t already. But I don’t really think books will fade into the background.”
Books have been here for centuries, and it’s not looking like they’ll be gone anytime soon.
And the next time you are tempted to open Instagram or TikTok, think about that Kindle gathering dust in the corner. And over there, those strange objects called books!
for Annenberg Media. I’m Shadi Angotti