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Today's very special guest blogger is Linda W. Braun, the president of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Below, she shares details about this year's Teen Read Week program, discusses the benefits of reading for pleasure, and even recommends some exciting titles that'll allow us to "read beyond reality."

Each October, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) --- a Division of the American Library Association (ALA) --- sponsors Teen Read Week, a program that encourages teens to read for pleasure. This year, Teen Read Week takes place October 18 through 24 and has the theme, “Read Beyond Reality.”

What does reading beyond reality mean for teens? For some, it means reading science fiction and fantasy books with imaginary characters such as those in the manga DEATH NOTE by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. Or, it might mean reading about extraordinary events as in Cory Doctorow’s LITTLE BROTHER.

For other teens, reading beyond reality means reading materials set in the present real world, but a world very different than theirs. For example, a teen who has never been to New York City may read beyond reality when picking up Cheryl Diamond’s autobiography MODEL, which tells of Diamond’s life in New York as a teen model. Or, a teen in a public school might read beyond reality with E. Lockhart’s THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU BANKS, which takes place in a private boarding school.

Teen Read Week also promotes the idea that reading for pleasure doesn’t happen just with books. Reading magazines, graphic novels, blog posts, sports websites, etc. are ways in which teens can enjoy content. When one is engrossed in words, story, and/or information, in whatever format it might be presented, that is an example of reading for pleasure.

Why is it important to promote teen pleasure reading? Because different types of reading bring different types of experiences, different types of understanding, and different ways of acquiring literacy skills. For example, when a teen reads an article for a class assignment, he is certainly reading and acquiring knowledge. But, while the physical act of reading that article for that purpose is the same as the physical act of reading an article in a sports magazine, personal interest in the content can help to make the reading more pleasurable and, as a result, give a teen a stronger sense of their own reading skills and help them to think of themselves as a reader and even a lover of reading.

Around the country this week, libraries are celebrating teen pleasure reading with a variety of related activities and programs. You can read more about the week and what’s going on in libraries on the Teen Read Week web site, here.

-- Linda W. Braun