Course Description

Do you love to read but find that you don’t have time to read anything fun with all of the work that you have to do during the semester? This one-hour “Experiencing Honors” class will give you the opportunity to make time for your joyful reading in the midst of your busy weeks. If you don’t have a strong relationship with reading, this offers you a great opportunity to further develop your love of pleasure reading along with other people, making it a fun social time. (This isn't a study hall, fun reading only!)

Christopher Frizzelle—author, teacher, and editor-in-chief of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Seattle newspaper, The Stranger—conceived the first silent reading party in 2009. Bring your own book: your choice. The idea spread. In 2012, two friends started the Silent Book Club in a neighborhood bar in San Francisco. “The Silent Book Club is about community,” they say. And it has engendered silent book meetups around the globe: in most U.S. states and in countries as far-ranging as Japan, Kenya, and Croatia. Led by local volunteers, there are more than 500 chapters in 50 countries.

Texts

Students choose their own pleasure reading books

Requirements

Attendance (students must attend a minimum of 7 meetings for an A, 6 for a credit) 40% (40 points, 5 points per class)

Reading Journal: 35% (35 points, 7 entries, 5 points each)

Final reflection: 25% (25 points)

About the Instructor(s): Jonatha Kottler

Jona (rhymes with Donna) earned a BA in English from UNM and she is a graduate of UNM Honors. She has an MA in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College and an MFA in Creative Writing from the Institute for American Indian Arts. Her work has been featured nationally and internationally in NY Magazine’s The Cut, The Guardian, Longreads, and Audible. She has written creative nonfiction, comic books, short and feature films, and is currently finishing a novel.