Group encourages students to ‘R.E.A.D.’

As the academic year begins, students may look through their syllabi and realize their required readings include nothing they actually want to read. But Artemus Werts is offering some alternatives.
Werts, a School of Arts and Sciences junior, founded the R.E.A.D. book club, an acronym for Read, Engage and Discuss.
“[The club is] really just about reading a book and being able to discuss it with a group of peers,” Werts said.
The mission of R.E.A.D. is to provide an arena for the analysis of literature outside of a classroom setting, he said. Members will make suggestions and use Sakai to vote on which books the club will discuss throughout the semester.
Werts is aiming for four or five selections for the fall and hopes to include books about a variety of topics, including contemporary issues, technology, sexuality and classics.
In addition to holding conversations about the books, the club plans to advance literacy around the world through cooperation with the Global Literacy Project, a non-profit organization that works to help provide books and build libraries abroad, Werts said.
R.E.A.D. plans to hold a book drive on campus next semester to support the organization.
Werts cites his passion for education as part of the reason for starting the club and partnering with the Global Literacy Project.
“If you give someone an education … you’re giving them something that they can give back to society,” Werts said.
School of Arts and Sciences junior Sarah Coan said Werts’ idea is a good one.
“[A club like] that would be awesome ... Rutgers is [a] diverse community,” she said. “It is feasible to get a group together who is interested in discussing their favorite books.”
School of Arts and Sciences junior Lecester Ennin agreed, offering a piece of advice — the club should read autobiographies and prize-winning books.
R.E.A.D will meet on select Tuesdays at 9 p.m. in the Brett Hall Seminar Room on the College Avenue Campus. Members are scheduled to discuss Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” at the club’s first meeting on Sept. 22. Interested students can learn more about R.E.A.D through its Facebook group, R.E.A.D Book Club, or by emailing readclub@rutgers.edu.