Lake Villa teen logs nearly 40,000 pages, wins reading program
To say she's an avid reader, is a an understatement. Voracious, insatiable or ravenous might be better adjectives.
Katie Benesch read 38,111 pages in this year's Summer Reading program at the Lake Villa Public Library.
The 13-year-old home-schooled student from Lake Villa said she never set out to win the "Top Ten Reader" competition.
"It was completely by accident," she said. "Once I got going, I just didn't stop."
Benesch took first place from among the 1,758 kids who entered the annual contest. She beat the second place finisher by almost 17,000 pages.
"We've had to put some limits on her reading," said her mom, Jane. "No books at the dinner table, and she had to attend our church's youth group."
Jane Benesch said Katie was reading for eight to 10 hours a day. "She really loves fiction," Jane Benesch said.
The longest novel among the 114 books she read was "The Four Forges" at 554 pages. The fantasy story about elves, was one of her favorites. The shortest book, a biography of William Shakespeare was just 31 pages. "We had to include at least one nonfiction book," Katie Benesch said. "I picked the shortest one I could find." Ten of the books on her list were by Christian author Grace Livingston Hill.
Lake Villa youth services librarian Elisa Gueffier said Benesch's total was unprecedented in the history of the contest. "It was far and away the highest we've seen," she said.
Not only is the quantity of pages impressive, but Benesch is one speedy reader too.
"I read six 'Harry Potter' novels in one weekend," she said, adjusting her glasses. "And, I'm pretty good at retaining it too."
She admits to a strategy. "I read the end of the book first," Benesch said. "If I don't like the way it ends, I won't read it."
Many of the books on her list were written by Christian authors, but not all. Jane Benesch says she's assuming Katie is reading wholesome stuff and trusts her judgment.
"I used to screen all the books Katie read," she said. "But now, I can't keep up."