Kara Jackson '10
The Reader
Kara Jackson’s feat is the stuff of legend. It’s akin to Babe Ruth calling his home run shot in the 1932 World Series. In Kara’s case, it was the spring of 2007 and Upper School librarian Chris Myers had just announced the titles of the 44 books on the summer reading list. Each student is supposed to read one of the books over the summer and be prepared to discuss it at the beginning of school. Kara, a tall, blond freshman, told Chris she was going to read them all. “Do so,” he replied, “and I’ll put up a plaque for you.”
“In August she was emailing me to help her find copies of the last few books,” Chris said.
The plaque reads, “Summer Reader Extraordinaire,” and in the aftermath of her accomplishment, two other students have had their names added to the plaque, inspired by Kara’s example. The unofficial title of the feat is “pulling a Kara Jackson.”
“I didn’t coin the term,” Kara says, “but I did read all the books on the list. I didn’t sleep too much that summer. I read three or four books in a day if they were easy reads.”
Kara’s love of stories began in the nursery as her parents read Goodnight Moon and other books to her. At age 5, she had her own subscription to Spider magazine, and in fourth grade a standardized test measured her reading at the 12th grade level. When people noticed how fast she sped through books, she made an effort to read even faster. Now she can gobble up assigned reading at a lightning pace, but when reading for enjoyment she slows down and savors the words, memorizing certain phrases that please her. Her favorites, such as American Pastoral by Philip Roth, she may reread two or three times.
Although she slacked off in the summer of 2008, in the summer of 2009 she “pulled a Kara Jackson” again. After graduation she went to the University of Washington to study neurobiology. She acknowledges that in some social milieus she might be denigrated for her love of reading, but not so at OES.
“Everyone was totally supportive,” she said. “Nobody said I was a dweeb.”
On the contrary, Chris says that having such an accomplished reader in their midst has generated a lot of enthusiasm for summer reading among Upper School students.
“There is a mystique around Kara and her reading,” he said. “She is a famous reader. And reading does make you a better person.”
