Students brought along their books and pajamas for a night of reading and discussion as a part of the inaugural PJ Reading Party, hosted by the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library (OWHL). The event, taking place on January 21, was planned by the OWHL Student Advisory Board, alongside Camille Torres Hoven, Director of the OWHL. Aiming to foster community engagement and peer discussions, the event featured free reading and warm cookies in the Freeman Room from 8:00 p.m. to 9:50 p.m.
Speaking on the organization of the event, Ayush Gupta ’26, member of the OWHL Student Advisory Board, discussed how the OWHL was able to create a book-loving community on campus, and how events such as the PJ Reading Night can foster reading and connection with other readers. Gupta continued by describing how the event promoted a different kind of reading through conversations about books students chose, listening to audiobooks, and enjoying the food provided.
“[The OWHL Student Advisory Board] hosts a number of events throughout the entire year. This is one of them, and we try to interact with the community and share a love for books… I really think that the celebration of books is really important to give back to the OWHL staff and their love for the library as well… It’s really great to have people in one place and people supporting each other. We’re chit-chatting, we’re having discussions about books, and we’re just building a great environment. That is what it’s all about… In the classroom, we are forced to read a certain thing, but here we build a love for reading as you can read anything you want to read and no one is stopping you,” said Gupta.
Similarly, Torres Hoven expressed her appreciation for the OWHL Student Advisory Board and their efforts in planning interactive events that engage the student community in the OWHL, which she oversees. Torres Hoven also noted how reading does not have to be a huge time commitment and encouraged students to find the time to read in small, fun amounts, which she hoped to achieve through the event.
“I love the board, they bring so much energy and so much joy, and they have so many great ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of… I think encouraging reading doesn’t mean finishing a book cover to cover, and it doesn’t mean that you have to stop everything, you can just hang out with friends and read a little bit and talk about it. It doesn’t have to be something that sucks all of your time, because it can also be a social fun thing too. I think that [the PJ Reading Party is] encouraging reading and thinking about reading it differently too,” said Torres Hoven.
Additionally, Chloe Song ’26, member of the OWHL Student Advisory Board, expressed how the PJ party served as a way for students to recognize the resources at the OWHL, such as its extensive book collection.
“We all know that the OWHL is a place of socializing, everyone comes here to hang out with friends, but I feel that there are a lot of underutilized and untapped resources at the library that I feel students are not aware [of]… [One such resource is] the books and I think that at this pajama party, we are offering a relaxed atmosphere for students to enjoy the many books that the OWHL has to offer. So we were thinking that, if we have a pajama party… and people are hanging out and enjoying books, we could reignite a love for reading in a genuine and pure way,” said Song.
Likewise, Henry Zimmerman ’27, shared how he hoped that the PJ Reading Party offered students an opportunity to find joy even in the winter months. Zimmerman also spoke on how the OWHL Student Advisory Board was looking to not only help students rediscover some of the OWHL’s resources but to also help students find joy in reading.
“The job of the OWHL [Student] Advisory Board is to integrate the OWHL with students’ lives in a helpful way so that the OWHL’s resources can be used by the student body… We know how tough the winter is and we were hoping to bring back some of the childhood joy that comes from wearing pajamas and reading in a comfortable space,” said Zimmerman.
Eventgoer Maddie Soong ’27, spoke about how they enjoyed the PJ party due to the casual nature of the event. Soong was also thrilled to have a reason to read books because they normally don’t have enough time, as a consequence of the busy nature of Andover.
“[The PJ Reading Party] was really good because I feel that we don’t really get to set a lot of time aside for reading because it feels non-essential, so we just push it to the side in favor of other things, but having a specific set time to sit down and read is really great… [The PJ Reading Party was] very chill and I’m glad to have time to read my books,” said Soong.
