12 schools. 26 books. 9 teammates. 3rd place.
The tenth year of the central Ohio Battle of the Books competition was held Apr. 15, 2025, with the first place prize being taken by Canal Winchester High School. Rutherford B. Hayes High School’s team placed 3rd overall, out of twelve competitors.
The Battle of the Books is a competition that settles close to my heart. Despite only being my second year of participating, it is already a staple of my year and a very anticipated event. It’s unique in the opportunity it offers and a great source of entertainment for the majority of the year.
Each member of the team is invited to read as few or as many of the books as possible. Each book is selected by the heading librarians, based on student and teacher recommendations, with diversity and relevance taken into account. This year, all 26 were finished by Malia Fortman, a freshman, beating out my 25 and a half.
This year, my top books included The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Symphony for the City of the Dead by M. T. Anderson, Starter Villain by John Scalzi and Chaos Theory by Nic Stone.
“I liked every book I read,” team captain and senior Quin Anderson said. “There wasn’t a single one that I would have not finished.”
Students’ knowledge of these books are then tested in a double elimination competition. After being asked a question pertaining to only one of the books, the team must answer with the full title and the author’s last name. This team round is followed by the lightning round, raising tensions with speed to the buzzer becoming the thing to beat.
My heart belongs fully to the lightning round, despite the anxiety it stirs up. The points are all up to your own speed and knowledge, perfect for an overachiever like myself who has all the books collected in their head.
Apart from the actual competition, the event is punctuated with downtime, starting with a meal and continuing throughout the event. Teams are encouraged to mingle and share trinkets, like bookmarks, keychains and stickers.
While we are not the most social team, we still managed to have a great time intermixing with the other teams. Favorite books make for a great conversation starter, and so does the opportunity to screw around and interrupt interviews–as I found out, amusingly.
“My favorite experience was meeting people who like to read books, because people should read more books,” Fortman said.
Battle of the Books is a special extracurricular, made for those who often go overlooked in the classroom and are best known by the librarian. It’s a great opportunity for anyone looking to get back into reading and fun for anyone who already is.
The OCC competition comes only as a follow-up to the House competition, held earlier in the year and with fewer books. While not a requirement, it gives a leg up, as students have a reason to read 13 of the 26 books for more than just the big contest. It also helps preemptively build community with other readers and start finding people who are likely to go all the way with them–as Sugar Grove house captain, I got to see both competitors and allies who really shone, and most of them ended up coming to the OCC.
Overall, the Battle of the Books is a great chance to meet like-minded students and expand your reading catalogue. In every way, it expands horizons.
“Books are the window to understanding other people who aren’t like you and people who are like you,” Fortman said.
Following the 3rd place finish, the team is looking forward to the next year of competition and reading.
“I think I have a lot more books to read and a lot more questions to answer,” Fortman said.
