Battle of the Books competition is around the corner.  Battle of the Books is a “question-and-answer ” contest similar to Scholars’ Bowl.  Participants must commit to reading the following six books: The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney, My Life, the Theatre, and Other Tragedies by Arnold Zadoff, Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Diamond Ruby by Joseph Wallace, and All Over but the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg, and attend weekly discussion groups.  Each team in the county is required to read all the same six books.
    “If you like Hunger Games, you will especially like Divergent,” senior team member Brett Gray said.
    The team has only one competition each year, with this year’s scheduled for Thursday, April 19.  Practices will be held on Wednesdays after school starting in February. The competition is held at the SCISC. The students will travel to Alabaster during the day in hope of bringing home the trophy.
    “I hope this year we will bring home the win,” sophomore team member Alex Guttgereit said.  “I enjoy being on the team very much. This is my second year.”
    This is the fifth year of having Battle of the Books as an extra-curricular option for MHS students.  Shelby County is the only county which participates in the state. The state has plans to make Battle of the Books a statewide event.
    The 2011-2012 team consists of Gray, junior Austin Sanders, and Buttgereit. The sponsor of Battle of the Books is media center specialist Anita Glover.
    “I am excited about this team, and hopefully we can win against all the other high schools in the county,” Glover said.  “I think the books are great; you should read them.”