Reading: you either love it or hate it. However, collegiettes, reading is one of the most important things you can do for yourself before entering the real world. Here are a few books that you need to pick up before embarking on your journey.
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
When diagnosed with a terminal illness, a professor decides to use his last lecture not to discuss death, but to discuss living: seizing every moment, believing in the good in others, and overcoming all that life may throw at you. This book will prepare you with a readiness to take on anything and everything that crosses your path in life.
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert“Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be.”
This memoir introduces a woman who, at first, seems to have it all. She leaves behind this previous life in order to deeply explore her own roots and to find her own true happiness. Following a journey all collegiettes will someday find themselves on, Eat, Pray, Love is not only heart-warming, but completely relatable.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald“I hope she’ll be a fool — that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”
The Great Gatsby is a classic for a reason. The story follows the idea of the American dream; a story that says if you work hard, you will succeed. The Great Gatsby encompasses characters, ideas, and settings that are interesting and still relevant today. This book will always be a must-read for any young person.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey“He knows that you have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance, just to keep the world from running you plumb crazy.”
This book invites you to enter into a world you never imagined yourself being a part of. Set in a 1960s mental hospital, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest will have you amused, thrilled, and completely invested. You will not regret picking this novel up as you follow the characters’ constant struggle and fight against authority.
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides“She may have looked normal on the outside, but once you’d seen her handwriting you knew she was deliciously complicated inside.”
The Marriage Plot is a novel that may sound all too familiar. This book shines light upon the controversial topics of love, feminism, divorce, and more. Due to its brutally honest ideas and its relevance to the past and present, the book is a must-read as you enter the real world.
No Excuses by Gloria Feldt“Know your history and you can create the future of your choice.”
Today, feminism has become a prominent word and one that most people fear. This book has one thing to say about that statement: don’t fear, embrace. The book introduces nine ways for women to obtain fairness, security, and power for themselves. It is the true and final push every collegiette needs before entering the real world.
Looking For Alaska by John Green“We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are.”
This book follows the life of Pudge, an awkward new student, who finds himself amidst the wonderful, yet self-proclaimed “screwed up,” Alaskan Young. Curl up with Looking For Alaska and let yourself to become completely absorbed. Connect with Alaska, become attached to Pudge, and cry as you read the last page of this novel at three in the morning.
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