If you’re constantly studying for exam after exam, staying up all night prepping for a presentation or finalizing a paper, you’re in the majority of most college students. It seems like it’s hard enough to make time for family and friends, let alone hobbies. Let’s be honest, when was the last time you finished a book that wasn’t assigned to you for class? It’s probably been awhile. If reading has taken a backseat in your life, here are some tips to help you fit a quick read into your busy schedule.
1. Set small goals: Instead of trying to fit an hour of reading in each day, try breaking that down to a few hours a week or 15 minutes a day. Be realistic about what you can manage. Set a timer on your phone and maybe even keep a reading journal to log your progress.
2. Multitask: With a crazy schedule, multitasking is essential. The next time you’re hitting the gym, try bringing a book with you. While warming up on the treadmill or Stairmaster you can get fit while still accomplishing your reading goals.
3. Bring a book with you everywhere you go: I mean everywhere you go. Stash it in your purse or backpack so that the next time you’re stuck waiting for a friend to meet you at a coffee shop or you’re sitting in the waiting room of the doctor’s office, you can at least get some reading done.
4. Join a book club: Whether it’s an in-person book club with your friends or classmates or an online book club such as Book of the Month Club, Oprah’s Book Club or the countless other book platforms out there. Joining a book club will keep you accountable and it will take the guesswork out of what to read next.
5. Audio Books: Instead of listening to music on your way to class, switch to an audio book. This way you can go on with your day to day life and finish a book without so much as flipping a page.
To get you started, here are a few book recommendations:
Me Before You by JoJo Moynes
Lou Clark just lost her cafe job due to being shut down. Luckily, after searching for jobs, she becomes a caretaker for a paralyzed man named Will Traynor.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Meet Ove. A crank with strict routines and a short fuse. His quiet world filled with solitude is one day disrupted with chaos after a young couple and their two young daughters move in next door.
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
A young couple is invited to a seemingly friendly dinner party when the unexpected happens. The fault of the crime lands on the couple, who soon find out secrets that they have been keeping.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Everything in Shaker Heights was perfectly planned out, nothing ever went wrong. That is until single mother, Mia Warren, and her daughter move in, bringing their mysterious past with them.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
It’s a small package, though large in weight- an unexpected arrival that gives A.J. the opportunity to make his life over, the ability to see everything anew. Or for everything to twist again into a version of his life that he didn’t see coming.