As university students with coursework and extracurricular activities taking the front seat, reading physical books is no longer a priority. Most coursework and other commitments happen online, making us so used to our screens, making it a norm. It’s very rare to see students reading physical books for leisure on campus these days due to the busy nature of student life. But picture this:
Sipping your scalding hot chocolate and sitting cross-legged under the shade of a tree as the rays of the sun spill over your book. The spillage isn’t the indelible stain of coffee on your coat; it’s the sunlight your paperback of joy wears. Your book becomes the showstopper without actually doing anything. You feel tempted to hold it, and once you flip the cover, you are sucked into a whirlpool of dreams, imagination, ideas, and fun. The more pages and words your fingertips traverse, the deeper you venture, eventually reaching a stage where escape is impossible.
reading together
Now, for overworked students, such an escape will rejuvenate you. During your study breaks, instead of doomscrolling (although there’s nothing wrong with it if done in moderation), pick up a book. Now, not everyone has the luxury of accessing physical books; more affordable and cost-effective options include borrowing from libraries (specifically, university libraries) and other students or friends. Engaging in a community-based book exchange through the library, a reading club, or a group of friends or classmates will encourage not only you but also your peers to continue reading books physically.
Being a university student automatically puts you at an advantage because you can access physical resources from places like the library, and you can also avail student discounts on many websites. However, outside of this setting, keeping the culture of physical books alive, especially in a financially accessible way, isn’t easy, given the deteriorating state of bookstores (independent and/or chain) and libraries.
CONDITION OF LIBRARIES TODAY AND THEIR ADVANTAGES
Compare the presence of a clothing or electronics store with that of a bookstore or a library. You will find rows and rows of clothing outlets. The first is a shoe store, the second is a boutique, and the chain is endless. What about a library? Only one. Only one bookstore. This comparison is the true story of the Lokhandwala Market in Mumbai. If books are equally important as clothes and gadgets, why is there a disparity in in-store distribution? Growing up as a bibliophile (book lover), I was never exposed to a library, not because my parents didn’t take me to one, but because we never found one. In India, a nation blinded by its love for Bollywood, cricket and politics, libraries are rare gems.
READING MORE VS/ READING MINDFULLY
The goal here is not to read more, although that can be a valuable skill many college students want to pursue and hone, but to read whenever you can and however much is possible. With many forgoing physical books because of the accessibility and efficacy of eBooks and audiobooks, physical books are now on the back burner. Recent online discourse has also been inundated with videos and articles about how college students don’t read anymore, be it due to the arrival of ChatGPT and other AI software or a disinterest in long-form content due to the rapid rise of short-form content.
On a more individual level, you can also maintain a short and manageable TBR (or to-be-read) pile of physical books you buy or borrow that you can aim to finish over a given period. For example, I carried 20 physical books to university that I wanted to read over the academic year and I have managed to read 7 until the halfway point. These books are a mix of books from my own collection at home and my university’s library. This practice will not only help you reduce your physical TBR but also help you discover some new reads while reading physical books and sustaining bookstores and libraries that could use the support now more than ever.
In addition to helping you cut down on how many books you own, in-person reading is known to have plenty of benefits. You can completely block blue light from screens and focus better without getting sidelined by other apps on your phone. This is also especially important while you’re at university because you spend a lot of time on your screens anyway, completing readings and assignments. This also makes it hard to concentrate as you have so many things you need to juggle.
Besides the benefits, there are so many pleasures of reading a book. We readers can surreptitiously dog ear pages when we lose/run out of/don’t believe in using bookmarks. We do not have to hesitate to carry them everywhere we go, even if it’s the restroom! Our houses seem to have no walls because we do not mind the formidable bookshelves hiding them. The physical object of the book is all we need.