This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Kenyon chapter.
As I walked into my childhood bedroom for the first time since August last weekend during Fall Break, I immediately noticed my ginormous bookshelf and how little love it had been given in this past month and a half. I soon realized that I had not read a single book for pleasure since I had left for college. I had become one of those people, those people who simply have no time to enjoy a good book, who are just too busy or too disinterested. The thing is, I love to read and I have ever since I was a preschooler. It’s just excuses that get in the way. So, if you, like me, are looking for a reason to rekindle your love affair with good books but don’t know how to remind yourself to jump back in, read on.
Excuse #1: I have no time to read.
Sometimes, I tell myself this after I have marathon-watched an entire season of How I Met Your Mother. It’s kind of hypocritical on my part. So, yes, you too can make time to read if you really want to. Just prioritize your time wisely. And though an episode of television may take only 45 minutes at most to finish, while a book may take days or even weeks, there is always time to get through a chapter or two. So log out of Netflix and open up that book you’ve been waiting to start.
Excuse #2: Reading is a chore sometimes.
This one is probably the hardest for me to ignore. Especially at a liberal arts college, most of our homework assignments consist of reading 50 pages and then to prepare to be tested on them. After so much of this tedious work, it seems almost torturous to read even more. But just trust me on this one: it is so much more enjoyable to sit back, relax, and read without a pen in hand and without the added pressure of being tested on what you read. Give it a try and see for yourself.
Excuse #3: Reading is kind of nerdy.
Come on; we’re not in middle school anymore. Plus, we go to Kenyon. Everybody is a nerd here and we have all learned that more knowledge is definitely not a bad thing. You may think it sounds better to say that you spent last night finishing Breaking Bad than saying that you spent last night finishing a science fiction novel, but either way you spent last night alone.
Excuse #4: Books don’t capture my interest.
I have already established that it may take weeks to finish a book, which is sometimes very frustrating. But I have more than once finished a book within a few hours because of how desperately I wanted to know what happened. It may sound redundant, but is always easier to get interested in a pleasure book if it is about something pleasurable. So don’t read Game of Thrones just because everybody else is if fantasy doesn’t interest you. Books are written about every subject possible. If you like sports or politics or movies, read books about them! You’ll enjoy what you read and learn more about a subject that you already love.
Excuse #5: Books are expensive.
When I was little, I always hated checking books out of the library because I wanted to add them to my bookshelf and reread them. Now, I understand the economic advantages of a library. So if you want to read but don’t want to pay, take understand the value of free books.
In this day and age, books are more available to us than ever before. You can make use out of an e-reader or even download audio books onto your iPod. It doesn’t matter how you read or what you read; all that matters is that you read in the first place. Don’t let those excuses get in the way.