The fresh smell of new books, coffee brewing in the background, bookshelves filled with beautiful and colorful covers, and temptation to buy every single book in the bookstore – it’s what I live for. I love the warm and calming presence of walking into a bookstore like Barnes and Noble or Schuler’s and looking for a new book. It’s one of the best feelings. I love books so much, that when I would get in trouble when I was younger, the books were threatened instead of the gaming consoles or electronics. I find it funny that so many other things are turning into AI and online, and even though we have Kindles and online ways to read, bookstores aren’t going out of business. There are still lots of people that prefer reading physical books and taking it in. I’m one of those people. Today, I’d love to share what some of my favorite books are and give a college student some of my best recommendations.
- Before the Coffee Gets Cold Series by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.
I just recently gifted this book to a friend. Our Her Campus book club actually read the first book of the series together. It’s a book about time travel through a medium that isn’t quite conventional. The trip back in time can only last as long as it takes for the coffee to go cold. It’s such a great story, and I feel that it incorporates a lot of genres in one, so pretty much any audience would love it. If you’re into time travel, I highly suggest this one!
- The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon.
This is one of my favorite books, and I do feel like the movie did it justice. If you watched the movie and enjoyed it, you should read the book! If you like romance and fate, this book is for you. Natasha’s family is about to get deported, but she just so happens to meet Daniel while she’s still in New York. I love the storyline, I love that Daniel is a poet, and overall, I just love the characters and title. Daniel has to face a lot of pressure, and I feel that it can be relatable to a lot of college students. To me, the title means so much because we often forget that the Sun is just a big star. We can wish upon a Sun, as well. I like to picture Natasha and Daniel as planets whose orbits change. I like how Yoon is consistent with the whole space and science theme, as well.
- The Maid by Nita Prose.
I managed to binge-read this one summer even though I had a job and classes going on. This is what you call a page-turner! I put everything down to read this. It’s so well-written and suspenseful. First off, props to the author for establishing a great voice with the main character. Molly struggles with social skills and misreads other people often. I thought it was genius how she showed, rather than told, this personality that Molly had and also used it to make Molly a scapegoat. It’s about a murder that happens where Molly, the maid, is being seen as a suspect. It’s a murder mystery that gave me “Clue” vibes. However, it’s done in a heartwarming way. I love Molly’s relationship with her Gran and think it’s so precious. Additionally, I like that someone who is quiet and often misunderstood or overlooked is given the front and center role. I love the cliffhanger at the end, as well. It’s one of the mysteries where I genuinely can’t pick apart the plot before it happens. It also says a lot about poverty and social class.
- One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London.
I’m a big body image advocate, which is why I love this novel so much. Essentially, it’s the Bachelorette reality show, but it features Bea, who is the first woman with a different body type to get on the show. She doesn’t fit the thin appearance ideal that we often see on reality shows today. I love her because she’s a role model. One of my biggest pet peeves in the tv and media industry right now is that all the women look the same. We’re getting better at racial diversity and sexual diversity, but everyone’s bodies look increasingly alike as I watch more and more dating shows. This book goes against this issue directly, and that’s why I loved it so much. I enjoyed watching Bea fall in love. I like that she demands to be treated equally. She inspires other women, and it made me wish that Bea was a real person off the page.
Laying down in bed, reading words on a crinkling page, taking a sip of hot coffee, lost in another world that has been constructed by one unique human mind, giggling and crying with the characters, and yelling at the author and praising them at the same time for the ending: these are all the rites of passages of being a reader. I encourage you to find a book to read for pleasure. It can do so many things that movies can’t do. It’s one thing to see and hear a story, but nothing beats feeling and getting inside the thoughts of the characters. You just have to find the right book for you, and I encourage you to try reading some of the books that I’ve shared with you today. You go to a bookstore, start reading, hours pass by, and suddenly, it’s closing time. The books speak to you like it’s another sequel to the Night of the Museum, and your book is moving around in the dark—if that’s you, that’s when you know you’ve found a good book.