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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Towson chapter.

By Jasmin Mudiay

For those walking into Barnes & Noble with no list, just vibes, here’s a little inspiration to guide your next bookstore trip or Amazon order during break! For readers wrestling with your book style or discovering it, it’s a perfectly normal and insightful habit to simply gravitate toward favorite authors, trilogies, or genre preferences. Paying attention to those patterns can yield powerful rewards.

As a senior, reflecting on my best mindset reformations and eye-opening seasons, they’ve been when I picked up a book and allowed myself to immerse in it—and don’t let it be on vacation—chef’s kiss.

Because of my longtime obsession with self-progression, I’ll always advocate for literacy and reading because it’s changed my life. So much so, I created a condensed list with some of the most brilliant minds the world has experienced—universal and timeless works. There’s no better timing than now to get in with the intellects of our generation and shape your voice.

1. The Message: Ta-Nehisi Coates

Starting this guide off with one of the country’s most important writers, intellectually fearless, Ta-Nehisi Coates. Gaining wide readership during his time as a correspondent at the Atlantic taking on topics from cultural, social, and political issues. The Message was an immediate purchase aftercatching my attention with news coverage and mixed controversy on the book. Composed of 3 intertwined essays reflecting the authors trips to:

Dakar, Senegal

Columbia, South Carolina 

West Bank in Palestine

Where he shares with devasting clarity how easily misled we are by nationalist narratives urging the need to untangle ourselves from the destructive myths that shape our world.

2. The Alchemist: Paulo Coelho

A timeless classic that I’m sure every college student trooping through semester after semester can use to transmute into higher versions of their own potential. Helping readers realize the gap between wants and desperations often inspires inward reflection. With a speedy approach to a New Year and fresh beginnings, if there was a power tool to getting on your Zoom it would start with this book!

Jasmin Mudiay

Towson '25

Hey Hey I’m really glad to be apart of Towson HER Campus this year. Aside from being a natural girls girl the essence of our club is finally one that honestly matches perfectly with the different layers of my personality. Our open to campus events and socializing to self expression with writing and engaging in our more intimate weeks with meetings. I’ve had the chance to both contribute and equally experience HERCampus without wanting to drop or ghost how typical college clubs involvement go. I’m a business major entrepreneurship concentrate student. My time in undergrad so far I’ve boldly experimented with mentorship’s/cohorts, volunteering with mentors brands and just non profits / orgs I’m connected to. I blind leaped into the (policy) debate team my junior year and committed to our team and the competitions ,which I’m still surprised til this day about but I’ve definitely grew to admire the sport. The fashion scene forever brings me joy and entertainment, keeping up with the designers, houses, journalists, models, directors is the air I breathe !! I’ve always loved films and really good tv show scripts, I can tell you specifically what episodes from a range of shows really were just executed to perfection.