Between going to classes, fulfilling social obligations, and keeping up with those mountains of required readings and pesky homework assignments, reading for fun is something that most collegiettes have a difficult time making room for in our busy schedules. At the end of a long day, it’s incredibly tempting to watch another episode of Scandal on Netflix instead of picking up a book. Our reluctance to read outside of textbooks and assigned articles is understandable, but it’s a shame because most of us probably loved to read when we were younger (back when we had way more free time).
Reading can be so awesome, and nothing is better than finding a book that you feel connected to and want to share with all your friends. So, treat yo’ self—the next time you find yourself with some unexpected free time, consider reading for ~fun~. If you’re looking for some great reading material that feels relevant in your life, here’s a list of four amazing books that have a university setting.
1. The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath
If you didn’t have to read The Bell Jar in high school (or even if you did), you should read it while you’re in college. The angsty protagonist, Esther Greenwood, seems like she has everything—beauty, intelligence, success—until she has a mental breakdown interning for a magazine while on summer break from her university. Some of Esther’s troubles are scarily easy to identify with—she worries about love, relationships, failure, and what she wants to do with her life, and Plath’s semi-autobiographical depiction of Esther’s struggle with mental illness is important and relevant even sixty years after its publication.
2. The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
Okay, if a play by Euripides and How to Get Away With Murder had a baby, it would be this novel. This book is crazy—the prologue begins with the narrator, Richard Pappin, telling the reader about how he and his friends murdered their classmate Bunny, and then (probably) got away with it. The Secret History’s private university setting, fascinating characters, obsession with fate and beauty, and bacchanalian ceremonies and celebrations that get a little too crazy (hello, Mardi Gras!) make it a perfect book to read while you’re still a student at Tulane.
3. Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
This book follows the story of a middle-class college student at Oxford who falls in with a clique of wealthy, flamboyant, and strange students including the eccentric Sebastian Flyte, who carries around a teddy bear called Aloysius. If you love the glamor and decadence of the roaring 20’s, bizarre characters with more money than they know how to spend, and stories set in England, Brideshead Revisited is the book for you.
4. The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss
Harry Potter lovers rejoice! If you’re looking for something to fill the void in your post-HP world, The Name of the Wind is like Harry Potter for adults. The story centers around Kvothe, a young man who makes his way across the world to study at the only university that still trains magicians. This book is brilliantly written, very funny, and completely unique.
So once you finish up your pile of homework and you’re looking for something to do, embrace your inner Matilda, think about picking up one of these books (or any non-school book), and remember that reading can actually be fun.