Lighter Reading Book Club
It’s that time of the semester where saying you feel burnt out doesn’t even begin to describe the lack of motivation to study for the next chemistry exam or complete your longer-than-desired lit paper. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of excitement to get you back on track!
I’ve always been an avid reader, and since I was a little girl I would escape into the fantasies of made-up worlds through books. The glow of a reading light would come from my room late at night, surprising my parents who knew me as one who favored rising early rather than staying up late. There were many times that I would come tiptoeing out of my room to say goodnight to Mom and Dad to be met with their surprised reaction of “I thought you went to bed an hour ago!”
One of these times was my first experience with a book that really made me feel something. I was up way past my bedtime in what must have been the third or fourth grade, but I was only pages away from the ending of what was to be the best book I had read yet. I raced to turn page after page, but slowly the story became sadder and sadder. Upon finishing the book, tears were streaming down my cheeks and I could not contain my sadness. Walking into my parents’ bedroom, I was met with their familiar surprise to see me still awake. I poured out to my mom how sad I was because the book I read did not have a happy ending, and she told me that reading is supposed to make us think and feel things and experience a new life with every book we pick up. I no longer remember what that book was, but to this day I find comfort in slipping into the lives of characters and challenging my thoughts with the literature.
A lighter reading book club could be exactly what you need at this point in the semester: motivation to clear your head of math equations for an hour or two as you are engulfed by a new world. Now I know, “Book Club” sounds stiff and boring- it makes me think of neighborhood moms sitting around with glasses of wine and gossiping about everything but books!
The purpose of a book club, however, is to encourage people to come together over stories they love, and we hope that’s exactly what our brand new Lighter Reading Book Club will do. Even amidst piles of homework and exams, it is helpful to give your brain a break to do something you enjoy and maybe meet some new friends along the way! So come beat that mid-semester slump with us!
This link will take you to a sign up form where you can see a list of books we might read. We love your feedback on what books excite you most- you can even add your own ideas to the list!