The Daily Gamecock

Reading for pleasure (yes, it's a real thing)

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Every year, college students are forced to buy expensive and often obsolete textbooks and reading materials. We waste our parents’ money on reading materials that we don’t want to — and often don’t end up needing to — read. The passages and research that we do end up skimming can be incredibly boring or difficult to get to, so we start associating reading with that horrible, uninterested feeling.

But we have libraries full of books that are meant to be enjoyed, not suffered through. Just by stepping into Thomas Cooper or a used book store, it’s often super easy to find books that can be read for pleasure. Yes, at times it seems time-consuming and harder than watching the next episode of your favorite show that’s already loading on Netflix, but a good story sometimes makes us think in ways we didn’t before, and it can be really satisfying to finish a great book.

So before the semester gets too overwhelming, consider picking up a book for fun. Whether it’s a self-help style book about the challenges of young adulthood, a classic fiction tale or something light and modern, books can help us make connections to the world around us and even make us smarter.

Here are a few reads that may spark your own interest:

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This mysterious tale is about a traveling circus that opens — you guessed it — at night. The story of two star-crossed circus participants will draw you in from the first page, and following their journey proves to be not what you expect. The fascinating character development makes this easy read a quick one, and your imagination will run wild with the fantastic and magical descriptions.

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner

This travel memoir follows an American writer as he travels the globe searching for the true meaning and source of happiness. He asks himself and the people he meets questions along the way that will stir up a wanderlust and curiosity in the reader that you may have never known you had. Unlike self-help books, this brutally honest book doesn’t claim to solve your unhappiness, but instead explores unlikely sources of joy throughout the world, and it could prove especially eye-opening for young adults looking for their own happiness.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

A classic fiction story about a bizarre hostage situation in South America, this book stretches the definition of a traditional novel’s timeline. As the situation evolves, fears, loyalties and emotions change, and you will find yourself sympathizing with, despising and even caring for all the wrong characters. The strange tale takes place in such a short amount of time, but it manages to capture an uncharted facet of humanity that proves fun to contemplate.


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