After finishing hundreds of pages on political theory, or maybe going through a critical analysis of a centuries old play or an incomprehensible lab report, the last thing you probably want to do is pick up yet another book. Most St. Lawrence students are taking four classes, on top of a sport or a work study job or an position in a club. It’s like there is no possible time to fit in reading anything more. There is absolutely no way that reading something extra, something you choose rather than get assigned, can be added to your schedule. Or even more impossibly: that reading this something extra could be fun.
I recently got back into reading books by choice, for my own enjoyment. It was kind of weird at first that I didn’t need to take notes. As an English major, I normally keep a large pile of sticky notes in every color beside me to mark quotes and constantly pause to take down page numbers and go back to check the assignment so I’m sure I’m looking for the right details. But this time, I could look for whatever I wanted. It was nice, being able to actually get lost in a story. And not having to write a 10 page paper on it also didn’t hurt.
Taking care of your mental health is one good reason to turn to a book for fun. According to Healthline, a 2009 study found that 30 minutes of reading lessened feelings of psychological distress and even physical symptoms like increased heart rate and blood pressure, just like yoga practice does. Reading can also help with sleep and may alleviate depression symptoms. Healthline also reports that there is a program in the UK that, with the help of medical experts, “prescribes” books for certain conditions. Of course, there are many types of ways to support your own mental health and it’s different for everyone, but maybe reading is the right way for you.
That was the case for me. In elementary and middle school, I read entire books in days and sometimes even made a series my entire personality (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, I’m looking at you). But as high school got busy, and then college got even busier, I was only reading whatever novel was assigned or just articles and textbook chapters for class. It took a 10-day quarantine to make me actively pick out two books from Waterstones because I got bored of Netflix and HBO and all the other streaming services. But as it turns out, this was a good choice and this new habit stuck.
Of course I’m not able to read every day, but I’m proud of myself when I decide to put my phone away way before I go to sleep and read a few chapters instead of scrolling through Instagram. I reactivated my old Goodreads, so I can feel special each time I finish a book and can add it to my “read” folder. There is something very satisfying about it. It’s also just nice to get out of my head a little bit and distract myself from the stress of senior spring. If you have the chance to pick out a book, even if it’s just revisiting a childhood favorite, or a Booktok recommendation (“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” IS good), take it. You may rediscover a love for reading you thought you lost.