It happens. We binge watch the entire first season of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” on Netflix or take an extended nap and don’t even think about reading. And while I love the Mole Women as much as the next person, it can be just as great to pick up a nice book and read it in satisfying silence. So here are five ways to make time for reading.
**1) Cleanse your studying palette with a nice fiction book.**
When you’re spending hours studying, it can feel like the barrage of haughty textbook terms is endless. For small breaks, a light and funny book is a great way to de-stress. For example, “One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories” by B.J. Novak is a perfect read. With short, satirical stories, “One More Thing” is a book that doesn’t really require much involvement, but is still extremely entertaining. Taking a break from studying to read something enjoyable lets your mind have a nice break from the daily grind.
**2) Get book apps for reading on the go.**
Bringing a novel to class everyday can be an added weight that you don’t want to have to carry around. If your backpack is already full of notebooks and textbooks, even a small novel can be easy to leave behind. A good solution is to just download iBooks or the Kindle app so that, as long as you have your phone, your books are there too. Whether it’s a great collection of short stories or a sassy young adult novel, a book will always be with you when you have the time.
**3) Take a break from social media.**
Okay, go to your iPhone’s usage settings. As a sort-of shame tactic, seeing the four hours a day you spend on Twitter is equal parts embarrassing and impressive. But while seeing the same tweets over and over can be somewhat interesting, a good novel is a better way to spend your time. In the time an average person spends per day refreshing Instagram, a good chunk of a seriously good novel could be read. Besides that, taking a break from social media is a refreshing change. By taking an hour a day to delve into the lives of Huckleberry Finn and his adventures or Clary Fray from The City of Bones, you can let yourself be a part of an alternate reality, a world of stories.
**4) Find a friend to read with.**
A way to hold yourself accountable to reading is starting a mini book club with a friend. Discussing the best plot points or favorite characters is a great way to keep each other on track with any book. By involving your friends in your reading endeavors, you can even see points in the novel from different perspectives you wouldn’t usually see. A great, emotionally complex novel like “A Picture of Dorian Gray,” by Oscar Wilde, would be better understood if you had someone to bounce ideas off of. If you have a friend to read with, it is not only easier to keep up with your reading goals, but also to fully embrace the book you’re reading.
**5) Let movies encourage your reading habits.**
Sometimes, the worst part about finding time for writing is actually finding a book to read. When you see a commercial for a movie that’s based upon a book, a good challenge is to read the book before you allow yourself to see the movie. This way, when everyone is freaking out about the new “The Hunger Games” or “The Maze Runner” movies, you can be the person who knows all the comparisons between the silver screen version and the book. And while it’s tempting to depend on the action-packed movie version with the beautifully filmed trailer, there can be so much more character development and plot points in the book. Just like Ginny in the Harry Potter films — she’s probably the most boring and generic character in the movies. But in the books, she is smart, strong and ambitious — making her one of my favorite characters in the series. By letting your reading habits be guided by movies, you’ll always be reminded to keep reading when the trailer comes on. And with all the Hollywood movie drama, a book can be a wonderful addition and a great interruption.
