Peters/The Crest)
College-student book lovers like myself know that once the semester starts picking up, there’s less time for our favorite hobby. During winter break, bibliophiles can sit by the fireplace and read an entire book in one sitting, yet now, our days are consumed by writing to-do lists, answering discussion posts and completing dreaded textbook readings.
But just because you might be spending all your free time worrying about when your next assignment is due and mindlessly scrolling social media, it doesn’t mean you have to put away the pages for good.
March is National Reading Month, and I’ve got some ideas that are cause for celebration. Plus, they don’t include that personal reading you no longer have time for.
- Support your local bookstore
You may be thinking, “Why would I buy a book when I don’t have time to read it?” That’s a fair point, but it’s always nice to support your indie bookstores, and down the road when you get into the swing of the semester, you might find time for it. The Twin Cities is full of independent bookstores — one of my favorites is Next Chapter near Macalester College — and in a month dedicated to reading, it seems like the perfect time to plan a visit to one.
- Start a book club, or watch a bookish movie
Creating a whole book club might also be difficult for college students due to its reading nature. But technically, you don’t have to read a book per month like other book clubs might; you can just talk about them.
Sometimes it’s fun to just hang out with friends and discuss the books you’ve read in the past or look into ones you hope to read soon, like the book you just bought from an independent bookstore or the ones that have been sitting on your “To be read” shelf untouched for months.
Or, you could watch a movie adaptation of a book. Exploring your favorite hobby with those who share it is a great way to relieve some school stress, too.
- Donate old books to charity, or sell them
I know you have a large pile of finished books that you will never touch again. I do, myself. Why keep them? March is the perfect chance to give your book to someone who will enjoy reading it for the first time. If you’re short on cash, there are great resources online for selling used books. You can also donate them to your local library or a charity like Goodwill.
- Try a cookbook
Remember all your friends you started a book club with? They’re hungry. Time to dig out the recipe book you bought when you swore you’d learn to cook and practice your skills. Cookbooks are books, too.
- Decorate bookmarks
Another great way to de-stress and remove all the worries from your head is by crafting. There are tons of bookish crafts you can choose from, one of which is making bookmarks. I’m an avid believer in not dog-earing my books, but sometimes without a bookmark, you gotta do what you gotta do. St. Thomas has a CreateSpace to help you with this problem, but all you really need is some paper, colorful markers and an imagination.
Bridget Schmid can be reached at schm1520@stthomas.edu.
