Why you should read for enjoyment

I remember walking into my adviser’s office last year, overwhelmed and complaining about the readings, assignments and tests my teachers expected me to somehow make time for. 

She told me, in the nicest way I ever heard: I needed these classes for my major and I was smart enough to succeed,  so suck-it-up-butter-cup, make like Nike and just do it (exactly what I needed to get off my bus of self-pity). 

After such truth bombs, I asked what advice she had for me as a student. 

Instead of talking about fancy note-taking techniques or offering comments about reading all textbook chapters twice, her greatest advice was reading more; taking a few minutes before bed to read a book. How much could you learn if you spent a short amount of time reading daily?

Motivated by that thought and because, for some reason, my friends assume I am an intensely literary person who has read all the things (which is great, right up until they are making comments about the inner motivations of some immensely famous character I never heard of), I decided to make a reading list. I picked out twenty books that I wanted to read in 2020 and started reading. 

Right now I’m sitting with about fifteen out of twenty complete and feeling optimistic about the other five. I chose a mix of classic and modern books, fiction and nonfiction, and really tried to expand the range of books I read. 

Now I like reading. Give me a book, some snacks and a cup of tea and I’m set until something runs out or I finish the book. I also have a fairly quick reading speed (for everything that is not a textbook, that is). You might not like reading. That’s okay. How much you read is irrelevant. The consistent practice of exercising your reading and thinking muscles will lead to speed and maybe even enjoyment. Over the next year, or even during the rest of the semester, pick up a book or two (other than just textbooks) and let your brain wander onto some new territory. Personally, I already have so many plans for my 2021 book list.