CONTRIBUTED: The end of the semester is near. Soon you will turn in your last paper and complete your final final. You will be off to do what you do in the summer; working, taking classes, or maybe some planned nothing. Whatever it is, we know you’re busy, but summer is a great time to catch up on the reading you’ve been putting off all year.
Summer reading is a wonderful way to keep your mind sharp and ready to go when classes start in the fall. Studies have shown that summer breaks can be detrimental to learning when students don’t engage in some mental activity.
Summer reading is great because you get that mental activity but you choose what to read! Maybe you want to read that new popular book you haven’t had time for, or want to do some extra reading in your field of study. Catch up on classics, read today’s hottest bestsellers, memoirs, historical books, or some ever-popular non-fiction.
Need ideas? There are lots of ways to find out about books. Ask your friends and family what they’re reading. Do an internet search like “best books for summer reading” or “best science fiction books”.
There are also lots of yearly lists or challenges. One I have used is at Popsugar.com. Do an internet search for “popsugar reading challenge” and find their list of 40+ prompts like “a book with a rabbit on the cover”, or “a book about a vacation”. Even if you don’t do the entire challenge it gives you lots of ideas to choose from.
Another option is to try your favorite artificial intelligence (AI). I haven’t tried it myself, but I’ve seen people get good (or bad?) results that way. Just give it a few favorite books or themes and it will come back with suggestions.
You can also ask a librarian for recommendations. Here are a few newer books I’ve read recently and recommend. “Fatty Fatty Boom Boom: A Memoir of Food, Fat & Family” – by Rabia Chaudry, “Fairy Tale” – a fantasy fairy tale by Stephen King and “Our Missing Hearts” – a contemporary dystopian by Celeste Ng.
Stop by the library in Benton Hall for more ideas. Look over our current display of books, browse our Popular Reading section, or visit our second floor to see what we have up there. Ask a librarian if you need help narrowing down, or expanding, your search.
Kirkwood Library Services
Categories: Contributed, Feature, Library Update
