By Emily Wei, Lifestyle Columnist
Have you ever woken up and thought “I have absolutely nothing to do today”, which usually leads to a day spent in front of the television or mindlessly scrolling through your phone in bed? No judgement if you have, because when I have the time to, I often do as well. However, I find that reading is a much more rewarding and enjoyable alternative. It can be hard to get into it at first if you are not an avid reader already, but I know very few people that have regretted or found reading unenjoyable after finding a good book. is is why I decided that this month’s column would be dedicated to helping you find a book best suited for you!
Starting off with poetry, this is a genre for those that want to process their feelings and look at things from a different perspective, so it is definitely not for everybody. I’ve recently gotten into more poetry and it’s a perfect way to either begin or end your day while laying in bed. Milk and Honey or The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur are great poetry books for those that have felt confused or unwanted. For those of you looking to bring a little positivity into your life, I would recommend A Gentle Reminder by Bianca Sparacino. Also, I know we aren’t supposed to judge books by their covers, but for those that care about aesthetics, I can assure you that poetry books often have some of the most beautiful covers and illustrations to display.
If the mention of doing nothing all day at the start of the column resonated with you, some perfect books to read are My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh and The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Both of these give you the opportunity to see how much life is actually worth living. On the other hand, If you’re into dramatics and want a good read, make sure to check out The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid or The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, both of which are full of plot twists and cliffhangers. I would say that all four of these books are moderately easy reads but definitely give you a bit of a challenge to decipher so they work for almost all intermediate to advanced reading levels!
If you are just looking to reignite the child in you, some of my favourites are The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgeson Burnett and The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Although classic childhood stories, these are still fun reads with enough advanced terminology to keep you intrigued! I am sure that almost everyone has seen the movies for each but the books give you a much more in depth experience on the storyline.
Lastly, for those of you that love learning about random concepts, things, or events, I would highly recommend the “Very Short Introduction” series of books from Oxford University Press. is series has books on everything from astrophysics to contemporary art and explains the basic ideas behind various topics extremely well. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking is not nearly as easy of a read as the Oxford series, however it is also a very good read if space and physics interest you.
Of course all these books are just personal suggestions as I have read them and think they are quite versatile for most interests. However, I encourage you to branch out and try out any books that sound interesting to you! The easiest way would probably be to go to your local bookstore and look in the section containing whichever genre looks the most appealing to you. Remember that if you’re not quite sure if you want to make an investment by buying a book from the bookstore, you can always try it out by renting it from the library first!
Photo credits to: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-woman-reading-book-3747468/
