Category: Reading

Booktok: A Community of Readers Rekindling My Love For Literature

1/1/2025

by BriAnna Sankey

When you read a good book, one that leaves you absolutely stunned--all you want to do is share it with someone! Preferably someone who has already read it, and understands your emotion behind the most specific scenes. Most times though, we find ourselves calling up a friend and forcing them to stay on the phone for an hour as we explain the whole plot of the book, and continue to give a thirty minute analysis breaking down the book in its entirety. Now I don’t know about you, but my friends would probably hang up after 10 minutes of word vomit because they aren’t readers. Since I’ve joined BookTok, I’ve seen how it brings readers together in a world where they can share their excitement over popular books and new, emerging titles. This sense of community is influential to the public because everyone wants to be “in” on the conversation. FOMO is no joke.

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In Defense of Short Stories

7/1/2024

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by Courtney R. Hall

A cover page with text in large, capitalized font that reads The Oxford Book of English Short Stories.

Photo by Hyoung-Won Park on Flickr

As a lifelong reader, avid writer, and recent graduate student pursuing a MA in Writing degree ('24), I have a confession to make: I cannot recall reading a short story for my own pleasure prior to attending graduate school. I, of course, had to study short stories throughout primary and high school, but they always seemed to be one-off stories in a textbook rather than part of a cohesive and meticulously curated collection. Craving an escape, my younger self epitomized the stereotypical book-obsessed-child, and this yearning has profoundly shaped my literary journey. It predominantly drew me toward novels and longer works of fiction and nonfiction—a literary habit I didn’t know I possessed until recently.

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Reading, Romance, and Gender Roles: A Gendered Possibility for Men Reading Less

2/1/2024

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by Gianna Forgen

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

When I was in elementary school, I read all the time. I vividly remember, during a snack break, I had become so entranced by my book that I had missed my teacher calling my table for our turn to use the bathroom. I remember, too, the look on her face, probably wondering if it was worse that I hadn’t listened, or worse to chastise me for reading.

Back then, it felt like everyone loved to read. When we filled out posters at the beginning of the school year detailing our hobbies, two took precedence above all others: reading and writing. As students, we had to read, of course, but it seemed like everyone still enjoyed it, at least the kids in my class. In elementary school, a boy I was friends with and I read the entire Harry Potter series at the same time–he finished Deathly Hallows only fifteen minutes before me. He was one of the most voracious readers I knew.

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A Taste for Literature

9/1/2022

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by Ellen Lewis

It was that time of year. I snuggled up on my sofa with my fuzzy blanket, seasonal coffee, and warmed up pumpkin muffin. I opened a brand new horror novel, and suddenly...it was all wrong! Sure, I was eating fall foods and reading a spooky story, but I wasn’t in the right mood. It took me a minute to realize that the pumpkin muffin was making me feel warm and cozy, not ready to read about blood and monsters.

As you sit down to read your favorite type of book, are you indulging in the correct food or drink—the one that will set the mood for your reading and not pull you out of it? Consider giving these suggestions a try to bring your reading experience to the next level. Embrace different genres by using food and drink to transport you to another world.

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Lottery Of Birth: The Privilege Of Knowing How To Read And Write

4/1/2022

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by Amanda Smera

Not once in my life have I had to wonder what it is like to not know how to read or write. And I am guessing that, if you are reading this right now, neither have you.

But what if I told you that in some countries, reading and writing are not as reachable as they seem to be? That for some people, reading and writing is seen as a privilege and not as a common practice?

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Booktok: A Community of Readers Rekindling My Love For Literature

In Defense of Short Stories

Reading, Romance, and Gender Roles: A Gendered Possibility for Men Reading Less

A Taste for Literature

Lottery Of Birth: The Privilege Of Knowing How To Read And Write

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