".read" by .brioso. is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Were you an avid reader before college assigned reading took up all of your time? Maybe you never really read for fun but are looking to pick up a new hobby. Now reading for fun doesn't mean just sitting down and trying to read all of War and Peace by Tolstoy in one go, you can also grab a magazine or a newspaper. Heck, to this librarian podcasts and audiobooks count at pleasure reading! This series of posts are going to walk you through how to find books or other reading materials for fun, how to get them, and the benefits of extracurricular reading. Let's start with the benefits!
Reading for pleasure during college is important for a variety of reasons. Benefits of reading include:
"Sossi loves books" by bibliothekarin is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Kidding! You can't have cats in your dorm rooms! You can read about cats, though. Ever heard of the Warrior Cats book series? There's 14 of them! All of them Game of Thrones meets cats.
AudioBooks by Colette Cassinelli is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
So here's the thing about audio books. You may see people online arguing over if listening to audiobooks or podcasts counts as reading, you always see the back and forth on Twitter for example, and you know what the answer is? YES!
If reading a print book or e-book just can't keep your attention, or you have trouble with it, or even if you simply enjoy the sound of someone telling you a story then by all means download an audiobook! Not only do some narrators completely captivate and draw you in (I'm looking at you, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy narrated by Stephen Fry), studies show that audiobooks have similar cognitive and emotional benefits to reading print.
Bal PM, & Veltkamp M (2013) How Does Fiction Reading Influence Empathy? An Experimental Investigation on the Role of Emotional Transportation. PLOS ONE 8(1): e55341.
Best, Emily. Audiobooks and literacy: A rapid review of the literature. National Literacy Trust, 2020.
Finucane E, O'Brien A, Treweek S, Newell J, et al.. Does reading a book in bed make a difference to sleep in comparison to not reading a book in bed? The People's Trial-an online, pragmatic, randomised trial. Trials. 2021 Dec 4;22(1):873. doi: 10.1186/s13063-021-05831-3. PMID: 34996514; PMCID: PMC8740874.
Levine SL, Cherrier S, Holding AC, Koestner R. For the love of reading: Recreational reading reduces psychological distress in college students and autonomous motivation is the key. J Am Coll Health. 2022 Jan;70(1):158-164. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2020.1728280. Epub 2020 Mar 9. PMID: 32150516.
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2003). Critical Thinking... and the Art of Close Reading (Part I). Journal of Developmental Education, 27(2), 36–39.
Whitten, C., Labby, S., & Sullivan, S.(2019). The impact of Pleasure Reading on Academic Success.Journal of Multidisciplinary Graduate Research Vol.2 No.1