[kokosas]

Reading- It doesn't have to be a chore!

BY SABRINA KOKOSAREVIC, MACINSIDERS

Do you remember when you were a kid and preschool had 'reading time'? Does

DEAR ring any bells? Drop-Everything-And-Read?
Unfortunately, as we get older we have less and less time to just 'drop everything and read'. As university students life is a whirlwind of classes, homework, attempts at a social life and often extra curricular responsibilities. When we do get to just drop everything it usually involves falling asleep in front of the TV.

However, there are those of us who find ourselves reading a lot throughout the year... whether we like it or not. As an English and Classics major this plagues me every year. I personally can enjoy most of the assigned readings... if they weren't assigned along side 5 other novels/articles/poems/chapters out of a outrageously thick text book. As many of my peers have often mentioned... it's hard to find enjoyment in a book that you're forced to read by a certain time or when reading that book coincides with the midterm rush and you know you HAVE to get it done but your time would be better spent studying for tomorrows killer test.

Unfortunately, the only advice I can give you in that situation is to pace yourself. During the summer speak to upper years about classes you intend on taking. Find out whether or not the profs that teach those classes like to change their reading list around or not. Canadian Literature 2G06 for instance is pretty much the same every year. Get the list of books used in that class from those who have taken it before and either borrow them from those students or get them out of your local public library. Do not buy them unless you want them for yourself personally. You can read ahead in the summer, but there is never a guarantee that those books will be on your required list, it's just an educated guess. However, if your guess was correct you save yourself time during the year (depending on how well you remember the works), suddenly those lectures on that novel/work will be a refresher for you and you don't have to panic about reading that book during the crunch time. You will have already read it previously and you can peruse it at your leisure whenever you need to.

If you find out during the year that those books you read over the summer are not on the course list, that's okay! Leisure reading actually helps reduce stress, no matter what genre it is. Books take the reader away from their own reality, away from the bills, the family and/or friends problems, the school work, etc. Even though your mind is still working, it's relaxed at what it's doing, and if you find a good book that you can relate to it can even make you feel better about your life situations after you put it down. Besides, who knows... you might shock your TA/Prof by bringing another course related book into your essay to further prove your point and solidify your argument(s).

Stress is a big part of the school year, I hate to tell you but you're not going to escape it. Even if you are the master at what you do, you will still end up stressed at some point. Best accept it now.

Something you can do though is to pick up a book and read for 10 minutes (or longer if you have the time). I know, I know, I was just talking about how stressful school is and how you don't have the time to read! But here's the deal: many people suggest a 10 minute break every hour or hour and a half if you like to push yourself. Studying for several straight hours doesn't actually help you, your mind wanders and you don't take it all in. Take those 10 minutes and read a book, get away from the school work for a bit and relax that ol' brain of yours. If you’re not a fan of reading there are other stress tips from MacInsiders in this thread.

Believe it or not, leisure books are available on campus... as well as all those daunting textbooks that when thrown could take a person out. And no, I'm not telling you to go buy something from titles although you could do that if you wanted.

Mills Memorial Library offers a Popular Reading Collection for your benefit. These books include genres from mysteries, sci-fi, romance, historical fiction and other popular novels. The book stacks that house these novels can be found in the hallway of Mills Learning Commons (2nd floor) and can be checked out like any other library book so you don't have to haul yourself into Westdale for a good book!

Make sure you make time to relax at some point during your day, especially if you're at school and you're stressed out. It may seem like a needless break at the time but if you're more focused later you'll do better in the end!

Some nice tips Sabrina!

Omg Dear. Lame!

HEY!
You leave DEAR alone missus!

I am no missus.