Balancing Pleasure and Academia: The Art of Not Losing your Reading Hobby at University

Reading for pleasure and reading for your courses are often two very different things. If, like me, you study a humanities course then reading for pleasure can be overshadowed by your (sometimes dry) course readings. So, how do we balance reading for pleasure whilst also reading for our courses?  

Try to read more fantastical books, or books that take you out of this world, even if it is a romance or a thriller.  

Most of us read for escapism and pure pleasure: we don’t want to be reminded of reality and what’s happening around the world, so a fantasy book or a fast-paced thriller is a way to separate you from your course.  

Recommendations: Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo), Reputation (Lex Croucher), Verity (Colleen Hoover)  

As a completely opposite point, start your year with a dark academia book.  

Personally, I love to begin my academic year with a dark academia book as it sets the tone and feelings for how I want my year to go as there is a big emphasis on studying and learning (even if I don’t stick with it as the year goes on!) Additionally, with the rainy days and early, dark nights, this fits the mood of the book and sometimes staying in all wrapped up while the rain lashes outside, is the perfect set up to read.  

Recommendations: If We Were Villains (M. L. Rio), The Secret History (Donna Tart), Babel (R. F. Kuang)   

Read for pleasure and as a hobby, not to fit a goal.  

A lot of readers track their reading goals through apps such as Goodreads or the StoryGraph, alongside having monthly/yearly goals to read a certain number of books. This is a good way to motivate yourself to read. However, remember that when you go to university, you might be going out a lot more or meeting new people so that will take away reading time, but you are still doing something valuable with your time by making new memories. Remember to read for pleasure and you can always adjust your goals whenever you want.  

Set attainable goals.  

On a contradictory note from before, you could always set some small attainable goals like reading 10–20 pages per day or week depending on how much time you have. This way you’ll be meeting your goals and reading. 

Join a book club!  

There are several book clubs on campus and online, or you can even start one with your friends. This way you will have a reason to read as you can discuss a book and hear other people’s thoughts and opinions.   

Read in different ways.  

A lot of your university texts might be online, so try to pick up a physical book instead and vice versa: your course texts can be (sometimes very old) books (thanks History) so try and read on a kindle or listen to an audiobook (it still counts as reading).  

Read fanfiction.  

Fanfiction counts as reading, so if you’re riding a high from a book or series and you don’t want to move on (let’s be honest, we’ve all been there), then read some fanfiction.  

Reread your favourite books and bring your comfort books.  

Moving to university for the first time is a stressful experience – you have just left your family, your friends, your pets, and the homesickness is real. Bringing some comfort books will make the settling in feel easier as you have something familiar to fall back on.  

Don’t be afraid to DNF a book!  

If you’re not clicking with your current read, stop reading it! This could make you feel unmotivated to continue reading, and you can always come back to it later if you feel like it.  

Don’t force yourself to read!  

For me personally, studying humanity/source-based subjects can really take a lot out of me, and reading texts all day could drain me and make me feel unmotivated to pick up a book. That’s completely fine! Sometimes you need to check in with yourself and see what you feel like doing.  

Reading is not a competition; it should always for pleasure. You will be feeling homesick, or excited to meet new people and have new experiences, or worried about the workload, so you should do what makes you feel calm and comfortable. Don’t worry if you don’t read as much anymore because you will be doing something else with your time.