Balancing Bookloads: Tricks to Navigate Your Book Piles

It’s fun being an English major. I get to read and talk about books with other people who love them just as much as I do. I’ve gotten to find out a ton about my own reading habits and likes/dislikes, just from reading the assigned novels from class.

On the other hand, though, it’s tough to juggle reading for class and reading for fun. Sure, reading for class can be interesting, but I’ve also got a “to-read” pile that’s taller than I am (and climbing). Although I’ve never been someone who minded reading several books at once (in fact, I prefer it), sometimes there’s just not enough time in the day to get all of it done.

So how do keep up with fun reading while still balancing schoolwork (especially if you’re majoring in a reading-heavy curriculum like English)? These are the tricks I’ve used to navigate the sea of books I have to read:  

Short books

There are, like, no pictures of this book cover online.

This one’s probably pretty obvious, but since a lot of my assigned readings are longer, I’ve stuck to the shorter books when I’m crunched for time. Little novels (or novels with bigger text) are great for a quick, relaxing read without the stress of balancing more than one book at a time. I’d recommend something like Texts from Jane Eyre, or maybe even a collection of short stories or poems.

Books about subjects I’m interested in

Again, this one is obvious. But sometimes I’ll read a book because someone recommended it, or because I think I should read it, and it takes longer than I think it should, or I put it down and never go back to it. I’ve started saving books like that for periods of time when I don’t have a lot of work to do (so… summer…), and instead I focus on the books I know will hold my interest. For me, this is anything from YA novels that have just come out (lookin’ at you, Allegiant), or historical fiction books that I’ve been waiting to read. One such book that I recently finished was The Glass Castle, which I highly recommend. It's kind of sad, though. Which leads me to...

Fun books

DUH, you say. CLEARLY when I’m reading for fun I want a FUN BOOK. But here’s the thing: a lot of times you start reading only to find that there’s way deeper stuff happening in the book than it says on the dust jacket. That’s awesome. That is, in fact, what you expect to happen. Sometimes, though, you don't want angsty-stuff weighing down your spirits. So instead, read the books that you know won’t have any angst, books that will give your overworked brain a break. Think Bossypants. Think Hyperbole and a Half. Stuff like that.

Relevant books

Remember me?

Still in school? Try looking for books that are relevant to whatever you’re talking about in class. Once you’ve gotten into the mindset of a certain theme or topic, it’s sometimes easier to read a book along those lines. Take me and the perfect, incomparable novel The God of Small Things, for example. Then again, you might just want to give your brain a break and read something unrelated to your life, like Gone Girl. At least, I hope Gone Girl isn’t related to your life.  

Books I’ve already read

Can't stop won't stop. 

I’m a monster about re-reading, which my grandma is oh-so-quick to point out every time she visits and I've got the same book in my hands. Sure, I’ve got that ever-growing to-read list on Goodreads, but I’m gonna revisit my $1 paperback copy of Cheaper by the Dozen anyway. Sometimes, the only way to unwind is to pick up an old favorite that you know is gonna make you feel better. Embrace that feeling. Revel in it. And then go buy and read a copy of The God of Small Things, because seriously, guys, that book is friggin’ amazing. 

Your Fave Could Never: Texts From Jane Eyre

After reading some very disturbing short stories for my South Asian Lit class, I took a break and started Texts From Jane Eyre. I was not disappointed.

Usually I get really defensive when people make fun of my favorite books, but in this case, I couldn’t stop laughing. Mallory Ortberg clearly loves the books she’s spoofing, which definitely adds to the flavor and voice of the book. Even though I hadn’t read every novel she covered, I was still amused by every one of them. Part of what made it enjoyable was that she was making fun of the White Male Canon, showing the weaknesses of the characters that some people consider the do-all, end-all of literature. As Ortberg puts it, “The canon is just brimming with so many wonderful, selfish assholes.”

From the Pride and Prejudice chapter, which made my roommate laugh so hard she cried.

One of the weaker parts of the book, I felt, was that a lot of the chapters seemed like they had the same voice. Maybe I can chalk that up to the fact that I breezed through the book (though it’s a nice size, the large font and layout mean it’s actually not as long as I’d thought when I bought it), but it seemed like a lot of the humor lay in USING ALL CAPS for multiple characters, and for one side of the conversation to be the “crazy” lead character talking to the dry, witty side character.

That being said, I love this book and I’m recommending it to anyone who wants a comfortable read about books they love.

4/5

Homework + Miscellaneous

So Texts From Jane Eyre was perfect and hilarious (post to come), but school is now in full swing, which means I have far less time to read for fun/blog. 

Luckily, as an English major, my homework is to read a bunch of novels! (And, you know, other stuff. Like write pages and pages of essays. But we'll focus on the positive here.) So far, we haven't started the novels yet, but in my South Asian Lit class, we've started Mirrorwork, which will be fun (and probably traumatizing. In my experience, South Asian Lit/Postcolonial Lit is usually not very happy). 

I've got a few minutes each morning wherein I can read and relax, so I'm going to be starting The Glass Castle, about which I've heard a lot of really great things. Anyone read it? What'd you think?

Textbooks are expensive (and other thoughts).

School has started, which means I'm a million, gazillion dollars poorer than I was a couple of days ago. Textbooks really hit ya where it hurts. (Good future post?) 

The bright side, though, is now that I'm in my third year of college, I'm only in classes pertaining to my major, which means NOVELS GALORE. 

This semester is gonna be great. I'm going to get to mix it up with stuff I'm posting; I'll even have some poetry on here, interestingly enough. I always forget just how much I love poetry, so this'll be a great refresher AND something to make the blog more... diverse? Interesting? Hip? Probably not hip.  

Also, even though I've got enough schoolwork reading as it is, I started Texts from Jane Eyre, which is hilarious and snarky and irreverent in all the right ways, so expect something about that soon.

Also also, here are my classes this semester, in case you're interested:

• South Asian Literature and Film (We're reading God of Small Things, which is one of my favorite books)
• Modern Poetry
• History of the English Language
• Contemporary British Fiction
• Psycholinguistics