Leisure reading is a great pastime. There are countless benefits to "reading for fun" - both individual and social - of reading. We know from our own research, however, that Gusties don't have a lot of time to read outside of class. We know many of you love to read, though. Here are ideas, tips and suggestions for connecting with books and authors. While many of these things may be especially applicable once you graduate - and hopefully have more time for reading - we also hope you're inspired to find ways to carve out reading time during your busy college years as well. These resources will also be useful for anyone who loves to read, whether you're a student or not.
Happy reading!
Moon Witch, Spider King by A great way to find new books is to connect with authors, reviewers and other readers on social media platforms. You can like author pages on Facebook and follow authors and bloggers on Twitter and Instagram. Here are some popular hashtags:
The Madness of Crowds by You may wonder why bother reading for pleasure, especially when there are so many other demands on our time. Here are several articles and posts that delve into the benefits of reading. There's also one about the gendered nature of reading and what it means. Plus a few fun ones.
We have a fairly large collection of novels in our library. They get a little bit buried in the Library of Congress system, which intermingles novel and critical works about said novel or novelist. (Past library practices of removing the dust jackets make it less fun to browse our shelves for novels, alas.)
Here is where you can find fiction:
Or see what our Gustavus community members have been reading by searching our LibraryThing account. You can also see what Library Thing's recommendation machine suggests based on what students and faculty have read. We do have general nonfiction books, too. See what we have in our Browsing collection or try some catalog searches for popular titles.
Learn more about diversity in children's books, including the We Need Diverse Books campaign, at this online library guide.
These sites provide ways of keeping track of what you've read, as well as recommendations, reviews and opportunities to connect with other readers.
Minnesota boasts an incredibly rich literary tradition. From independent book stores to top-name authors to respected presses, Minnesota has it all. Here are some highlights.
Presses:
Independent Book Stores:
Awards:
Lab Girl by There are a lot of book bloggers and book sites, including reviewers who get advanced copies of books and publish reviews before the books even hit the shelves. Bloggers and sites often have specific genres they review, so if you like to read a certain kind of book, like young adult or crime fiction, try a Google search to find bloggers and sites to follow. Here are a few of our favorites:
Akata Witch by 