A book is the perfect companion to an early summer’s breeze and hot weather, time away in the day to experience peace. No matter the genre, take the worthy time to block out the world around you. Focus on only the words on the page; those words being the only things in your mind. No external stimuli. No phones. No people. No responsibilities. No deadlines. To study your own thoughts, your own analysis— find a kind of clarity. To read may be to offer solutions to matters in your own life or inspire a more refined way of thinking. You may consider this bizarre, but I like to have three books to read in one period of time. The first novel is related to my studies, often a classic. The second novel is something easy to read— usually contemporary and slightly cringeworthy. The third is something in relation to social theories. I usually read the contemporary novel before I sleep, because my sleepy mind can comprehend it. The concepts are relatively simple and isn’t too dialogue heavy. Classics give me an idea about where all stories come from— being echoes of each other. Social theory books help me to understand the world today. Yet each genre leans into the same thing— escapism. Reading enhances cognitive functions— it keeps the mind sharp, and it’s this that draws me towards reading. When reading a novel, you are constantly recalling things. Characters, the setting, the plot. It is these recollections that sharpen your mind, whether you’re reading fiction or non-fiction. 

With each day of university, I am constantly studying. Editing. Writing. Researching. The paperback waiting for me is my choice of rest. It’s a fulfilling way to enjoy things  without the quick dopamine gain of staring at a screen. To put myself in a world that I can immerse myself into detaches me from my own responsibilities and creeping to-do-list. I get a piece of someone else’s life after being weighed down about my own. 

My current refuge reread is the contemporary romcom Beach Read by Emily Henry. For me, reading romcoms puts me in my comfort zone. They often adhere to romance tropes, making them predictable, a safe escape from the unexpected or unfortunate. Books for escapism are commonly at the heart of book clubs; people coming together to get lost in a world together. A good book can bring people together— and that’s not to say it has to be a classic. Book clubs and libraries make books more accessible, and in turn, it makes the bookish community more inclusive. Whether you choose to read a physical book, or read an electronic one online, you can still experience the same worldly escape that book can provide. 

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