College is a time for broadening your horizons to gain perspective. One great way to gain perspective is to read people’s stories (fictitious or not). While some may be harder to comprehend than others, you can use online resources like Course Hero to share notes about these noteworthy books. (And if you change your mind, you can get a Course Hero refund.) Before you graduate college, while you still have access to online resources and the library’s huge book collection,
consider reading some of the books listed below:
1. Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Omnivore’s Dilemma describes how easy it is to let convenience negatively affect our food choices and how knowing where our food comes from may help us reconsider.
2. Suze Orman’s The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke
The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke provides information and tips for effective money management so you can live a little without going into any more debt.
3. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
One of the most-read books written in the twentieth century, The Lord of the Rings narrates the journey of four hobbits and their companions as they travel across Middle Earth to destroy the One Ring.
4. Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change is a highly-rated productivity tool and has motivated many to succeed. In addition to developing successful habits, it is a fairly quick read.
5. Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking explains how most of us regularly make choices without thinking (and how making decisions isn’t as simple as we think at first glance).
You can also read: 8 Classics Books That You Must Read Once in A Lifetime
6. Food Network Kitchens’ How to Boil Water
Especially for those who haven’t learned to cook much more than Ramen, How to Boil Water be the perfect addition to your book collection.
7. Dan Ariely’s Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape our Decisions
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape our Decisions is about how having free will, rationalizing life experiences, and knowing what is good for us keep us from the decisions that really matter.
8. Lindsey Pollack’s Getting from College to Career: Your Essential Guide to Succeeding in the Real World
If you’re at all undecided in what you’ll be doing after college, you should read Lindsey Pollack’s Getting from College to Career: Your Essential Guide to Succeeding in the Real World. She describes how you can prepare for your job search with step-by-step instructions for networking and developing portfolios and resumes.
9. Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms
Considered one of his greatest works, Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms tells the story of Lieutenant Frederic Henry during the Italian campaign of the Great War (i.e. World War I).
10. George Orwell’s 1984
Published at the end of the 1940s (before Orwell died of tuberculosis), 1984 tells the story of how a totalitarian government suppresses its people’s critical thought.
Conclusion
Reading is a great exercise for the brain and a chance to see life from a different perspective. Utilizing resources like CliffsNotes and Course Hero could help in understanding; if you struggle (and don’t find the help you need), you could demand a Course Hero refund. (Course Hero refunds are given out to those who haven’t unlocked any documents or used any tutor credits.)
College students already do a lot of reading in college, so sometimes they forget that books can be more than educational. Reading the books listed above is a great way to remember that reading can be pleasurable and useful.
