It feels like day by day our attention spans have become shorter, and the daunting task of sitting down with a long novel has become a thing of the past. More often than not, students have a plethora of excuses for the lack of literature they consume yearly. Common phrases such as “I don’t have the time,” or “I don’t like reading,” surface time and time again, especially as we’ve transitioned into a digital era, where social media reigns superior above all other sources of entertainment.

“I read one book yearly. I don’t enjoy reading leisurely, however I would like to read more,” freshman Lucas Bernal said. “The only thing preventing me from [reading] is getting distracted easily so it feels like I never have enough time, which is something I want to work on.”

As someone who rediscovered a love for reading over the pandemic, there are a few things I learned from it. The first, and arguably most important thing, is to realize your time is exactly that, your time. It belongs to you, so at the end of the day, it is up to you how you choose to spend it.

That being said, understanding your priorities is crucial if you want to have time for reading, or anything else you may want to pursue. It is entirely possible to replace that thirty minutes of scrolling each morning with thirty minutes of sitting down and enjoying a book.

“It’s not that I don’t like reading, I wish I read more,” freshman, Elise Burnside said. “The only issue I face when I try to read something is I have such a small niche that it makes it hard for me to read anything that isn’t poetry or very specific genres.”

The second thing important to embracing a passion for reading is to find books that interest you and to nurture the habit of reading by finding a genre that suits you.

If you enjoy listening to true crime podcasts, pick up a mystery or thriller! Think about your favorite TV or movie genre, and translate it to literature. For example, maybe you’re a fan of Disney movies, in which case fantasy might suit you best. Your perfect book might not even tell a story. There are books for self-help, motivation, business, learning new skills, and more.

“I read all kinds of books from romance and action to comedy, manga, and comics,” sophomore Selena Morgan said. “When you have a lot of genres you enjoy reading, it makes it pretty easy to average at least five to twenty books a year without pushing yourself.”

With the digital era continuing to triumph over traditional entertainment, it can be hard to find the time for a good book. However, it is possible to make time, whether it is listening to an audiobook while accomplishing other goals, or replacing scrolling with page turning. If you want to like reading, it’s a matter of becoming interested, and there might even be a book on it.