Summer Reading: An important part of your college journey

Reading over the summer might seem like just more homework, but it doesn’t have to be a chore. Whether you’re lazing by the lake, the pool, or the sea, your summer holidays are the perfect time to read what you enjoy and want to explore.

Summer is too short and too hot to slog your way through a 1,000-page book you have no interest in. Pull out the manga, anime, bandes dessinēes, graphic novels, or your Marvel comic books piled up under your bed! Just read.

Want to sit under the beach umbrella curled up with all eight novels in the Bridgerton series, but you’re afraid that they don’t seem high-brow enough? Don’t be embarrassed!

You might, however, want to follow up all of that hot romance with a Jane Austen novel (or two) to better understand that time period. Now that would make an interesting conversation! (Yes, the timeline in Austen’s Georgian-era novels eventually overlaps with Bridgerton’s Regency era.)

Mix up your summer reading! You don’t only have to read “the classics.” It will be a boring summer especially if you’re not into vintage books. If you’d like to read a classic like Great Expectations or Wuthering Heights, follow it up with something written more recently like The Inheritance Games or The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. Reading different kinds of books will expand your horizons and expose you to new vocabulary.

Why is reading helpful during the summer and especially before your last year of high school?

• “What books have you read outside of the classroom?” is a common supplemental essay question. (I’m talking to you Stanford and Columbia!) And, it’s also a popular college interview question. Use the downtime of summer to prepare yourself.

• Reading can help you explore future careers. If you’re applying to UK universities the books you read can demonstrate how you are preparing for your intended course. Here are a few good examples:

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer might be an insightful read for a future doctor.

Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World could be a fun read for future mathematicians or other STEM majors.

To Kill a Mockingbird is the perfect classic novel for future lawyers. Watch the movie after you read the book!

All the President’s Men is a terrific read for future journalists or politicians.

The Freakonomics series is thought-provoking and an excellent choice for future economists or business people.

• It’s not so much what you read as why you read it and what you got out of it. You’ll have a livelier conversation about why you spent the summer reading The Throne of Glass series than reading books only because you thought they would sound impressive.

• Reading helps build your vocabulary and can help improve your SAT or ACT verbal scores.

• Reading different genres and authors will make you a better writer and in turn your essays more engaging.

• You have more free time to explore different kinds of reading. Do you like current events? Read a few newspapers or news magazines. Fascinated by public figures? Read their autobiography. Read what you usually don’t.

• Read the book your favorite summer blockbuster was based on. How did the movie and novel differ? Why did the screenwriter or director make the changes? What would you have kept or changed? That kind of exercise can help build critical thinking skills.

Reading doesn’t always mean sitting in one place with a book or an electronic reader in your hand. Audiobooks count too! The audiobook experience can be quite different than reading the book because a good reader can make it feel like a performance.

Make your mother happy and clean up your room! Make your brain happy by listening to an engaging audiobook at the same time!

Don’t just read novels. Nonfiction can also be a fantastic read. The Warmth of Other Sons and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks engaged me more than most novels.

Not sure what to read? Check out BookTok for ideas. Or, ask your local librarians. They absolutely love recommending books!

Parents, model good behavior! Put your phone down and read. Take your kids to the bookstore and let them buy what they want to read not what you think they should read.

Download some audiobooks that the entire family will enjoy. A good audiobook can make that long car trip fly by.

Get a family membership at the Library in English in Geneva and make visits a family outing. Check out their twice-a-year book sales and pop-up summer sales to get good deals on gently-used books.

Bottom line: Unless it’s assigned for school, read what brings you joy! To learn how The Application Coach can help you plan an impactful summer, schedule a free 30-minute Discovery Call.