Books to bust winter blues

Emily Tyler
March 18, 2014

If reading in a moving car or plane makes you feel sick, then you still have a way to engage in literature. Audiobooks are a great way to experience a book without having to read it. There are several free audiobook apps that allow you to download books from places like Amazon. Although the app is free, the books cost money. Photo by Emily Tyler.
If reading in a moving car or plane makes you feel sick, then you still have a way to engage in literature. Audiobooks are a great way to experience a book without having to read it. There are several free audiobook apps that allow you to download books from places like Amazon. Although the app is free, the books cost money. Photo by Emily Tyler.

Spring Break is a time for travel and a break from school. However, that doesn’t mean that we have to ban productive activities all together.

Spring Break is a great time to catch up on school reading, or settle down with a fiction novel that you have heard glowing things about. Some of my favorite spring breaks have been filled with books.

Here is a list of the best reads to fill your spring break.

  • Looking for Alaska by John Green: I read this over spring break last year, as the second novel I read by my favorite author. It made me laugh, cry, and think about the way we perceive people and how they really are.
  • Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell: This is a charming teenage romance that I know teens will enjoy as well as relate to the characters. However, it is about more than love. It is also a story of struggles with stereotypes and abuse.
  • Crank by Ellen Hopkins: This is not a read for the weak of heart. It is a fast-paced story about a girl who falls into the clutches of a dangerous drug called “crank,” and the good girl she once was is replaced by another person.
  • A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness: This is another one that I read over spring break last year. It is the story of a boy whose mother is very sick, and the yew tree in his backyard comes to life and haunts his dreams. It has profound messages of life and beautiful illustrations to accompany the beautiful story.
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: A classic for the more adventurous readers; this is a book about feminism in the late 1800s. It is very dramatic and complexly written, but also an American classic with adaptations from movies to a YouTube series.
  • Divergent Series by Veronica Roth: A sci-fi trilogy that has quickly become a popular teen favorite. The three books are of a longer length, upwards of four hundred pages, but they are each page-turners in their own way. The movie adaptation of the first book, Divergent, will be released on Mar. 21.

I encourage you to check out other books by these authors, because these are not their only ones. Maybe try something outside of your comfort zone, like a classic or Shakespeare play.

Happy Reading!