Winter Term Reading Week

Story by Cassy Nicholls, Taneal Lockstadt and Kael Blackburn

While Reading Week is typically referred to reading your course material, it is important to do things that you enjoy to mentally decompress during this time.

With reading week around the corner, it is the perfect time to start a new book.

Reading doesn’t just have to be getting lost in your favourite fiction book, with many different genres there is always something for everyone. Reading isn’t just something to pass the time. There are many different life lessons that come from literature.

Anita Skeen is an author and creative writing professor and literature expert at Michigan State University. Skeen believes that many of life’s greatest lessons come from literature. She also shared that we can both learn from and relate to other’s experience, by reading about them. Anita says that there is so much to learn indirectly and directly about others lives from reading.

Skeen, says that reading can positively impact our mental health. She states that when we read, we leave our own lives for a period or time and get to explore other stories. She mentioned that with the mass shooting that just occurred at Michigan State University, where she is a professor, that she has been using different pieces of literature to help them get through the difficult times.

Skeen says that she refers to a specific poem by Tennyson, though much is taken, much abides, when trying to help students process the grief that they feel.

There are many different resources available to access books. The Sheridan Library has online and in-person options. All public libraries are free and come with access to audiobooks if you prefer that. Another creative way to enjoy literature is to write it. Creative writing is a great outlet to help you deal with certain emotions and impact others’ lives with your stories.

There are also different clubs, such as Sheridan’s Creative Writing Corner. This is a club that helps students to spark creativity. Suha Tariq, President of the Sheridan Creative Writing Corner expressed why she believes the club is important.

Tariq says that the club has helped students to craft work that they might not have written otherwise.

While reading is a great way to pass the time, we have also included different shows and activities for you to enjoy this break.

“…Literature is one way to bridge that gap. It is one way to destress. There are no rules when it comes to reading a book.”

Suha Tariq