‘A little bit of fantasy alongside your busy life is a good thing’

How do you feel about reading books for pleasure?
“I’ve always liked reading books, ever since I was young. A little bit of fantasy alongside your busy life can be very good for you. Although I have to say that I’ve only recently started reading again. When you’re already immersed into study books all day it’s difficult to start reading something else. I do read during vacations, which makes that I read about two books a year. I do want to start reading more again though.”

What is your favourite genre?
“I love novels and thrillers. Two different genres, but I’m interested in both. Novels have moments that spark the imagination, I can picture what I’m reading. Thrillers always make me think: who did it? What was their motive? It’s also a genre where you just have to keep reading to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. The adrenaline, suspense and elements of surprise make it attractive to read a book.”

Which book would you recommend to other students? 
“ A little life by Hanya Yanagihara. It’s quite a thick book, but certainly worth the read. Why? Because it’s so unique. It’s a book that really allows you to get to know the characters. Behind all their success often lies a dark and gloomy past. This book shows you the reality, with lots of trigger warmings. It’s not about life’s prettiest moments, but about how you’ve ended up there; about the less pretty moments, the traumas. It stimulates your mind and it’s an emotional rollercoaster. A book that you won’t soon forget.”

How do you feel about reading books for pleasure? 
 “I read for pleasure every day. It is an important part of my life and represents self-care, alone time and fuelling my imagination and creativity. Although not all reading is pleasurable, with the right book, I can happily sit for hours reading. During vacations I can read a book a day. I probably read a book or two a week. Over the whole year, around 75.”

What is your favourite genre?
“ I love science fiction and fantasy for its ability to rethink norms and create worlds that critique our current system. These genres open up possibilities and rewrite futures, allowing readers to imagine things otherwise. I also love detective and murder-mystery books. This is a comfort genre for me and gives me a sense of security because the lead characters always exhibit ‘good’ qualities and they make me feel safe. I also enjoy predicting who the killer is and what will happen next.”

Which book would you recommend to other students?
“Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo because of its alternative writing style, focus on Black femme histories and poignant observations on life and living.”

How do you feel about reading books for pleasure? 
“If I have the time I love to read, but entertainment-wise it does have to compete with games like the Assassins Creed-series, or tv shows like Good Omens or Cunk on Earth. Although books have always made me relax and come up with new ideas, meanwhile games and series producers have created so many masterpieces that I often don’t choose reading. For this reason I read less than I would want to. In an average week I don’t think I read more than 4 hours (for myself) . During the long uni vacation I do read more, and in about a year from now I’ll end up at around 20-30 books.”

What is your favourite genre? 
“As it befits a true LAS student I don’t really stick to genres. I can make sort of a division though. From my work and study-interest I read books about politics, history, and economics. Examples of books I read last year are: Grand pursuit: the story of economic genius, Obama’s A promised land, Kissinger’s Leadership, and Goldsworthy’s Caesar.

On the other hand, the people around me are giving me books that ‘you have to read’ My father for example gives me books that are supposed to rid me of my ‘young, inexperienced new generation opinion’ a housemate gave me The Ocean at the End of The Lane, which lets you feel like a child again.”

Which book would you recommend to other students? 
“I would recommend Sophisticated rebels by H. Stuart Hughes. This book examines the culture of European dissidence between '68 and '87. It includes Paris in 1968, Wales putting the 'old' culture back on the map, and the rise of the Solidarity movement in Poland. Ideals, strategies, consequences, successes, and failures are described. Student life is, of course, the time of (re)considering ideals. Sophisticated Rebels provides examples from the past, showing that one's ideals really do change the world. Us students can use this image every now and then."

How do you feel about reading books for pleasure 
“I like to read a book occasionally. It calms me down and helps me relax in the ever-busy student life! I try to read as much as I can, but I hardly ever come around to it. I enjoy reading a book together with someone else, so you can discuss it later. I think I read about five to ten books a year.”

 What is your favourite genre? 
“I like the variety. I can enjoy a great novel, but I also like to read about social issues or events in history. I find it interesting when a book makes me think."

Which book would you recommend to other students? “A book that I can recommend to anyone is The Sisters of Auschwitz ('t Hooge Nest) by Roxanne van Iperen, which is based on true events. During World War Two, two sisters are active in the resistance and they have to go into hiding. They end up in a villa in ’t Gooi and under their supervision, the villa will grow out to be one of the largest hiding places in the Netherlands. I thought it was extremely interesting to read and the extraordinary story shows the resilience some people have in times of war.” 

How do you feel about reading books for pleasure? 
“Reading books for pleasure is my favourite thing to do. It never ceases to amaze me how many different stories and original ideas you can find in books. For me reading books feels like being transported to a parallel universe where anything is possible. Whenever I feel a little pessimistic about the state of the world, I like to remember that books are proof that people can do wonderful things if they put their mind to it. As most readers I have my ups and downs. At the beginning of the year I read 7 books, but the past few weeks I have not read a single page. Events such as the National Book Week are a big help when it comes to motivation. Last year I read a total of 38 books. This year my goal is to read 40.” 

What is your favourite genre?
“Literary fiction, with contemporary fiction claiming second place. I love when writers explore complex (and often morally-grey) characters and offer social commentary in their work. I believe that literary fiction can give the reader a chance to get to know themselves better, and it can even sometimes offer a different lens to look at the world. It is easy to get lost in a book when you can relate to the characters.” 

Which book would you recommend to other students?
“The one thing I love the most is reading a book so poetic and beautifully written you want to underline almost every single sentence. For me, the last time that happened was while reading Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan. This book will always have a spot in my heart. Acts of desperation is an exploration of what it means to be in love, to be in love with a cruel man, and to seek self-worth in the opinion of another. It has striking and uncomfortable depictions of what it is like to be a woman. Acts of desperation is a book I will always recommend. It is intense, honest, reflective, and poignant.” 

How do you feel about reading books for pleasure? 
“I do get around to reading books, although it’s far less than it used to be. I now read about three fiction and three non-fiction books a year and a number of smaller books and stories.” 

 What is your favourite genre? 
“Books about history and economics (the two things I’ve studied) are always interesting to me. In addition I do find it important to read fiction, too. I think that the favourable influence of fiction books is often underestimated. I used to be a huge fantasy fan, now I’ve rediscovered science fiction.”

Which book would you recommend to other students? 
“Because I don’t get around to reading much, I mostly buy story collections. My favoriete book right now is a collecten called Beste Nederlandse en Vlaamse SF-verhalen van de NOS-BRT wedstrijd. (Best Dutch and Flemish SF stories from the NOS-BRT competition) It contains a selection of science fiction stories that were submitted for a competition around 1970. The fun thing about this book is that it doesn’t just contain quality science fiction stories, but also provides a peek into the past, because the stories were written about 50 years ago. Really recommendable if you like science fiction or history.”

How do you feel about reading books for pleasure? 
“As a student, especially at humanities, you’re constantly reading for your studies. Due to this, for the average student there’s less time to spend on reading as a hobby. In addition I am now also the chairman of the Utrechtse Historische Studentenkring. (History Study Association of UU) Therefore I’m afraid I won’t be able to read more than five books this year. Still, after the umpteenth scientific article I will be so looking forward to reading a book by the swimming pool this summer.”

 What is your favourite genre? 
“To live up to stereotypes, I love zooming in on a particular aspect of history and delving into a good non-fiction book. Furthermore, I like to read about subjects that are far away from our Utrecht, to be transported to another world. I also read a lot of graphic novels, to combine the visual arts with the literary.”

 Which book would you recommend to other students? 
“I would like to recommend students to start reading graphic novels. The high quality of this form of literature is often not acknowledged, while critics do award them! Watchmen of Alan Moore and Maus of Art Spiegelman are my personal favourites.”

How do you feel about reading books for pleasure?
“Reading is ubiquitous. It is embedded in every part of our lives, and for the most part we don't even realize that we do it. So, reading for pleasure is something really special. And for myself, it's an important part of who I am as a student, writer, and professional. With everything that goes on in one's life (school, work, responsibilities etc.), there is something to be said about reading for pure enjoyment-- a chance to escape, even temporarily, to an imagined world full of possibilities, is just one of many reasons reading for pleasure is important. On average, I read about 15 books a year which admittedly is not as high as I would like it to be. I hope once I complete my internship and thesis, I will be able to dedicate more time to my reading pursuits.” 

What is your favourite genre?
“At the moment, most of the books I am reading pertain to my thesis, which focuses on erotic literature. By exploring a variety of erotic texts over the centuries, I have unearthed a newfound appreciation for the genre and its place within the literary realm. Admittedly, it is difficult to pinpoint one single favourite genre. I would say that I tend to be drawn to works of fiction that weave in elements of romance and history. However, I mostly select books that present a plot or writing style that intrigues me at the point of time I am browsing-- regardless of the genre.”

What book would you recommend to other students?
“A personal favourite of mine is The Dutch Wife by Ellen Keith. As a Canadian writer residing in Amsterdam, Keith's novel transports one back to WWII Netherlands and tells an interwoven tale of survival and love across time and space. Like many of us, Keith was also a master's student when she got her first novel published. As a literature student, I am inspired by Keith's journey from student to international bestseller author. “

How do you feel about reading books for pleasure? 
“I would like to read more books for pleasure but find that it often falls by the wayside. After reading for my studies, I notice that I am less inclined to pick up my own books afterwards. That's why I read quite little per year for myself anyway; I also find an indication difficult because I have a pile of half-read books lying around that I haven't finished (yet)."

What is your favourite genre? 
“I mostly read non-fiction, about politics, history, philosophy and especially also about cities. I guess I can’t get rid of my studies that easily.”

Which book would you recommend to other students? 
“When I read fiction, its mostly ‘the classics.’ Therefore as a tip I always share my favourite: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I think it’s a wonderful book to get lost in the extensive mood descriptions; the story itself almost takes on a submissive role to the mood that’s being created (although the story itself also really makes the book well worth reading).”

How do you feel about reading books for pleasure? 
“Nowadays I enjoy reading for pleasure. Reading has become more a priority and I make time for it. During my youth I read every day, but that went sour during puberty. I lost the fun of reading back then. It wasn’t until around my 23rd that I started regularly reading books again and I do it almost every day again now. I was just checking out my GoodReads to see how many books I’ve read in 2022, but there’s only six books on it. That cannot be right? Oh well, I hope I’m reading more than that.”

What is your favourite genre? 
“If only I had a favourite genre… I enjoy reading everything. That’s pretty tiring to be honest, because almost everything is interesting to me. I am the type of person that wants to be able to join conversations about anything and have an opinion on things. When I’m sitting next to my friends and they’re talking about a book I haven’t read, I can really work myself up over that. Actually I just have culture FOMO.”

Which book would you recommend to other students? 
"I would recommend everyone to read more comics and graphic novels. I find the combination of graphic with text a very nice way when dealing with literary topics. I feel people have always been a bit stuck on Suske and Wiske, Asterix and Obelix, Lucky Luke, Tintin and the superhero angle. But there are so many other cooler books! Within the world of comics, I recommend to at least read Dykes to watch out for by Alison Bechdel. She’s the first LGBTQ+ cartoonist to become known for her weekly comic about a group of queer friends in a medium-sized city in the US. It’s set in the 1980s to the zeros. Very funny and interesting to see that many things we’re concerned with now in terms of food, topics, etc., are all already covered in queer culture years earlier."