2008 Woodie Awards
The Do's and Dont's of Literature
Jessica Weisberger
Issue date: 11/19/04 Section: Arts & Features
- Page 1 of 2 next >
In their ample free time, Colgate students take advantage of reading for pleasure. As opposed to plopping down in the plush green velvet chairs at Case and cracking open the ancient Plato or Candide, students indulge in a fantasy world closely related to the one provided by Fox's OC or HBO's Sex in the City. After surveying a first-year dorm, it became apparent that the best way to escape the competitive world of frat parties, demanding classes and endless clubs, is to read about something to which you can relate. Amongst the favorites were Carl Hiaasen's Skinny Dip, Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic, Elizabeth Burg's The Lovely Bones and The Nanny Diaries by the witty duo, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. Although some girls were wary that after reading The Lovely Bones "you'll hate men for the rest of your life," the other novels serve as "fun, trashy, sex books." The center of gravity for each of these novels lies in an urban Mecca where shopping, dating and tragedy are all present.
It is safe to make the judgment that these titles were mentioned specifically by the female population. Many of the men copped out, "we do not read in our free time," due to the rewarding rush granted by video games, while others were willing to mention a few of their favorite titles. John Grisham's law based novels are "interesting" and "reader friendly," Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven provides a new way to look at life here and now, and of course, Dan Brown's recent literary blockbuster The DaVinci Code can be enjoyed by an eclectic assortment of readers.
We often choose novels to which we can relate. For college students, it is satisfying to read about wild affairs, hot sex, indisposable incomes, and other taboos of the liking. This curiosity is omnipresent at Colgate, where students enjoy curling up with promising novels like The Devil Wears Prada and Bergdorf Blondes just as readily as they would fly through a Vogue or Cosmo magazine. In high school, it is becoming a fad to, well, read. Although kids often complain that reading is boring and more work, with the modern topics and soap opera-esque "beach reads," as they are often labeled, the student population has found great excitement in traveling to Borders and finding the pinkest cover. The most popular magazines today have advertisements for novels as much as they do for clothes and make-up. Par exemple, the "do's and don't's in fashion": do carry a novel around in your two toned Herve just in case that free time pops up on you, don't sit absent-mindedly staring off into space while waiting in the doctor's office.
It is safe to make the judgment that these titles were mentioned specifically by the female population. Many of the men copped out, "we do not read in our free time," due to the rewarding rush granted by video games, while others were willing to mention a few of their favorite titles. John Grisham's law based novels are "interesting" and "reader friendly," Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven provides a new way to look at life here and now, and of course, Dan Brown's recent literary blockbuster The DaVinci Code can be enjoyed by an eclectic assortment of readers.
We often choose novels to which we can relate. For college students, it is satisfying to read about wild affairs, hot sex, indisposable incomes, and other taboos of the liking. This curiosity is omnipresent at Colgate, where students enjoy curling up with promising novels like The Devil Wears Prada and Bergdorf Blondes just as readily as they would fly through a Vogue or Cosmo magazine. In high school, it is becoming a fad to, well, read. Although kids often complain that reading is boring and more work, with the modern topics and soap opera-esque "beach reads," as they are often labeled, the student population has found great excitement in traveling to Borders and finding the pinkest cover. The most popular magazines today have advertisements for novels as much as they do for clothes and make-up. Par exemple, the "do's and don't's in fashion": do carry a novel around in your two toned Herve just in case that free time pops up on you, don't sit absent-mindedly staring off into space while waiting in the doctor's office.