Exam season is upon many college and university students and the struggle to find a spot in the library is near impossible. To be honest, I'm not one to be able to stay for very long at the library, unless it's inside one of the study rooms which, unfortunately, have to be booked ahead of time. Here are a few spots that I have found some sort of peace of mind and actually got work done (save for that 1-hour break I give to myself because I think I deserve it). 1. Find another spot on campus!
The library isn't the only building on your campus, and I doubt it's the only place with outlets for you to charge your laptop. Get to know your campus and you'll be surprised to find the most unlikely of places to be your next study hot spot! 2. Stay home.
When final exams and final papers start to roll around, I find that I rarely ever leave the comforts of my room. This is largely due to the fact that I don't want to waste time having to travel to my favourite cafe or building on campus, so I adapt my surroundings to make studying in my room more appealing - otherwise, I'll just fall asleep (really). 3. A Cafe
I'm quite the Starbucks fanatic (GOLD CARD CLUB, HEEEEY!!), so I am naturally drawn to sit down at any Starbucks and set up camp for a few hours and occasionally order a drink or two as time passes. This is a little bit more of a pricey option, especially if you're a student on a tight budget. But it is something that I like doing every now and then, and it is my absolute favourite place to study. It doesn't have to be a Starbucks or any chain cafe for that matter - if you would prefer, go on and head to a local or lesser known cafe. I personally enjoy the ambiance of cafes - it's never too quite, but it's just relaxing and I'm not too easily distracted.

Of course, there are a ton of other places where you can sit down and get working. It all comes down to you and what you feel comfortable with.

Feel free to leave a comment with other suggestions!

At last, a little bit of peace and quiet and time for myself. Albeit, there are still unopened boxes and various miscellaneous items strewn about the place - nonetheless, I reserve the right to take a break! The first thing I set up was the router, thus my excitement to write my first (true) post. I am currently writing on my newly constructed bed in my room, but I was inspired to write about my new living arrangements while sitting on one of the foldable chairs in the living/dining room.


The living room (Instagram).

I was excited with the prospect of moving into my very own place. Of course, I'll be living with two other people, but I will be alone for the better part of the next four months. I will be taking some time to get accustomed to this new place, and do my best to keep myself occupied. I can finally make some real progress with Kathleen Kent's The Traitor's Wife and I can focus a bit more of my time on writing about the books I've read and the places I've explored.

Speaking of books, I had the pleasure of passing by a local Chapters while I was home for a short visit. I was having coffee with a good friend before she had to leave for work, and I was left to my own thoughts for a little bit before my ride came. Browsing through the titles only made me even more restless to begin my summer reading - something that I had been suppressing since my last exam. I knew that I still had a lot to do and that I wouldn't be able to properly focus my time and energy into reading. While looking through the rows and rows of books, I found a few familiar titles that I remember reading once before, but haven't revisited in a number of years. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden was a very good read, from what I remember. I recall becoming almost obsessed with this apparent phenomena that was a geisha. This was short lived, but I was still very much enchanted with the book and its main character, Sayuri.

After I complete The Traitor's Wife, I would love to get my hands on another copy of Memoirs of a Geisha. The one I had read in the past was borrowed from a cousin, and I'm a bit impatient so I will go out and buy it as soon as I can. It's also nice to have your own copy!

My Dad will be coming back this weekend to bring more things that we may have forgotten. I've written up a list of books that I have left behind that I couldn't fit into my luggage. Hopefully I will have enough space for them all - I suppose that means it's time for a visit to Ikea, wouldn't you say?

I'm excited for this new blog because with it comes a lot of new and exciting things. Okay, that is a bit overdramatic, but what I mean to say is that I just can't wait to jump into my pile of unread books! I practically have a library yet to go through and the prospect of it just excites me, however, I have a history of losing momentum early in the game. As much as I love reading, I find myself with a limited amount of time for "pleasure reading" or "reading-that-isn't-for-class". Of course, this could all be because of poor time management on my part, but really, who doesn't procrastinate?

Anyway.

The summer is coming fast and I have decided that I will be staying in Ottawa for most of the summer. Being this new city, I have a lot yet to explore, but I will also have a considerable amount of free time, apart from my part-time job. Ultimately, my goal is to read as much as possible and to discover new places as well. It will be a fun little adventure - going out for walks, bring along my trusty Kobo or a good ol' fashioned book, my Moleskine, and my lovely Avengers pen. My first stop will probably be somewhere along the Rideau Canal. I spotted a few sitting areas along the canal, so I will definitely enjoy my time reading quietly by the canal.

So here's to a new adventure!

-- Kim

← OLDER POSTS | HOME | NEWER POSTS →

Kim is a lover of books, music, and travel. Though she lacks any sort of proper funds to properly indulge in her favourite things, she makes do with her part time job as a retail sales associate while attending a post-secondary institution, attempting to move on to bigger, better things. The one thing she is able to fully indulge is her love of writing, the only expense being her need to write in a Moleskine notebook. She is under the impression that she is quite the individual, and she believes that she must share that with the rest of the world. She really is pretty damn awesome.

WHAT'S THE POINT OF THIS BLOG?
The reason I started this blog was actually because I recently decided to revive my Kobo eReader and buy a couple of new eBooks. As well, I still have a massive pile of unread books sitting and waiting for me to finally crack them open. I also want somewhere to write about my feelings about the book. Unfortunately, I have few friends that share the same love of reading, and because of distance and insufficient time due to school, I can't exactly call up anyone and have a discussion about a book I just read. Thus, I turned to the good ol' interwebs to help me find a good release for my thoughts (take that as you will).

Links
Diana

Other Sites
Goodreads


Monthly Archives
April 2013
May 2013
November 2013

Recent Entries

NaBloPoMo: Study Spots

Breathe in... Breathe out... Move in... Move out...

First and Foremost

Skin by → Pipie Panini
Html code → Mary / Hanie.
Images from → weheartit.