Always a Great Gift: Top Books Worth Giving to Students

Reading has been linked to a wide range of benefits. However, most students don’t enjoy reading books. Motivating themselves to read when they can watch their favorite TV shows, watch a YouTube video or listen to an audiobook is quite difficult. So, why should you give them books as gifts when they’ve been spending the entire semester studying? Giving gifts to students is a great way of showing them that you care about them. Plus, gifting them a book will help them start building their libraries. When they rent out an apartment, they will have plenty of books filling their bookshelves. The books that we are going to cover in this post are not just about college stuff. Reading them regularly will transform every aspect of their lives.

1.     Hope Is the Thing with Feathers – Emily Dickinson

As a student, you’ve probably found yourself rushing around at the eleventh hour when you promised yourself that you’ll always work on your academic papers on time. Students who read Hope Is the Thing with Feathers analysis essay always have an easy time working on their assignments. There is a free Hope Is the Thing with Feathers analysis essay that you can find online. The author of this book discusses hope and says that people fail to keep their resolutions because they are too big and vague. By being hopeful, coming up with micro-resolutions, changing our behaviors, and forming new habits, we can change every area of our lives. All you have to do is identify habits that can be linked to resolutions that stick. If you have a student who has always wanted to change their habits and become a better person, this is the book to gift them.

2.     The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch

What would you say if you knew you only had a few months to live? Professor Randy found himself in this situation when he was diagnosed with cancer. He has written the best free essays, paper samples and topic examples that form the basis of his discussion -  achieving childhood dreams and the challenges that people face as they grow. He encourages his readers to pursue what they’ve always desired in life without limiting themselves to societal constraints or what they think they have to do. If you have a dream that seems impossible to achieve at the moment, you should consider reading this.

3.     The Happiness Project – Gretchen Rubin

After publishing this book, the author gained popularity as a happiness expert. If you are like most people, you’ll agree that happiness is an important thing to strive for. Most parents just want their kids to be happy. So, why do people who prioritize their happiness get perceived as selfish people? When she realized that she wasn’t happy, the author decided to study happiness extensively. She dedicated an entire year to this. She spent time analyzing the 12 important areas in her life and kept track of the behaviors that made her happy. This is a great read for individuals who are looking for ways to improve their lives and understand what makes them happy.

4.     Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success – John C Maxwell

Most people were taught to avoid failure as much as possible. After all, you don’t want to be a loser, right? The truth is, we cannot ignore failure. Instead of focusing on not failing, you should focus on how to deal with your failures. Failing is momentary; not a lifetime thing. You can only grow from your failures by acknowledging and learning from them. Successful people fail more times than unsuccessful people. So, why do they succeed? Because they learn more valuable lessons. As the author encourages, you should use failure as a stepping stone to success in your life. The author has written many titles and a sample or examples of his work can be found on his website. 

5.     Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind – Allan Wallace

In our modern world, everything in our environment is fighting for our attention. Today, we have social media, smartphones, and notifications. All these have resulted in the shrinking of the human attention span. Many developers have come up with great apps to help us stay focused when we are working on our most important tasks. Allan Wallace shares several techniques that you can use to attain the highest state of mind in meditation. By using the tips that he shares, you’ll easily take control of your attention and focus on the most important things in your life.

6.     Getting Things Done – The Art of Stress-Free Productivity – David Allen

Getting Things Done has a great title that will capture your heart and mind. If you don’t read another book about productivity and performance, read this one. One of the simple rules that he shares is getting all your thoughts and tasks out of your head to avoid clutter. Next, follow the two-minute rule. If you can do something in less than two minutes, do it now. If the task requires more time, you need to write it down clearly, work on it and reflect. These two simple rules can transform every area of your life, especially as a busy student.

Conclusion

Reading hope is the thing with feathers and other books that we’ve listed here has lots of benefits. However, you might have a hard time gifting student’s books because they lack the motivation to read. While they might be tired of looking at study materials, giving them books will help them transform their lives and build the library. Whenever you can, gift your students with books. One day, they’ll look behind and thank you for helping them achieve their goals.