Top 5 Must-Read Books for College Students in 2025
I know with this new era of the internet and blogs, no one wants to read books, but did I mention how beneficial they are, especially for college students? The amount of knowledge you can gather from books alone is insane. They are like a whole new world, teaching you numerous things and life-saving lessons.
But everyone gets stuck when they actually have to buy a book because they don't know which one to buy. To make things easier, here is a list of books that every college student must read:
Table Of Contents:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
by Stephen R. Covy
This book teaches you that success comes with the right habits and values. The 7 habits mentioned in the book are centered around living personal and professional life efficiently. Few of those habits, being proactiveness and understanding, are important in today's time.
It is important to know that first you understand and then you are understood. It is important for college students as it teaches you practical things and time management, goal setting, and interpersonal skills. It will teach students how to study effectively and build necessary and important networks while taking care of themselves as well.
It teaches you how to do things in a proper manner so that you don't burn yourself out in search of success. That is why self-care is also important and is mentioned in detail in the said book. This book is perfect if you want to start your self-development journey. It will give basic insight and tips on various things across various areas of life.
Atomic habits
by James Clear
I mean, who hasn't heard about this book? You will literally find this book anywhere and everywhere. Because as much as it is important to form correct and good habits, it is difficult to change them... there's a reason it's a habit, no?
This book teaches you how to change or shift your habits by further dividing it into smaller parts, which makes it easy for us to act upon. Obviously, if you are given a big piece of work altogether, it will seem like too much, but if you divide it into parts, it will be much easier to complete it in the best possible manner.
It is important for college students because they often do various things simultaneously, such as studies, jobs, and extra co-curricular activities, and sometimes it does get difficult to manage them. This book will teach you how to encourage positive habits regarding various parts of life and implement them in reality.
Because a habit is just a thought until and unless it is turned into reality. It also includes how one should focus on building a plan and routine instead of solely focusing on goals because if you maintain and follow your daily routine and have a positive attitude and habits, you are certainly going to achieve your said goal.
The Power of Now
by Eckhart Tolle
The title itself justifies the main lesson of the book. It is the power that the present moment holds. Most of the time we are simply worried because we have fried up our brains thinking about the future and, oh, the past, which is the worst.
The future you thought about earlier is your present now, and you are wasting that to think about the future. Like, come on, this loophole will never end if you keep thinking this way. Moreover, this book is an asset to college students because they often get caught up in the tension and stress of the future and their results, jobs, and careers.
However, stress is only good if it's healthy stress, but students cross that line without even realizing it, and the result is seen through their actions and emotions. So, it is important to understand the value of the present and be grateful for it. This book teaches them about mindfulness and mental clarity, which helps them to think clearly and see things in a broader perspective.
By focusing on the present, they can avoid distractions, do their work to its best level, and lead a stress-free life.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
by Carol S. Dweck
Yeah, yeah, we talked so much about habits and consistency and whatnot, but we didn't talk about the first step for everything: mindset.
If you don't think or plan to do it, then how are you going to change your life into something positive and beautiful? That is where mindset comes in. Firstly, you have to introspect within yourself if you have a fixed or a growth mindset.
Those with a growth mindset think that intelligence and changes can be initiated and expanded by learning them and broadening our visions, whereas people with a fixed mindset think that these cannot be changed. In daily lives, students often face problems with marks, assignments, studies, and careers.
This book will teach you exactly how to have a growth mindset because if a student taps their mind in that zone, it will become easy for them to achieve anything as they will see every failure and chance as an opportunity to learn something new. Rather than dwelling on it or stressing their minds out.
The Miracle Morning
by Hal Elrod
As the name suggests, it will teach you how to enhance your mornings. It basically talks about engaging in six powerful activities (Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing) before you start your morning (8 AM). These are the basic things to be done to have a successful day. Because when you wake up with intention, you get every work done. PERIOD!
And the activities listed will not only enhance your mind but your body as well; it will open you to another universe even before half of the country wakes up, and by that time you will be feeling fresh, motivated, and ready to ace the day. Now again the obvious: Why is it important for college students?
Students lose hope and motivation every once in a while, where they dive into that deep hole and sit in there for days and even weeks, putting all their work on load (and then they complain why they score low marks, huh). This book will teach you how to make that routine, be consistent, and stay motivated.
Since obviously no one wants to wake up so early in the morning that you are getting these many things done before 8 AM, it will help you form a habit. Adopting to a good and healthy routine will reduce stress and will relax your mind as well as your soul, which is very important since the students get so worked up due to exams, personal life, and professional life that it hampers them.
Conclusion
It may sound tiring to read a book (unless it's fictional, of course), but they are a vital part of our lives. We all thought that they had been eradicated from the face of the earth when we switched to online modes during lockdown, but hello?? knock-knock, they are still here and provide us with very meaningful information one needs.
Does it get better than this? Of course it does. College life is nothing if not a mix and match of unexpected surprises, romantic mistakes, and blooming love. Find your ride or die; download Idyll.