7 ways to spend reading week

For the lucky little shits who actually have reading weeks, POPPY OVENDEN has some great ways to spend yours.


This Monday afternoon, some disgustingly lucky people woke up and found themselves on a reading week, essentially a half term for a select few subjects. If you are lucky enough to be in possession of this ridiculous holiday, here are some ways you can fritter it away until you have stuff to do again.

1. Go on holiday

As reading week handily coincides with school half term, you can now hijack your family holiday. Alternatively, if you don’t fancy a week of all inclusive skiing in the Swiss alps, then you could consider going on your own rogue sojourn. Flights from Newcastle to Amsterdam are only a mere £147 – why wouldn’t you?

Yes plz

2. Go out every day of the week

Relive your fresher days/live up to your responsibility as a measly fresher by going out all the fucking time. Monday Loft, Tuesday Klute, Wednesday Lloydshack, Thursday Newcastle, Friday Studio, Saturday Klute again (rogue, I know), Sunday early night before lectures start again. You’re welcome.

Mad one

3. Move back home

Placed at that ideal half way point, this is your golden chance to get some time away from your ferrel housemates’ habits. Think double beds instead of singles, roast dinners instead of noodles and proper love instead of bitchy backstabbing. Capiche?

Get me awaaaaay

4. Go and see friends

Visit your friends at other universities where they’re sensible enough to instigate reading weeks across every subject. If they don’t have a reading week, go and visit them anyway and gloat to your hearts’ content. Who needs friends when you can have egotism?

Fun with friends

5. Sleep

It keeps your heart healthy, reduces stress, boosts memory, reduces risk of depression, can help us lose weight, AND makes us smarter. In fact this stuff’s so important that they should just rename it ‘sleeping week’. So what if you spend your days looking like Stig of the Dump, you’ll come out of it far healthier and won’t even have to wear make-up.

Why, hello

6. Become very very organised

Plan ahead for the rest of the term and use this week to make sure every single aspect of your life is in perfectly in place. Tidy your room, beautify your working environment, get your shopping done for the next few weeks, change your bed, wash your clothes and buy birthday cards for all future family birthdays until the end of the year.  Bonus: despite having done bugger all that’s actually useful, you’ll still feel ridiculously productive.

Don’t forget to increase your collection

7. Actually do some work

You’ve probably been given a reading week cause you’re going to be behind, so you’ll either have to catch up the last half of term or try and prepare for the next half. Say hello to your new home:

Welcome to Billy B