It probably comes as no surprise to any of you that I’m a book nerd. Like a big one. I am in AP Lit after all, so reading kind of comes with the territory. Don’t worry though, I’m not here to remind you of the big semester project or of Hamlet. Actually, I wanted to bring up what may be a memory lost deep in your past: having the time to free read. 

I used to read voraciously as a kid. I would blow through as many as 2 to 3 novels a week. Once high school started that stream very quickly slowed to a trickle as my free reading time was taken up by an onslaught of homework and sports practices. Recently though, I’ve decided to reprioritize my time. Instead of going on my phone for 15 minutes before I go to bed, I’ve been reading for fun. My most recent read was The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I loved it so much that I couldn’t just keep it to myself, so read on to hear my thoughts about what I consider to be a great book.

The Starless Sea has it all: magic, adventure, and a little romance mixed in. The main plot revolves around Zachary, a college student who finds a mysterious book in his campus library that kickstarts him on the adventure of a lifetime. With the help of some others, he discovers the existence of a world below the world, the location of the Starless Sea. This place is full of winding corridors filled with books and reading nooks. To put it simply, this is where all stories originate and are kept. 

The central conflict revolves around the fate of this place, whether it will survive to see more people enter it or if it will be sealed off for good. I’ll spare you some of the details, but I will tell you that the plot quickly becomes action-packed.

Interwoven between the story of Zachary are some of the stories hidden in the books that reside in the Starless Sea. The subject of these stories covers anything from pirates to Fate and the Moon. Morgenstern beautifully weaves in these pieces to deepen the plot and familiarize the reader with the capacity for magic that the Starless Sea demands.

I know all of that may sound a little confusing, but honestly, that’s part of the charm. The Starless Sea has so many beautiful details and intricate plot points woven in that it becomes hard to describe. It truly is a book that is better read than spoken about. Closing the book after the ending left me speechless because of the masterful craft that went into it. 

Regardless of how I feel about The Starless Sea, I’ll let a critic speak. Publisher’s Weekly says “This love letter to bibliophiles is dreamlike and uncanny, grounded in deeply felt emotion, and absolutely thrilling.” If that doesn’t convince you to pick it up, then I don’t know what will.

Maybe I haven’t convinced you to read The Starless Sea, and that’s ok. After all, not everyone likes reading the same things and that’s completely valid. But if you take anything away from reading this, here it is: read. Or maybe if you don’t like reading, do something other than your homework that brings you joy. I know you feel like you don’t have time, I promise you do. Even if you spend a fraction of the time reading as you do on your phone, you’ll get the opportunity to get transported out of normal life and into a good story. 

So, let me know what you guys are reading in the comments. If you’re not reading anything, what do you like to do to destress?