Reading Week Reset: Recommendations from the AMS Senior Managers!
Reading Week is here! Whether you’re catching up on lectures or finally catching your breath, this is your reminder to rest on purpose. We asked AMS Senior Managers for the books, shows, and movies they reach for when they need to recharge, consider this your cozy, zero-stress menu for the week.
Why Reading Week Matters
Reading Week has long been a week for students to pause the sprint, breathe, and reset. It’s the built-in pit stop between midterms and the marathon of the term, a chance to catch up (a little), rest (a lot), and remember what you enjoy outside of grades and deadlines. Whether that looks like finally reading for fun, watching a comfort show with a cozy drink, or taking a slow walk with a good playlist, the goal is the same: come back feeling more like yourself. Use this week to sleep, stretch, and swap recommendations with friends, then ease back in with fresh energy for the home stretch.
Books to Curl Up With
For a true mental reset, trade screen time for page-turns (?) Here are staff faves you can sink into between naps and hot drinks.
The Stranger (The Outsider) — Albert Camus
Nathan Zhe (Director of Marketing)
Ali Hussein (Commissioner of Campus Affairs)
Two of our Senior Managers landed on the same classic, and for good reason. A detached everyman drifts through life until a senseless act puts him on trial, where his lack of emotion seems more damning than the crime. It’s a cool-headed crisis of meaning that asks whether society punishes nonconformity as much as wrongdoing.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes — Suzanne Collins
Mae Sacamay (Director of Communications)
A prequel to the famous Hunger Games series, it follows a young Coriolanus Snow as he mentors a District 12 tribute during the 10th Games. Snow mentors a tribute to claw his family back into power, forcing him to choose between empathy and ambition. You watch a villain form in real time, you see how a system can reward the worst impulses, ambition without empathy, cruelty dressed as innovation, and obedience over integrity, until those habits harden into power
Percy Jackson series — Rick Riordan
Jonathan Shenouda (Director of Orientation Roundtable)
Percy, a kid who never quite fits in, discovers he’s a demigod and gets thrown into quests where algebra and ancient monsters collide. The hook is mythic chaos interrupting middle-school life, as Percy learns to wield his powers, untangles family secrets, and realizes heroism is as much about loyalty and choices as it is about fighting monsters.
Anne of Green Gables — L. M. Montgomery
Emily Henrique (Secretariat)
An imaginative, talkative orphan, Anne Shirley is accidentally sent to live with the stern Marilla and gentle Matthew Cuthbert on Prince Edward Island, and promptly turns their quiet world upside down. Through scrapes, rivalries (hello, slate-over-Gilbert’s-head), and deep friendship with Diana, Anne’s fierce imagination and big heart slowly win over the village of Avonlea.
Heat Wave — Richard Castle
Simarjeet Singh (Director of Student Life Centre)
During a sweltering NYC heat wave, NYPD detective Nikki Heat investigates the murder of a real-estate tycoon, while an embedded magazine writer, Jameson Rook, shadows her every move. The case spirals through high-society secrets and street-level danger, but the real spark is the crackling, will-they/won’t-they chemistry between Heat and Rook.
The Alchemist — Paulo Coelho
Tatyana Grandmaitre-Saint-Pierre (Society 58 Head Manager)
Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd, follows recurring dreams and omens from Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a hidden treasure, his “Personal Legend.” Guided by curious mentors and cryptic omens, he crosses deserts and cultures, learning as much about purpose and courage as he does about the road ahead.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire — J. K. Rowling
Kaiwen Tee (StuCons Head Manager)
Harry Potter is an orphaned young wizard at Hogwarts, known for surviving a dark wizard’s attack as a baby and for his stubborn streak of courage with friends Hermione and Ron. In Goblet of Fire, he’s unexpectedly thrown into the elite Triwizard Tournament, forcing him to face perilous tasks while the wider wizarding world crowds in. As a series book, it’s the turning point: we meet other schools, see how messy wizard politics and the press are, and feel the story shift from school shenanigans to real danger.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City — Matthew Desmond
Caroline Ding (Food Bank Head Manager)
Matthew Desmond, a sociologist, follows families and landlords in Milwaukee to show how eviction actually works on the ground, messy moves, missed shifts, school disruption, all of it. The book’s punchline isn’t a twist; it’s the argument: housing loss isn’t just a symptom of poverty, it’s a major driver of it. In the larger conversation, Evicted became a touchstone that pushed housing and eviction policy into the spotlight and changed how people talk about poverty in American cities.
Malibu Rising — Taylor Jenkins Reid
Jordan Medulan (Media Centre Head Manager)
Four famous Riva siblings in 1983 Malibu prepare for their annual end-of-summer party, and the night peels back how each of them carries the fallout of a messy, high-profile family. The story cuts between the party’s slow burn and earlier years with their parents (hello, Mick Riva), tracing how fame, abandonment, and surfing shaped them.
The Nightingale — Kristin Hannah
Meghrig Milkon (Queen’s Journal Editor-in-Chief)
In Nazi-occupied France, two very different sisters navigate survival in their own ways, one focused on protecting her family at home, the other pulled into dangerous resistance work. The novel spotlights the often-hidden roles women played in war, from quiet defiance to bold sabotage. It’s a sweeping, emotional story about love, bravery, and what people risk to keep each other alive.
Johnny Got His Gun — Dalton Trumbo
Sarah Adams (Queen’s Journal Editor-in-Chief)
A young American soldier, Joe Bonham, wakes in a hospital after a WWI blast to find himself trapped inside his own body, fully conscious. The novel lives inside his mind, memory, rhythm, scraps of hope, as he tries to make himself heard and make sense of what’s left. It’s a classic of antiwar literature that asks, without speeches, what a nation really means when it sends people to fight.
Beyonders series — Brandon Mull
Xian Tronsgard (Commissioner of Clubs)
A modern kid, Jason, literally falls out of our world into Lyrian, a perilous fantasy realm, and soon teams up with Rachel (another “beyonder”) to undo a tyrant’s rule. The series becomes a quest across strange kingdoms, riddles, and living magic, where words themselves can wield power, and it keeps asking what courage and loyalty look like when the odds are awful.
The Hobbit — J. R. R. Tolkien
Brooke Schmidt (Commissioner of Environmental Sustainability)
Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving hobbit, gets swept up by Gandalf and a band of dwarves on a trek to reclaim a lost mountain home, learning nerve the hard way through trolls, goblins, riddles, and narrow escapes. Along the road he finds a certain mysterious ring and a sharper sense of himself, trading teacups for courage. As a series entry, it’s the warm-toned prelude to The Lord of the Rings: it builds Middle-earth’s lore and sets key pieces on the board without losing its cozy, fairy-tale feel.
Powerless — Lauren Roberts
Edlira Ballaj (Commissioner of External Affairs)
In a kingdom where magical “Elites” rule and powerless “Ordinaries” are hunted, street-smart Paedyn Gray survives by faking psychic abilities. When she’s forced into a brutal set of public trials alongside Prince Kai, an Elite raised to hate what she is, the danger turns into a tense, slow-burn attraction. As the series starts, it mixes danger and flirtation in the arena and points the story toward something much larger, no spoilers…
Where the Crawdads Sing — Delia Owens
Elena Nurzynski (Vice President of Operations)
A barefoot, self-taught “Marsh Girl” named Kya grows up isolated in North Carolina’s coastal wetlands, finding family in the tides, birds, and books she teaches herself to read. Years later, when a local golden boy turns up dead, the town’s suspicion crashes into Kya’s fragile world. It’s part coming-of-age, part courtroom drama, with lush nature writing threaded through every page—spoiler-free.
Frankenstein — Mary Shelley
Alyssa Perisa (Vice President of University Affairs)
A driven young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, pushes past moral limits to animate life, and unleashes consequences he can’t control. Told through nested letters and confessions, the story follows creator and creation as they chase understanding, belonging, and revenge across wild landscapes. It’s a Gothic landmark about ambition, responsibility, and what we owe the beings we bring into the world.
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers — Jesse Q. Sutanto
Jana Amer (President)
When a dead man turns up in her lonely San Francisco tea shop, sixty-something Vera Wong pockets a crucial flash drive and decides she can solve the case better than the police. She “adopts” her suspects with ruthless hospitality, piping hot oolong, life coaching, and a dash of guilt, until secrets spill. What starts as a nosy auntie’s quest becomes a warm, funny found-family mystery where the murderer isn’t the only person unmasked.
Shows & Movies to Watch as You Lounge
Some weeks call for plot twists and popcorn. These picks are easy to start and even easier to love.
Andor
Greyson Martyn (Queen’s Pub Head Manager)
A grounded spy thriller in the Star Wars universe, it follows Cassian Andor, once a small-time hustler, getting pulled into the early Rebel movement. The show zooms in on life under Imperial rule (heists, prisons, politics with Mon Mothma) and how ordinary people choose resistance.
The Pitt
Niki Ehsan (Queen’s Pub Head Manager)
A medical drama set during one intense 15-hour shift in a Pittsburgh ER (“the Pitt”), following doctors, nurses, and trainees as they juggle nonstop emergencies and hospital under-funding. It premiered on Max and drew strong reviews/awards this year.
Let It Shine
Mujeedat Lekuti (Commissioner of Social Issues External)
A teen musician, Cyrus, ghostwrites rap lyrics for his flashier best friend and watches the industry, and a rising star, Roxie, fall for the wrong author. Set around a church community and a citywide hip-hop contest, it mixes raps, remixes, and family pressure. It’s a feel-good Disney musical about finding your voice and owning your words.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Edward Sy (Commissioner of Social Issues Internal)
A stressed laundromat owner, Evelyn, is drowning in taxes, family friction, and a life that feels off, until she’s yanked into a chaotic multiverse where every path-not-taken is real. She learns to tap skills from her alternate selves to confront a bizarre cosmic threat. Wild sci-fi action on the surface; underneath, it’s about choices, identity, and choosing kindness in difficult situations.
Aggro Dr1ft (Nathan Zhe)
The film orbits around a melancholic assassin named BO (Jordi Mollà) as he prepares to vanquish a demonic crime lord in a Floridian realm of vivid pinks, blazing yellows, and deep purples. But the particulars of its minimalist plot are largely moot; the vibe is what’s paramount.
See You Recharged!
However you spend the week, deep rest, light studying, or a little of both, we hope these staff picks make it easy to ease your mind and feel like yourself again. Try one, jot a quick note about what you liked, and trade recommendations with a friend when you’re back on campus. Take the nap, the page, or the episode; those small resets add up and power you through the rest of the term.
Happy Reading Week from your AMS team!
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