Emmanuel Nageeb and Ritika Gudhe like to hit the books – and we don’t mean studying all day. This year, the two second-year College of Medicine students have teamed up to lead Cover to Cover, a student organization for fellow booklovers.
Tell us about Cover to Cover.
EN: Cover to Cover is for anyone who likes to read or write. This year, we’re mainly focusing on reading. We want to find more people who like to read books. It’s always helpful when you read a book to have someone to discuss it with later on. Cover to Cover gives students a nice forum to do that.
RG: We only plan to have a discussion once a semester because we don’t want to put even more on top of students’ work load.
What’s on Cover to Cover’s bookshelf this semester?
RG: We’re reading When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi this semester.
We try to pick books that we think medical students should read. It makes for a really good discussion. These books aren’t part of the curriculum, they’re just books that students can read on their own time.
Is it too late for students to join in this semester?
EN: Nope! We haven’t actually started the reading process yet. We figure students will do most of their reading during the upcoming breaks, so we plan on getting the process started some time before Thanksgiving.
Why do you encourage students to join Cover to Cover?
EN: Students should join if they enjoy reading. If you’re already planning to read something for fun, you might as well read something similar to your cohort and discuss it later on.
RG: We think they’re good books. It’s always good to read about other people in the field and what their experiences have been like. It might mean more to you than you’d expect.
How else can students, staff and faculty become involved with Cover to Cover?
EN: We will be hosting a book drive at the end of the year.
RG: It’s a drive for any type of book! We accumulate a lot of non-textbooks over the years, so this is an open invitation to donate some of those extra books. The drive goes on for about a month, then we donate the books to local schools throughout the community.