Booked and Busy gives Troy students a place to read

A new student organization at Troy University is giving students a place to read, discuss books and meet other students who share their interests.

Booked and Busy was created over the summer by students Bess Dunn and Nixon Cartee after the two realized they were struggling to find time to read while balancing college.

“When me and Nixon were texting over the summer, the whole club started with the foundation that we never get to read because we’re so busy all the time,” said Bess Dunn, a junior risk management and insurance major from Troy, Alabama.

The organization will meet once a month on the second Monday of each month. Its first meeting will be Oct. 12, where members will vote on one of five books selected by the club.

“We wanted the club to be a democracy, so we’ve already gone ahead and picked five books for the club to vote on,” said Booked and Busy President Nixon Cartee, a sophomore human services major from Walton County, Florida. 

The club’s first theme will be thrillers for October, with future books chosen by members through polls.

“We’re going to see what everyone else wants to read because we want it to be something that definitely focuses on the Troy community,” Cartee said. 

Booked and Busy will also include a service component. Instead of a membership fee, members are asked to donate at least five children’s books. The books will be donated to SHORT the Squirrel, a nonprofit that distributes books to children in the community.

“We want to not only help the literacy crisis within college students, but within elementary schoolers, middle schoolers and others,” Dunn said.  “We want to do just whatever we can to help with that and share our love of reading with people who might not have that same love.”

The club is open to all genres and encourages people to share their recommendations. 

“It doesn't matter what you read, there's a place for you in our book club,” said Marketing Chair Ella Fields, a sophomore marketing major from Shelby County, Alabama. “Come read, hang out and not feel judged about something that you're really loving or passionate about. Feel free to share it because we're probably right there with you.”

For more information about meeting times and selected books, follow Booked and Busy at @troybookedandbusy on Instagram.