Geneseo Late Knight and Spine Breakers’ jar collaboration

Photo courtesy of Knight’s Life Editor Regan Russell

This past Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, Geneseo Late Knight (GLK) and the Spine Breakers hosted an event together where they created “To Be Read” (TBR) jars and decorated them. For those unfamiliar, a TBR jar is something that many avid readers utilize to make their book-reading choices easier. The concept involves filling a jar with slips of paper that have the titles of books you would like to read and then randomly selecting a piece of paper when trying to decide what book to read next. 

The Spine Breakers are a newly founded club and are the only campus-wide book club featured at Geneseo. The club has countless members ranging from daily readers to those who enjoy reading here and there. GLK is a Geneseo events staple, hosting many events throughout the course of the semester, both alone and in collaboration with other clubs on campus. They host free events on Fridays and Saturdays for all students looking for something fun and safe to do on the weekends. 

The event took place in “CUPS,” the seating area located outside of the Starbucks in the MacVittie College Union. Beginning at 8:00 p.m., the event gave ample time for students to relax after class and then head to a fun event with their friends. Upon arriving at the event, students were greeted by friendly faces from both GLK and Spine Breakers, and all supplies needed for the event were provided. 

Classic mason jars were used as the base for this creative project. Then, students could select from a variety of fun stickers with sayings such as “The book was better,” “Just one more chapter,” or “I’d rather be reading.” Along with the stickers, the clubs offered markers, paint pens, and glitter pens for the students to decorate their jars with. Just by looking at the jars around the room, you could see endless unique designs hand-done by the students. 

Aside from decorating, there were supplies to fill your jar with your next TBR picks. Colored sheets of paper were offered, and some were cut to size. It was up to each participant to choose their own book titles to write down and then fold them up to place inside of the jar. Some students had prepared a list of books before they arrived, and others could be heard sharing ideas with their friends and forming their own lists. 

Along with all of the necessary supplies to create the jars, the clubs also offered an enormous selection of snacks that were made free to the students. Juice, fruit snacks, goldfish, and more were placed on the table, and students were encouraged to help themselves throughout the event’s runtime. 

Upcoming events for both clubs can be found by visiting the Geneseo events calendar and by following the clubs on social media!