Reddit reviews Optoma ML550 WXGA 500 Lumen 3D Ready Portable DLP LED Projector with MHL Enabled HDMI Port

You would first NEED an LED projector just to cope with the hours of reading. That means (unless you are a loaded college student) going 720p with something like this. Then figure out if you want vertical or horizontal and then how big a projection is comfortable and then how big a font you like and then play with the "Cleartype"-ish options if you have any on the mac.

You may also want to play with different materials to project onto. A white or off white wall will work if it is perfectly flat.

You can always go for this one. It has an acceptable range of specs. I got an older model of those, the ML300. Really small, not very bright but great for normal use, but the problem here is that I got it refurbished and it overheats every 20 minutes. I even bought a PC fan to cool it and add some lifetime to the LED bulb and it's hit or miss.
If you get the model I linked or a NEW ML300 you're good to go for a fraction of the price.
For projectors, you almost never go other than NEW, not even refurbished. I say this from experience.

There are other small projectors like the AAXA P450, the Optoma ML550 / ML750 but those aren't much better than the LG PH300 I recommended and/or meant for business use.

Take a look at the refurbished Epson Home Cinema 730HD. This is probably as cheap are you're going to find, they have it on Amazon but it's normally much more expensive and the refurbished there is sold out. The Epson 730HD is going to be much brighter but it bulb based, so you'll probably run it for 3,500-5,000 hours and then have to buy a new bulb.

https://www.amazon.com/Optoma-ML550-Portable-Projector-Enabled/dp/B00CY9PWKI/ref=dp_ob_title_ce