NB:Thismaynotbeaword-for-wordtranscript.
HowtoDevelopaReadingHabit
WhatwasthenameofthelastbookyoureadCan’trememberWell,maybeit’stimetobuildanewreadinghabit!Youmaythinkyoudon’thavetimetoread.Ormaybeyouhaven’tenjoyedreadingmuchinthepast.
AuthorJ.K.Rowlingsuggests,“Ifyoudon’tliketoread,youhaven’tfoundtherightbook.”
Findingabookthatinterestsyoucanmakeallthedifferenceintheworld.Andbooksaren’ttheonlyreadingmaterial.Thereareallkindsofmagazines,booklets,newspapers,andebooks.YoucanreadapaperbookorgetaniPadtoholdyourbookcollection.Whateverworksbestforyouisjustfine!Themainthingistostartreading!
WhyRead
Readingcanbeenjoyable,informativeandpromotegrowthandlearning.EnglishessayistJosephAddisonsaid,“Readingistothemindwhatexerciseistothebody.”
Whenyouread,differentpartsofyourbrainareactivated,andaccordingtoneurosciencestudies,itpromotesourabilitytofocusandgraspcomplexideas.Ithelpsconnecttherightandlefthemispheresofthebrainwhileprocessingletters,wordsandvisualconcepts.Inshort,itmakesussmarter.Weusemorepartsofourbrain,andcanhaveagoodtimedoingit!
Studiesshowthatreadingtoyoungchildrenhelpswiththeirearlyvocabularyandbraindevelopment,too.Sowhystopreadingonceyougetolder
Novelsandstoriescanbeagreatwaytouseyourimaginationandpromoteempathyandunderstanding.Oryoumayfindyourwayalonganexcitingadventurebyreadingafascinatingrecountofsomeone’stravels.
Canyouthinkofaparticularplaceyou’dliketoknowmoreaboutAreyouinterestedinaspecifictimeperiodinhistorythatdrawsyourcuriosity,orhaveanaffinitywithatypeofanimalorhobbythatyou’dliketoknowmoreaboutWhateveryoucanimagine,there’sabookaboutit!
Sohowdoyoufindreadingmaterial,andthetimetoactuallyreadit
GoalsandReadingLists
Tostartwith,youmightwanttosetsomegoalsaroundyournewreadinghabit.Abouttwohoursadayisagoodstart.Maybeyou’rethinking,twohours!Idon’thavethatmuchtimetojustsitandreadabookeveryday!Butit’sallinhowyouscheduleit.Youcan’tjustleaveittochanceattheendoftheday.
Breakitdownintoblocksoftime.Forinstance,20minutesinthemorningcouldbeagoodwaytostartyourday,readingachapterortwofromonebook.Itwakesyourbrainup,andgetsyoustartedthinking.Ifyounormallygetupinthemorningandstartcheckingyourphonefortexts,emailsandsocialmediaposts,tryreplacingthattimewithreadingabook.Insteadofgettinginvolvedinallthedramaanddemandsofthedayfromyourphone,takethat20minutesforyourself.Immerseyourselfinabookthatactivatesyourimaginationandhelpsstartyourdaywithadifferentfocus.
Replacingoneoldhabitwithanewreadinghabitdoesn’ttakeanyextratime.It’sjustswitchingitoutwithsomethingbetter!ComedianGrouchoMarxoncestated,“ImustsayIfindtelevisionveryeducational.Theminutesomebodyturnsiton,Igotothelibraryandreadagoodbook.”
IfyounormallywatchafewhoursofTVdaily,youmightconsiderusingsomeofthattimetodoalittlereadinginstead!
Settingspecifictimesforreadingcanhelpyoustayontrack.Somepeopleliketotakeabreakatnoonandcatchuponinformationalreadingconcerninghealth,financialnewsorsports.Ifthesethingsinterestyou,readingaboutthemcanbeanenjoyablebreakinyourday.Eveningisanothergoodtimetoread.Itcanbeagoodwaytounwindanddetachfromtheday’sactivitiesbeforesleep.Whateverworksbestforyoucanbescheduledintoyourday.Planaheadandtaketimetoread.
Timegoalsaren’ttheonlythingtothinkabout.Anothergoalcouldbeacertainnumberofbookspermonth.Startsmallandmakeprogressivesteps.Maybereadonebookatfirst,andthenaddmorewhenyoumasterthat.
Somepeopleliketoreadseveralbooksatonce.Haveonebookthatyoureadinthemorning,someinformationalthingsyoureadthroughoutthedayandanotherbookyouliketoreadatnightbeforegoingtobed.Keepingabookwithyouasmuchaspossiblecangiveyoutheopportunitytoreadwhenyouarewaitingforabus,sittinginalobbyforanappointment,orhaveabreakatwork.
Makealistofbooksyouwanttoread.Addtoitasyouhearofnewsuggestions,orthinkofanothertopicthatinterestsyou.Whenyoupurchasebooksonline,you’llfindothersimilarbooks.Onethingoftenleadstoanother.Youmightfindaninterestinsomethingyouneverevenknewexisted!Orbeabletocontinuereadingaparticulargenrethatyouhaveenjoyedinthepast!
ConsistencyandMotivation
Researchhasshownthatitcantakeabout66daystocreateahabit.Thisnumbermaybemoreorless,butontheaverage,ifyoudosomethingforacoupleofmonthsonaregularbasis,itwillbecomeautomaticforyou.Stickwithyourgoalofreadingeverydayatspecifictimesandeventuallyyou’llseethatyou’vecreatedanewhabit.Ifyou’rereadinganovelwitharivetingstoryline,youwillprobablybemotivatedtogettothatnextchapterandseewhathappens!Butifyoufindyouneedalittlemorehelpgettingstartedwithyourreadinghabit,youmighttryacoupleofothermethods.
Joiningabookclubisonewaytogetintothehabitofreadingregularly.Otherpeopleinthegroupsharetheirthoughtsaboutaparticularbook,andcansuggestotherselectionsonceyoufinish.Somegroupsliketoreadaloudanddiscusschaptersastheygo.Whicheverstyleworksbestforyoucanhelpyoutogetexcitedaboutreadingandkeepyouengaged.
Readthingsyoureallyenjoy,andgiveyourselfpermissiontoswitchtosomethingelseifyoufindyoudon’tlikethatbookafterall.Sometimesyoumightstartreadingandfindthatit’snotreallywhatyouhadinmind.It’struethatabookreallycan’tbejudgedbyitscover.Giveitahundredpagesorso,andifyou’renotintoitbythen,it’sokaytofindsomethingelse.Readingshouldbeagoodexperienceoryoumightnotwanttocontinue.Sofindthingsthatholdyourinterestorexciteyou.Therearemorebooksintheworldthananyonepersoncouldeverreadintheirlifetime,soyouhaveahugeselectiontochoosefrom.
Youdon’thavetospendalotofmoneybuyingbookseither.YoucanpurchasereadingmaterialonlinefromwebsiteslikeAmazonorBarnesandNoble.Thereareusuallylowerpricesforusedbooks.Orfindsomethingatyourlocallibrary.Librarycardsareusuallyfreeifyouliveinsidethecitylimits,butevenifyouliveontheoutskirtsoftown,thecostisgenerallyaffordable.Borrowingbooksfromalibraryisagoodwaytotrydifferenttypesofbookstoseewhatyoulike.Andthelibrarystaffaregoodatsuggestingtopicsthatmightinterestyou.Theycanalsoletyouknowwhat’snewandwhat’sonthebestseller’slist.
Anddon’tforgetaboutyourlocalbookstores!Youmayfindsomethingabouttheareayoulivein.There’softenahistorysectionaboutthepeoplewholivedthereinthepast!WhatwaslifelikebackthenItcanbefascinatingtoreadaboutyourlocalheroes!
Withsomanythingstoreadaboutandavailablesourcesatyourfingertips,there’snotimelikethepresenttogetstarted.Thereisnolimittowherereadingcantakeyou,andthebenefitsyouwillreceive.
CreatorWaltDisneyenticeduswiththisstatement,“Thereismoretreasureinbooksthaninallthepirate’slootonTreasureIsland.”