Reading... a vacation for the mind.... are you ready to spend 5 minutes to read this article? If yes, we can talk about ‘reading’ in this page. Please check yourselves for the question “how many books or articles you have read in the past 12 months?” I can ensure that the answer for this question is definitely will rely on smart phones, because the recent research says that, in a day an adult spends more than 2 ½ hours with his/her Smartphone (Charles, 2018). There are arguments that, people are reading and listening more with the help of social media. However, who can ensure that there is any completeness in reading or listening from the social media?
“A reader should imagine what he is reading, understand what is argued in the text he is reading, comprehend the liaison between the thoughts in it, organise them by comparing with what he has accumulated so far, restructure his present knowledge with what he has read, and sort out what he wants to keep in his mind” (Abdulkerim and Remzi, 2015). This is possible only if the reader interprets, evaluates and adopts a critical attitude while he is reading.
The big question for all of us is how to set our mind for reading? The easiest way is, to start reading subjects that are related to our interests. Every time we decide to read a book, prior to commencing reading, do a simple research about the book. Otherwise, if the book is not interesting, then we will not complete the book. For example, if the book is translated from another language and the art of translation is poor then our interest on reading the book will be lost. If you are a parent, when you are reading in front of your children, they will also learn from you. It is really important for children to read books. It is tough to teach kids to read books without us setting an example for them. Please make a home library which will motive them to read books.
After reading what can we do? Take a paper and write a brief note about the books you read and publish them on your social networks, which will motivate not only you but also others to read books. There are various advantages in reading, such as reading develops the mind and reduces stress, reading boosts enhances our memory and our ability to focus, it improves our vocabulary and communication skills etc. Our brain is a muscle and like our body it also needs exercise to stimulate it. In short, reading books is a medicine for a reader.
All of us know that leaders are not only good speakers but also good
readers. It means, today’s reader is tomorrow a leader. The some book lovers are
quoted their experience on reading as follows “sleep is good, he said, and
books are better”, “we read to know we're not alone”, “reading brings us
unknown friends”.
References:
Abdulkerim Karadeniza, Remzi Canb (2015). A research on book reading habits and media literacy of students at the faculty of education. Elsevier, 4058-4067
Charles Hymas, (2018). A decade of smartphones: We now spend an entire day every week online [online]. The Telegraph, 02 August, last accessed 02 March 2019 at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/01/decade-smartphones-now-spend-entire-day-every-week-online/
Piotr Kowalczyk (2013). The many benefits of reading (infographic) [online]. Last accessed 04 December 2019 at: https://ebookfriendly.com/benefits-of-reading-infographic/?utm_content=buffer569cc&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=buffer
PS: The above content is prepared for Toastmasters Level 1 Project 3 under an Innovative Planning path.
