I didn’t want to mislead you guys into believing that you will get expert and foolproof advice on culturing good reading habits on this post, hence that title. I will be telling you how I have read over the years, how my reading habits have changed and what I do when it comes to reading as of today.
I fell in love with reading because one of my schoolmates actually pushed me a lot to pick a 'Harry Potter' book and read because she was so obsessed with it. I actually started reading it to get her off my back to be honest but actually ended up fascinated by it. There was no stopping after that because it opened a whole new world for me and it helped me tap into my creativity. I was this lone kid who stayed indoors during summer vacations and read one entire book by midnight, who also by the way had an active library membership card. Back then it was always about finding bigger books to avoid multiple library visits but that would just challenge me to finish up reading even faster. Reading has given me one of the best things I could have ever learnt in life- COMMAND OVER THE LANGUAGE.
Fast-forward to 2020 and I struggle to complete a book for months, even a year sometimes. I have been reading 'Shoe Dog' since last year. You know you get to college, get a job, get a social life (not in my case though), a plethora of streaming apps to entertain yourself and somethings just take a back seat. My reading habits took a major back seat in college and I had become very complex which made sitting at one place and concentrating on a book very difficult. I would think about a thousand things and stare at that one page forever and whenever I picked up a book, I compared myself with my fifteen-year-old self which, by the way, is not a cool thing to do. We are humans and we need to keep evolving, it’s a process. So that’s what this post is about, how I, as a hyperactive person with a wandering mind try to read as much as possible.
Mostly people will make reading sound like a lot of work. You are asked to read newspapers, non-fictional books, conspiracy theories and something which will sound intelligent. Well you don’t have to. Go to the book store and pick up the thinnest fictional book you can find and read the brief on the back cover, this is the best way to start and see how you like it. Don’t like books? Buy a magazine. Don’t want to go out and get a book? Find an online version and read. I got introduced to this app called Aldiko by my friend and they have a lot of sample pages from a book. We also have Audibles now, if you want to listen to a book and you can always go back to read it. Start small and climb your way higher.
Now there is this one thing which might demotivate you when you pick up a book based on someone’s suggestion. They might go gaga about the book which will propel you to join the bandwagon but then you might be ten pages into it and find it not at all exciting. That is completely okay, abandon the book and move on. I know a lot of you will give up on that book but don’t put yourself on a guilt trip of not even being able to finish a book everyone seems to be crazy about. No, we are not here to join the cult, we are here to enjoy reading. Period.
So here’s how I decide what I want to read. I read sample pages. If I have read an excerpt of the book somewhere, I will probe in more and start reading it. I read books adapted into movies if I love the movie. I read blogs, articles, Instagram posts, interviews and anything that catches my attention, even quotes. Yes, you can develop the habit of reading by reading anything unless and until you enjoy it. There are no hard and fast rules. I have also read a screen play of an amazing film and it was absolutely refreshing.
Last but not the least, and you might have heard this a lot, carry a small book with you at all times. I am totally going to tell you why I do this and I am hundred percent sure you will relate to this. Sometimes I am in train, bus or cab and it’s a long journey with bad reception, that’s when the book comes handy. Also if you run out of your phone battery, don’t get worked up, just get the book out and get going on your way. Had a bad fight or want to avoid some messages and phone calls while you are out? Put the phone in and get that book out and distract yourself. Make sure the book is tiny and not too heavy.
You know whoever said that books are our best friends, they didn’t quite lie. I hope you like this post and please let me know your feedback.
Comentarios