Study's Fun/Dec, 2014 3
Benefits of reading
Just like how your body needs exercise to stay healthy, your brain too needs exercise to stay active. Reading stimulates thinking and thus keeps your brain strong and healthy.
The more you read, the more words you gain exposure to that will build your vocabulary.
When you read a book, you have to remember characters, situations, backgrounds, history and subplots. Amazingly, with every book you read, your memory improves and helps you to remember things better.
As you read more books, your analytical thinking improves, which will help you to analyse books from a critique’s point of view, i.e. determining whether a book is a well-written piece, if the characters were properly developed, if the storyline ran smoothly, etc. Should you ever have an opportunity to discuss the book with others, you’ll be able to state your opinions clearly, as you’ve taken the time to really consider all the aspects involved.
Reading improves your focus and concentration.
Expansion of your vocabulary, exposure to published, well-written work has a noted effect on your own writing, as observing the writing styles of other authors will always influence your own work.
Ways to make reading interesting
Look for genres that interest you - be it fantasy, realistic, mystery or non-fiction. Explore books in libraries or browse the internet to buy or download free copies.
If you have a hard time choosing a book, ask your friends, classmates, teachers or parents to suggest titles for you or you can borrow their books to get a taste of the genres that matters to people around you.
Pick books that are a level or two lower than your grade. There is no harm in doing so as long as the books hold your interest and help you focus on the words, meanings and the story.
If you think novels and chapter books are difficult to concentrate on, choose short stories and short non-fiction comprehension passages.
If you think a book that you have begun reading doesn’t interest you beyond the first chapter, skip that book and move on to another.
Ways to get over reading fears
If you get a headache or your eyes hurt when reading, you may be suffering from light sensitivity. Talk to your parents or teachers about it and they will get you medical help. Read aloud at home in front of the mirror frequently. This practice will slowly erase your fear of reading in front of the class.
Write down, record your thoughts as you read. This will help you to stay in touch with your inner voice and to comprehend the text better.
Reading as often as you can, will automatically increase your speed of reading and you can soon become one of the fastest readers in your class!