I’m just going to get right to it: My generation hates reading.
We’ve become more of a “visual” generation, who has the attention span of a goldfish (9 seconds) who needs “music”, “colors” and other “moving” things to keep us entertained. I say it’s pretty pathetic. We are all hanging by the wire, clinging to an electricity charge that flows through our wires. And while we fry our brain while playing video
games, burying ourselves in social networking, sticking our eyes to the television, while the works of Shakespeare, Dan Brown, Paulo Coelho, and all the other brilliant writers are stuck in a bookshelf waiting to be read. So to those teens who are willing to give up their game consoles and other gadgets for even just an hour of reading, here’s how to read:
Pick a good book. Pick a book that perks your interest. Books have different genres, like:
It could be about anything you’d like to be, just as long as you’re interested in it. Remember, no one else is going to read it for you, so it better be something you really like.
Find a place to read. The best thing about books is that you can read anywhere. You don’t need to be near an electric outlet. You can read outside by a tree and enjoy the breeze that’s not from an electric fan or air conditioner. Again, it all depends on you where you’d like to read. Just make sure you’re comfortable. As long as you don’t read inside a moving vehicle because it would just damage your eyes-not good.
Reading position. This is kind of the hard part-finding the perfect reading position. Although it is advisable to read with your book in front of you, you can’t help but feel stiff after a few minutes. Just make sure you won’t get sore in whatever position you chose.
Read. Now this is the main part. When you read, don’t just read the words. Don’t just flick your eyes from one corner of the page to the other. When you read, read with your imagination. If the book shows you a scene where rain is pouring, imagine that it’s really raining around you. Watch the scene unravel right before your eyes. When there is a conversation between the characters, imagine you’re listening to it. Use any actors voice when reading their conversation. Just make it real to you. It may seem tiring, but I promise you that when you get used to it, it’s a breeze. You can imagine yourself as the main character, or as the enemy, or as the love interest. That’s the best thing about your imagination-you can go as wild as you can. If you can, read with your heart. Cry when a character dies, get mad at the enemy, laugh when something funny happens-bring your emotions with the ride.
Use a bookmark/make a marking where you stopped. To make sure you don’t get lost when you put the book down, mark it with something so that you could easily open to where you stopped. That way you won’t have to bother yourself with looking for the page where you stopped.
Finish it. Always finish what you started. You’d leave yourself hanging if you don’t finish the book. The endings are always the best part, that’s why they say “save the best for last”. You’d know whether the couple you’ve been rooting for ended up together, or if the murderer got caught, or you could be left with an open ended ending, making you wonder what could have happened.
Learn from it. The best thing about the book it that no matter how random a book may be, there would always be a lesson from it. So instead of doing the mistake yourself, learn from the book. You can learn that you have to stack up for a zombie apocalypse, that you should not go down the stairs when there’s a murderer in the house, that you should not take anything for granted, and others more.
So the next time you’re about to drone yourself into a marathon of facing your beloved gadget, try to pick up a book once in a while. Stimulate your brain into doing something that could enhance it, rather than deteriorating it. Books are there at your disposal, and your imagination will always be at bay if you don’t read something. Reading is fun believe it or not. It just takes some perspective.
Happy reading!