What have you been reading lately? In a gathering, you can soon tell who the broad-spectrum readers are, since frequent readers are often quick thinkers and good public speakers too. They quickly win the adulation, respect, and fellowship of others. After all, reading expands the mind and many people think of it as one of the most satisfying pleasures known to mankind, being a combination, as it is, of mental agility and physical relaxation well above the level offered by television or the cinema.
Reading is mostly a mental activity, as you read with your mind and use your imagination to depict the setting of the action thriller you are reading. You use your mind to imagine the pain that the main characters in the story are experiencing as the plot unfolds; or you contemplate the various arguments and ideas theorized by the author of that self-help book you are holding.
Being able to read effectively helps you to develop a wide vocabulary through reading different styles of books. A skillful reader recognizes a wide range of vocabulary. The reader may not know exactly what every word means, but he/she will have a general idea of what the sentence means.
Reading makes you more alert and more curious about new words. Some readers develop ‘the dictionary habit’, which means that every time they come across a new word, they try to figure out what it possibly means in the context. If they are stumped, they refer to a dictionary.
Similarly, reading develops intellectual curiosity by exposing the reader to a variety of subjects. He/she learns to read by reading books of increasing difficulty and variety. Just as in other kinds of education, he/she is learning by actually doing and while he/she is reading he/she is automatically learning about the subject matter of the book too - a free by-product!
Basically, reading teaches you to have an active and open mind. Only grasping the writers point of view is not really good enough, you have to have a reply to what you have read. Be an active, not a passive, reader. Try to develop the habit of drawing your own conclusions, the habit of active thinking, of agreeing or disagreeing with the writer. Always keep your mind open; understand and consider the ideas that you have read. A practical part of active reading is the development of one’s own opinions.
Now let me mention the concept called speed reading. All of the above applies between three and ten times over, because speed readers can read that much faster than the average reader! Consider that! - Being able to read, comprehend and remember all those books and articles. You would surely become well-read in your subject much more rapidly than others. Just imagine how that could help you at work, in school or in university …
Now, let me tell you the four primary rules for better reading and better comprehension:
1) Try to read more and more every month. Remember the saying that practice makes perfect. 2) Develop the habit of reading for main ideas, ie look for the subject and predicate - the main ideas 3) Learn to read with focus and concentration. Think of what you are reading. Good readers read with understanding. 4) Learn to budget your time. Experiment with your reading time. Try purposely to read faster. Give yourself a time limit for a specific text that you are reading.
Reading is a wonderfully stimulating mental activity. It expands your reality and capability. You have so much to gain in discovering the joys of reading. So, go ahead and take down a book right now.
Are you interested in speed reading for yourself or a loved one? If so, please visit our web site called Speed Reading.
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