What have you been reading lately? In a gathering, you can soon tell who the frequent readers are, since wide 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.
The act of reading is primarily a mental activity. After all, you read with your mind and use your imagination to paint the setting of the action thriller you are reading. You use your mind to imagine the pleasure that the main characters are experiencing as the story unfolds; or you bring into play the different arguments and ideas brought up by the author in that self-help book you are reading.
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.
The act of reading makes you more aware and more curious about new words. Some readers even develop ‘the dictionary habit’, which means that every time they come across a strange word, they attempt to figure out what it possibly means from the context. If they cannot do this, they refer to a dictionary.
Likewise, reading develops intellectual curiosity by exposing you to a variety of subjects. You learn to read by reading books of increasing difficulty and variety. As in other forms of education, you learn by actually doing and as you are reading you automatically learn about the subject matter of the book too!
Reading trains you to have an active and open mind. Merely understanding the writers idea is not really good enough, you have to have a response to what you 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 author. Always keep your mind open; understand and consider the ideas that you read. A practical part of active reading is the development of one’s own conclusions.
Now let me mention the idea of 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! Imagine that! – Being able to read, understand and remember all those books and articles. You would surely become well-read in your subject much more rapidly than others. Just think how that would help you at work, in school or in university …
Let me share four primary rules for effective 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 on a specific text that you are reading.
Reading is a fantastically stimulating mental activity. It expands your understanding and capability. You have so much to gain by discovering the joy of reading. So, go ahead and get down a book right this minute.
Are you interested in speed reading for yourself or a loved one? If so, please hurry over to our website called Speed Reading. Don’t reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.
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