What have you been reading lately? At a meeting, you can soon see 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, since you read with your mind and use your imagination to depict the storyline of the detective thriller you are reading. You use your mind to imagine the pleasure that the characters in the story are experiencing as the plot unfolds; or you contemplate the different arguments and ideas theorized by the author in that self-help book you are holding.

Reading effectively helps you to develop an extensive range of vocabulary through reading various styles of books. A skillful reader recognizes a wide range of vocabulary. The reader may not understand exactly what every word means, but he/she will have a good idea of what the sentence is trying to say.

Reading makes you more alert and more interested in new words. Some readers develop ‘the dictionary habit’, which means that every time they come across a strange word, they try to figure out what it possibly means from the context. If they cannot do this, 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 types 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 understanding the writers point of view is not really good enough, you must have a response 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 author. Always keep your mind open; understand and weigh the ideas that you have read. A practical part of active reading is the development of one’s own opinions.

Now let me tell you to the phenomenon 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. You would certainly become well-read in your subject far more quickly than others. Just think how that would help you at work or in school or college …

Let me share four primary rules for effective reading and better comprehension:

1) Try to read more and more every month. Remember that practice makes perfect. 2) Learn the habit of reading the main ideas, ie look for the subject and predicate – the principal ideas 3) Learn to read with focus and concentration. Good readers read with understanding. 4) Learn to budget your time. Experiment with your reading time. Try to read faster. Give yourself a time limit for the specific book that you are reading.

Reading is a wonderfully stimulating mental activity. It expands your understanding and ability. You have so much to gain by discovering the joy of reading. So, go ahead and take down a book right this minute.

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