Please Read More

By  Layton Funk

Published on  November 10, 2020

Read

It’s Good to Read

Reading is an age-old pastime that’s somewhat fallen out of style in the last couple of decades. Plenty of people still do read, of course. However, it’s not the first thing that comes to mind for many when they want something to do. I’ll admit that’s true for myself as well! When I was younger, I read a WHOLE lot more than I do now. I read maybe a couple of books a month, but back then I read many a month. My vocabulary, reading speed, and critical reasoning skills can all be attributed to reading as a habit.

Expand Your Vocabulary

Not only does reading make you a better speaker and writer, but it will allow you to recognize and identify tons of words. The more you read and the further back in time you read, the more words you can comprehend! Some you may use in everyday conversations and many others you won’t ever say or write. However, even cooler than just using or understanding more words, you can gain the ability to read between the lines. What that entails is pinning down the meaning of a word you’ve never seen in context. That can be done by knowing the base form of other words and using association and roots or by simple context clues.

Practice Makes Perfect

The more you read, the better you’ll get at it. That’s pretty obvious, since that’s true for pretty much any skill. Reading, though, is a skill that is transferable to so many other skills, making it extremely important. By reading faster and having strong critical reasoning, people can work harder, think more critically, and comprehend everything faster. You can get better at reading with books, articles, comics, subtitled (foreign-language) films, and even text-heavy video games. Find something that will entertain you while also training your reading muscle!

Have Fun!

Finding something you will enjoy is the best way to practice any skill, really. Get into foreign films with subtitles that you have to really pay attention to in order to. Find a series or genre of novel that you’re interested in and jump right in. Maybe you’re in a learning or inquisitive mood. Scientific articles or Wiki-diving can quench your knowledge thirsting mind and have a whole lot of technical vernacular to sift through. There are a ton of video games that are text-heavy like classic RPGs or visual novels or “walking simulators” that can expand your reading horizons. Even comic books or graphic novels can help with your reading skills if you want something more text light to read. Just read!

Tags: , , , , , , , ,