IMPORTANCE OF READING

Regular reading is a very good habit to cultivate. Reading helps in developing

concentration, creativity, and vocabulary. Reading stories and novels gives enjoyment.
Reading biographies helps in the development of characters and moral values. As one
develops the habit of reading, over time his attention span will increase. He will be able to
stay focused and attentive to the content he is reading for a longer time.
The purpose of reading is to associate the ideas on the page with one’s prior
knowledge. If you have zero prior knowledge of the subject, then pouring words of text into
your mind is of no use at all. Daily reading of newspapers and good books increases the
amount of knowledge a person has. Gaining new knowledge means upgrading oneself.
Whether it is a student, office goer, or businessman, it is necessary to stay aware and updated
in today’s fast-paced world. Sometimes, reading a newspaper is better than listening to the
news or reading second-handed news summaries. It is more detailed and you can filter out
opinionated points that are present on news channels and in news blogs. It is easier to do your
analysis and draw your conclusions using newspaper reports.
Reading allows you to look at things from a different perspective. It helps you in
understanding others’ perspectives, relating with others, and being considerate of others’
feelings. This helps in character development. When one reads a book with full attention, it
gets imprinted in the subconscious mind of the person. Knowingly or unknowingly, the
person will connect himself and his actions with the book. There are many instances of
people idolizing the great persons written in biographies and taking them as role models.
They try to imitate these role models and structure their behavior to be similar to them.
In the beginning, people read every word of the sentence, then form the complete
sentence in mind, and then decode it to get the meaning. When one gets accustomed to
reading, his reading speed will increase because he merges the process of reading every word
and forming a complete sentence. As a result, the sentence can be interpreted directly by
reading just a few important phrases of the sentence. When a person reaches this level, it
becomes very easy for him to read a lot of pages and for longer durations. The brain receives
less stress and the experience of reading becomes delightful.
Thus, due to the many benefits of reading, it is suggested to make it an integral part of
life. Especially, parents should always strive to develop the habit of reading books in their
children from a young age. If a person has the habit of reading storybooks since childhood, it
is very easy to meld this habit into reading newspapers, reading informative journals, or even
reading the thick textbooks in schools and colleges.