The Value of Reading
Feb 28, 2021
Written By, Randi Fehser
There are many values of reading. One might say I am biased since I am an English major and all but there are so many perks to reading. In William G. Brozo’s article, Writing to Learn in the Disciplines, he mentions, “For most teachers and scholars, reading is considered the fundamental skill, the prior skill, the formative skill…” Reading allows us to build skills for many different areas in our lives. It helps us improve our job skills, our communication skills, helps our brains stay active, and to always be learning.
When I was in high school and in my first two years of college, I did not know I wanted to be a high school English teacher yet. I was a liberal study major at first to be an elementary teacher, but realized I wanted to teach the older kids. When I was thinking on changing my major to English Education, one question from other teachers and other professors was if I read. I did not, I always used spark notes during school and kind of faked it until I made it. I was then given the advice to start reading. Don’t start off reading what I was forced to read, because then I wasn’t going to appreciate it. I was told to start reading something that I think I would enjoy. I finally chose the book, The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins. It was a mystery book, and I loved it! I finished it in two days! Since then, I have been a big reader. I read books in one-three days. Over the past three years, I have read over 100 books. I have read books that I enjoy, which are usually fictional, books for school, and self-development books. Reading has definitely has built up a lot of different skills for me. I have become a better writer and communicator, my vocabulary is stronger, reading has allowed me to relax, it has allowed me to gain different friendships because we had a similar interest in reading, and most importantly reading has allowed me to always grow.
Reading has provided me many different learning experiences. From self-development books that share with us different ways to always improve ourselves. Some of these books include: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and No Shortcuts to the Top by Ed Viesturs. Fictional books allow me to relax and also provide entertainment. Some of my favorite fictional books are The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, If Only I Could Tell You by Hannah Beckerman, and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.
If you are not a big reader, but find the value of it intriguing, set a goal for yourself. First find a genre you might like. Mystery, Fiction, Non-fiction, Historical-Fiction, Fantasy, etc. and then once you find a book that interests you, start reading 10 pages a day. This will build up a habit and does not take too long out of your day. I always like to read before bed, but I know some people like to read when they first wake up to start their day. Once you start reading and find books that you enjoy you are going to want to share about them all the time, trust me.
