What have you been reading lately? At a meeting, you can tell who the broad-spectrum readers are. Wide readers often think and speak well. They win the admiration, respect, and good opinion of others. After all, reading broadens the mind. In fact, many people consider it one of the most satisfying pleasures of mankind, combining, as it does, mental agility and physical relaxation way above the scale of television.

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 of that self-help book you are holding.

Reading effectively helps you to develop a broad range of vocabulary through reading different kinds 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.

The act of reading makes you more alert and more curious about hitherto unknown words. Some readers even develop ‘the dictionary habit’, which means that whenever they come across a strange word, they attempt to work out what it possibly means by the context. If they cannot do this, they refer to a dictionary.

Likewise, reading develops intellectual curiosity by exposing you to different 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 grasping the writers idea is not enough, you must make a positive response to what you read. Be an active, not a passive, reader. 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 read. A practical part of active reading is the drawing of conclusions.

Now let me mention 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 and articles. You would surely become well-read in your subject far more rapidly than others. Just think how that could help you at work, in school or in university …

Allow me to share four basic 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. Look for the subject and predicate. Do not waste time on details or little words. 3) Learn to read with focus and concentration. Think of what you are reading. Do not let your attention wander somewhere else. 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 for a specific piece that you are reading.

Reading is a wonderfully 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 take down a book right this minute.

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