subject: Choose A New Book And Start Learning [print this page] I went to college and studied very hard to become an English teacher because I wanted to instill in others my love for reading. I thoroughly love to read books of all shapes, sizes, and settings. I acknowledge that many people do not enjoy reading. For some, reading may be a chore or something that is boring. Other people don't read literature but will read the daily newspaper, which is a rarity because everything in life seems to be moving toward a paperless world. My own husband hates reading and only catches his news by reading the top news stories off of CNN.com. I love that he reads news from the web but if that is all we do, are we missing something by not taking advantage of all the books around us?
There are so many books that have been written for one reason or another. Some books are written to teach, while others books are written to preach. Some books are written so readers will simply enjoy the experience while reading and other books are written to inspire thoughts in readers which may possibly lead them to write about their own thoughts. Reading and writing are so intertwined that they each influence the other so well. One thing that I know is that I truly enjoy reading books and I try not to limit myself to particular genres or authors. There are so many books available to me that I need to let myself learn as much as I can while I can. That is the type of attitude that I would want my students to have as well. If we do not read, we might not ever know things about the world or about ourselves had we not picked up that particular book and pondered about a certain issue.
I encourage those reading this to branch out and pick up a book that you probably would not have chosen to read before today. If you usually stick to the classics, read something written in the last few years and if that is too hard for you, at least pick a book from an author who is still alive. If you always read fiction, try a non-fiction piece just to see what it is like. There are so many genres of writing available and if we do not ever let ourselves explore them, we may not ever know which genre truly calls out to us. Whether you choose Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago or Shulgin's Tihkal, pick up and book and start reading!
