Reading is Good Habit for Students and Children

 500+ words essay on reading is good habit.

Reading is a very good habit that one needs to develop in life. Good books can inform you, enlighten you and lead you in the right direction. There is no better companion than a good book. Reading is important because it is good for your overall well-being. Once you start reading, you experience a whole new world. When you start loving the habit of reading you eventually get addicted to it. Reading develops language skills and vocabulary. Reading books is also a way to relax and reduce stress. It is important to read a good book at least for a few minutes each day to stretch the brain muscles for healthy functioning.

reading is good habit

Benefits of Reading

Books really are your best friends as you can rely on them when you are bored, upset, depressed, lonely or annoyed. They will accompany you anytime you want them and enhance your mood. They share with you information and knowledge any time you need. Good books always guide you to the correct path in life. Following are the benefits of reading –

Self Improvement: Reading helps you develop positive thinking. Reading is important because it develops your mind and gives you excessive knowledge and lessons of life. It helps you understand the world around you better. It keeps your mind active and enhances your creative ability.

Communication Skills: Reading improves your vocabulary and develops your communication skills. It helps you learn how to use your language creatively. Not only does it improve your communication but it also makes you a better writer. Good communication is important in every aspect of life.

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Increases Knowledge: Books enable you to have a glimpse into cultures, traditions, arts, history, geography, health, psychology and several other subjects and aspects of life. You get an amazing amount of knowledge and information from books.

Reduces Stress: Reading a good book takes you in a new world and helps you relieve your day to day stress. It has several positive effects on your mind, body, and soul. It stimulates your brain muscles and keeps your brain healthy and strong.

Great Pleasure: When I read a book, I read it for pleasure. I just indulge myself in reading and experience a whole new world. Once I start reading a book I get so captivated I never want to leave it until I finish. It always gives a lot of pleasure to read a good book and cherish it for a lifetime.

Boosts your Imagination and Creativity: Reading takes you to the world of imagination and enhances your creativity. Reading helps you explore life from different perspectives. While you read books you are building new and creative thoughts, images and opinions in your mind. It makes you think creatively, fantasize and use your imagination.

Develops your Analytical Skills: By active reading, you explore several aspects of life. It involves questioning what you read. It helps you develop your thoughts and express your opinions. New ideas and thoughts pop up in your mind by active reading. It stimulates and develops your brain and gives you a new perspective.

Reduces Boredom: Journeys for long hours or a long vacation from work can be pretty boring in spite of all the social sites. Books come in handy and release you from boredom.

Read Different Stages of Reading here.

The habit of reading is one of the best qualities that a person can possess. Books are known to be your best friend for a reason. So it is very important to develop a good reading habit. We must all read on a daily basis for at least 30 minutes to enjoy the sweet fruits of reading. It is a great pleasure to sit in a quiet place and enjoy reading. Reading a good book is the most enjoyable experience one can have.

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Importance of Reading Essay

500+ words essay on reading.

Reading is a key to learning. It’s a skill that everyone should develop in their life. The ability to read enables us to discover new facts and opens the door to a new world of ideas, stories and opportunities. We can gather ample information and use it in the right direction to perform various tasks in our life. The habit of reading also increases our knowledge and makes us more intellectual and sensible. With the help of this essay on the Importance of Reading, we will help you know the benefits of reading and its various advantages in our life. Students must go through this essay in detail, as it will help them to create their own essay based on this topic.

Importance of Reading

Reading is one of the best hobbies that one can have. It’s fun to read different types of books. By reading the books, we get to know the people of different areas around the world, different cultures, traditions and much more. There is so much to explore by reading different books. They are the abundance of knowledge and are best friends of human beings. We get to know about every field and area by reading books related to it. There are various types of books available in the market, such as science and technology books, fictitious books, cultural books, historical events and wars related books etc. Also, there are many magazines and novels which people can read anytime and anywhere while travelling to utilise their time effectively.

Benefits of Reading for Students

Reading plays an important role in academics and has an impactful influence on learning. Researchers have highlighted the value of developing reading skills and the benefits of reading to children at an early age. Children who cannot read well at the end of primary school are less likely to succeed in secondary school and, in adulthood, are likely to earn less than their peers. Therefore, the focus is given to encouraging students to develop reading habits.

Reading is an indispensable skill. It is fundamentally interrelated to the process of education and to students achieving educational success. Reading helps students to learn how to use language to make sense of words. It improves their vocabulary, information-processing skills and comprehension. Discussions generated by reading in the classroom can be used to encourage students to construct meanings and connect ideas and experiences across texts. They can use their knowledge to clear their doubts and understand the topic in a better way. The development of good reading habits and skills improves students’ ability to write.

In today’s world of the modern age and digital era, people can easily access resources online for reading. The online books and availability of ebooks in the form of pdf have made reading much easier. So, everyone should build this habit of reading and devote at least 30 minutes daily. If someone is a beginner, then they can start reading the books based on the area of their interest. By doing so, they will gradually build up a habit of reading and start enjoying it.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Importance of Reading Essay

What is the importance of reading.

1. Improves general knowledge 2. Expands attention span/vocabulary 3. Helps in focusing better 4. Enhances language proficiency

What is the power of reading?

1. Develop inference 2. Improves comprehension skills 3. Cohesive learning 4. Broadens knowledge of various topics

How can reading change a student’s life?

1. Empathy towards others 2. Acquisition of qualities like kindness, courtesy

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Friday essay: Alice Pung — how reading changed my life

reading is life essay

Author (non-fiction, fiction, young adult), The University of Melbourne

Disclosure statement

Alice Pung does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Melbourne provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

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Having survived starvation and been spared execution, my father arrived in this new country, vassal-eyed and sunken-cheeked. I was born less than a month later and he named me Alice because he thought Australia was a Wonderland. Maybe he had vague literary aspirations for me, like most parents have vague infinite dreams for their babies, so small, so bewildered, so egoless. I arrived safe after so many babies had died under the regime created by a man who named himself deliberately after ruthless ambition — Political Potential, or Pol Pot for short.

“There was a tree,” my father told me when I was a teenager, “and this tree was where Pol Pot’s army, the Khmer Rouge, killed babies and toddlers. They would grab the infant by their ankles and swing them against the trunk and smash them again and again until they were dead.”

When I was an adult, I found out that there was not just the one tree. There were many such trees from which no cradle hung.

reading is life essay

But as a child, growing up in Australia, the oldest of four, I knew the words to comfort crying babies. They’d been taught to me by my schoolteachers, with rhyme but without reason: when the bough breaks the cradle will fall and down will come baby, cradle and all. A gentle song to rock my sisters to sleep. If my mother understood the words I was singing, she’d yell at me.

My mother was always hollering at me about one thing or another. After the age of eight, I was never left in peace. She repeatedly told me that babies had really soft skulls, that there was even a hole in their heads that hadn’t yet closed. When I looked at my baby sister, I could see something pulsing on the top of her scalp, beneath the skin. Never drop a baby, they warned me, or your life will be over. They spoke in warnings and commands, like Old Testament sages. They’d seen babies dropped dead. Their language was literal, not literary, but it did the trick.

We could not complain that we were dying of boredom because they’d seen death close-up, and it was definitely not caused by a lack of Lego. We could not say that we were starving because at one malarial point in his life, my father thought that if he breathed inwards he could feel his backbone through his stomach. We could never be hungry or bored in our concrete house in Braybrook, behind a carpet factory that spewed out noxious methane smells that sent us to school reeking like whoopee-cushions.

Melbourne suburb photographed from above

But in this scatological suburb, I was indeed often bored shitless. Imagine this — you go outside and hoons in cobbled-together Holdens wind down their windows and tell you to Go Back Home, Chinks. So you walk home and inside, it’s supposed to be like home. But it’s not a home you know.

It’s a home your parents know, where the older siblings look after the younger ones and your mum works in an airless dark shed at the back making jewellery, and you think it’s called outworking because although she’s at home she’s always out working. Just like her mum in Phnom Penh and her mum’s mum in Phnom Penh and every other poor mum in the history of your family lineage.

“What are you doing here? Stop bothering me,” your mum would tell you. Or when she was desperate, she’d be cajoling: “Take your siblings out. Go for a walk. If you give me just one more hour, I’ll be done.” Her face would be blackened, her fingers cut. She’d have her helmet on, with the visor. She looked like a coal miner.

Back in Cambodia, the eldest siblings looked after the bevy of little ones, all the children roaming around the Central Market, en masse. Here, in these Melbourne suburbs they’d call it a marauding Asian gang, I bet. I preferred to stay at home. I had plenty to keep me occupied there. Our school library let me borrow books, but I can’t even remember the names of the librarians now. They didn’t like some of the kids because sometimes we stole books.

Girl uses stands on a stack of books

My best friend Lydia read a book about Helen Keller that so moved her, so expanded her 10-year-old sense of the world that she nicked it and stroked the one-line sample of Braille print on the last page until all the raised dots were flat. I nicked books too, books on needlecraft and making soft toys. Sometimes one of my aunts would come by and give us a garbage bag filled with fleecy fabric offcuts from her job sewing tracksuits in her own back shed.

Being a practical kid who bugged her parents at every opportunity possible for new toys, I wanted to have reference manuals on how to make them. I didn’t nick story books or novels because to me, those were like films I often only wanted to experience once.

One day, my baby sister rolled herself off the bed when I was supposed to be watching her. She was three months old. I had just turned nine. My mother ran into the house and railed at me like a dybbuk, “You’re dead! You’re dead!” She scooped my sister out of my hands. “What were you doing? You were meant to watch her!”

“She was asleep,” I sobbed, “I was reading a book.”

Girl reads a book in bed

While my mother was working to support us in the dark back shed, I had been in the sunlit bedroom, staring for hours and hours on end at little rectangles, only stopping occasionally to make myself some Nescafé coffee with sweetened condensed milk. If this wasn’t the high life, then what was? Those books were not making me any smarter, she might have thought. Or even said, because it was something she was always telling me, because she couldn’t read or write herself. The government had closed down her Chinese school when she was in grade one, as the very first step of ethnic cleansing in Cambodia.

My mother called up my father and roared over the phone for him to come home immediately because I’d let my sister roll off the bed and she might be brain-damaged. “If she’s brain-damaged, you’re going to be dead,” my father said to me, before they both left for the hospital with my sister.

I hated my parents at that moment, but I hated myself more. I also hated the Baby-Sitters Club, all of those 12-year-old girls for whom looking after small children was just an endless series of sleepovers and car-washes and ice-cream parties and they even always got praised and paid for it. The only people I did not hate were my siblings. They were blameless.

Three girls sit on the grass

This fucking reading , I thought, because this is how I thought back then, punctuated by profanity, because this is how I wrote back then in diaries I made at school of folded paper stapled together with colourful cardboard covers that I’d then take home and fill in with pages and pages of familial injustice. Sometimes the pen dug in so aggressively underlining a word of rage that I’d make a cut through the paper five pages deep. And this is how the kids talked at school, and also some of their parents who picked them up from school. But then I also realised, reading’s the only fucking good thing I have going for me .

It showed me parents who were not only reasonable, but indulgent. They were meant to be friends with their kids. They were meant to foster their creativity and enterprise. They hosted parties and baked cupcakes and laughed when their children messed up the house, and sat them down and explained things to them carefully with great verbal displays of affection. But only if the kids were like Kristy or Stacey or Dawn in the Baby-Sitters Club.

Read more: Friday essay: need a sitter? Revisiting girlhood, feminism and diversity in The Baby-Sitters Club

If they were anything like me, then they didn’t talk very much. We were refugees in school textbooks, there for edification, to induce guilt and gratitude. The presence of third-world people like us in a book immediately stripped that book of any reading-for-pleasure aspirations. We were hard work. We were Objects not Subjects. Or if subjects, subjects of charity and not agents of charity. Always takers, never givers. No wonder people resented us.

reading is life essay

Hell, even I resented us! “Girls are more responsible,” my mother always told me. When my aunties dumped their children, my little cousins, with me, they’d always say, “Alice is so good. We trust her.” What’s one or two or three more when you already have so many in the house? they reasoned.

I imagined if some prying interloper had called the cops on my parents when I was young, seeing our makeshift crèche with no adult supervision around. “If you tell the government what I do,” my mother always warned me when I was a child, “they’ll take me away and lock me up and your brother and sisters will be distributed to your aunts and uncles or be put in foster homes.”

What she did — her 14-hour days in the back shed, working with potassium cyanide and other noxious chemicals to produce the jewellery for stores that would then pay her only a couple of dollars per ring or pendant — she thought was a crime. She got paid cash in hand, so she never paid any taxes. She just didn’t understand that she wasn’t the criminal; she was the one being exploited.

My mother began work at 13 in a plastic-bag factory, after her school was closed down. When all the men were at war, the factories were filled with women and children. One afternoon, she told me, she accidentally sliced open a chunk of her leg with the plastic-bag-cutting machine. She had to stay home for the next two weeks. She spent those two weeks worrying whether she’d be replaced by another little girl. In her whole working life, spanning over half a century, my mother has never signed an employment contract because she can’t write or read.

Woman rides a bicycle through Phnom Penh

“People can rip me off so easily,” she would often lament, “that’s why I have to have my wits about me at all times.” She’d always count out the exact change when she went grocery shopping even though it mortified me as a kid, and drove those behind her in line nuts. “If they overcharge me and you’re not here, how can I explain anything to them?” she’d ask, “I don’t speak English.”

She’d memorise landmarks when driving, because she couldn’t read street signs. During elections, she would put a “1” next to the candidate who looked the most attractive in their photo. And she’d ask me to read the label on her prescription medicines.

“Tell me carefully,” she’d instruct, “too much or too little and you could kill me.” The power over life and death, I thought, not really a responsibility I wanted at eight. But power over life and death is supposed to be what great works of art are about. Sometimes, there’s not a huge chasm between being literate and being literary. They are not opposite ends of a continuum.

Sure, I enjoyed the classics, especially that line in Great Expectations when Pip determines that he will return a gentleman and deliver “gallons of condescension”. But the depictions of working children, children treated as economic units of labour, as instruments for ulterior adult ends – this was nothing new to me.

Girls in backpacks walking

Looking after children is hard work. No one cares when things go right, it is the natural course of the universe. But everyone swarms in when things go wrong. A whole swat team, sometimes consisting of your own extended family members, ready to whack at you like a revolting bug if harm should befall your minor charges. The sad reality is that when you slap a monetary value onto these services, people sit up.

They pay attention. They first splutter about how outrageous it is. Then slowly they accept it. You hope that one day no children will be left at home, minding other children while their parents work, because all working parents will be able to access good, affordable childcare.

Often when people rail, think of the children! they are not really thinking of the children. Otherwise, they would listen to the children, not condemn the parents for situations beyond their control — illiteracy, minimum wages, poverty.

Jeanette Winterson wrote about art’s ability to coax us away from the mechanical and towards the miraculous. It involves just seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. To understand that an eight-year-old can and will take responsibility and care of themselves when left to their own devices requires imaginative empathy, not judgement.

reading is life essay

Reading showed me what the world could be. My life told me what the world was. It was not Jane Eyre or Lizzie Bennet or even Nancy Drew that opened my life to the possibility of a better existence. It was Ann M. Martin and her Baby-Sitters Club. That children should get paid was a crazy idea, that they should get paid for babysitting even more audacious.

That a handful of pre-teen girls could start a small business from Claudia’s home — beautiful artistic Asian Claudia Kishi with her own fixed phone line — and that they could muster all the neighbourhood children under their care and largesse was revolutionary to me.

In my life, the miraculous does not involve magic. There is nothing that makes the state of childhood particularly magical. There is a lot that is frightening, brutal and cruel about every stage of life. After all, I know that a single tree can harbour a cradle or a grave. But to be able to do what my hardworking, wonderful mother never could — time-travel, mind-read, even never to mistake dish detergent for shampoo because the pictures of fruit on the bottle are similar — this is a gift I will never take for granted.

This is an extract from The Gifts of Reading: Essays on the Joys of Reading, Giving and Receiving Books curated by Jennie Orchard, with all royalties to be donated to Room to Read (RRP $32.99, Hachette Australia), available now.

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Why is Reading Important for Your Growth?

Updated: November 22, 2022

Published: September 8, 2019

Why Read copy

Want to escape without traveling anywhere? Looking to learn about a specific subject? Interested in knowing what it was like to live in the past? Reading can provide all of this and more for you! For anyone who wonders, “why is reading important?” we’re here to share the many reasons.

Yet, there are also some people who read because they are told they must for school. If you fit into that last categorization, then it may be useful to understand the many benefits of reading, which we will uncover here. We’ll also share why people read and what makes it so important.

Now all you have to do is….keep reading!

reading is life essay

The Many Benefits of Reading

Beyond reading, because you have to, the importance of reading cannot go unnoticed. Reading is of great value because it provides the means by which you get to:

Strengthens Brain Activity

Reading gets your mind working across different areas. For starters, it involves comprehension to process the words you read. Beyond that, you can use your analytical abilities, stimulate memories, and even broaden your imagination by reading words off a page.

Reading is a neurobiological process that works out your brain muscles. As you do so, you can help to slow down cognitive decline and even decrease the rate at which memory fades. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley have even found that reading reduces the level of beta-amyloid, which is a protein in the brain that is connected to Alzheimer’s. Who knew that reading could have physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits?

Boosts communication skills

Both reading and writing work to improve one’s communication skills. That’s why if you’re looking to become a better writer, many of the suggestions that you come across will include reading more. Reading can open your eyes, literally and figuratively, to new words. Try this next time you read: if you come across any words you read that you don’t know, take a moment to look them up and write them down. Then, remember to use your new words in your speech so you don’t forget them!

Helps Self-Exploration

Books can be both an escape and an adventure. When you are reading, you have the opportunity to think about things in new ways, learn about cultures, events, and people you may have never otherwise heard of, and can adopt methods of thinking that help to reshape or enhance your identity. For example, you might read a mystery novel and learn that you have a knack and interest in solving cases and paying attention to clues.

Makes One Intellectually Sound

When you read a lot, you undoubtedly learn a lot. The more you read, you can make it to the level of being considered “well-read.” This tends to mean that you know a little (or a lot) about a lot. Having a diverse set of knowledge will make you a more engaging conversationalist and can empower you to speak to more people from different backgrounds and experiences because you can connect based on shared information. Some people may argue that “ignorance is bliss,” but the truth is “knowledge is power.” And, the more you read, the more you get to know! That’s why you can bet that any educational degree you choose to obtain will involve some forms of reading (yes, even math and computer science) .

It’s no wonder why you may see people reading by the pool, on the beach, or even on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Reading is a form of entertainment that can take you to fictional worlds or past points in time.

Imparts Good Values

Reading can teach values. Whether you read from a religious text or secular text, you can learn and teach the difference between right and wrong and explore various cultural perspectives and ways of life.

Enhances creativity

Reading has the potential to boost your levels of creativity. Whether you read about a specific craft or skill to boost it or you are reading randomly for fun, the words could spark new ideas or images in your mind. You may also start to find connections between seemingly disparate things, which can make for even more creative outputs and expressions.

Lowers Stress

If you don’t think that strengthening your brain is enough of a benefit, there’s even more good news. Reading has also been proven to lower stress as it increases relaxation. When the brain is fully focused on a single task, like reading, the reader gets to benefit from meditative qualities that reduce stress levels. 

reading is life essay

A Look at the Most Popular Books

As we celebrate World Book Day, take a look at some of the most popular books of all time. These should give you an idea of what book to pick up next time you’re at a library, in a bookstore, or ordering your next read online.

  • The Harry Potter Series
  • The Little Prince
  • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
  • The Da Vinci Code 
  • The Alchemist 

The Gift of Reading

Whether you had to work hard to learn to read or it came naturally, reading can be considered both a gift and a privilege. In fact, we can even bet that you read something every single day ( this blog, for instance), even if it’s not a book. From text messages to signs, emails to business documents, and everything in between, it’s hard to escape the need to read.

Reading opens up doors to new worlds, provides entertainment, boosts the imagination, and has positive neurological and psychological benefits. So, if anyone ever asks or you stop to think, “why is reading important” you’re now well-read on the subject to provide a detailed response and share your own purpose of reading!

Related Articles

Become a Writer Today

Essays About Reading: 5 Examples And Topic Ideas

As a writer, you love to read and talk to others about reading books. Check out some examples of essays about reading and topic ideas for your essay.

Many people fall in love with good books at an early age, as experiencing the joy of reading can help transport a child’s imagination to new places. Reading isn’t just for fun, of course—the importance of reading has been shown time and again in educational research studies.

If you love to sit down with a good book, you likely want to share your love of reading with others. Reading can offer a new perspective and transport readers to different worlds, whether you’re into autobiographies, books about positive thinking, or stories that share life lessons.

When explaining your love of reading to others, it’s important to let your passion shine through in your writing. Try not to take a negative view of people who don’t enjoy reading, as reading and writing skills are tougher for some people than others.

Talk about the positive effects of reading and how it’s positively benefitted your life. Offer helpful tips on how people can learn to enjoy reading, even if it’s something that they’ve struggled with for a long time. Remember, your goal when writing essays about reading is to make others interested in exploring the world of books as a source of knowledge and entertainment.

Now, let’s explore some popular essays on reading to help get you inspired and some topics that you can use as a starting point for your essay about how books have positively impacted your life.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers

Examples Of Essays About Reading

  • 1. The Book That Changed My Life By The New York Times
  • 2. I Read 150+ Books in 2 Years. Here’s How It Changed My Life By Anangsha Alammyan
  • 3. How My Diagnosis Improved My College Experience By Blair Kenney

4. How ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’ Saved Me By Isaac Fitzgerald

5. catcher in the rye: that time a banned book changed my life by pat kelly, topic ideas for essays about reading, 1. how can a high school student improve their reading skills, 2. what’s the best piece of literature ever written, 3. how reading books from authors of varied backgrounds can provide a different perspective, 4. challenging your point of view: how reading essays you disagree with can provide a new perspective, 1.  the book that changed my life  by  the new york times.

“My error the first time around was to read “Middlemarch” as one would a typical novel. But “Middlemarch” isn’t really about plot and dialogue. It’s all about character, as mediated through the wise and compassionate (but sharply astute) voice of the omniscient narrator. The book shows us that we cannot live without other people and that we cannot live with other people unless we recognize their flaws and foibles in ourselves.”  The New York Times

In this collection of reader essays, people share the books that have shaped how they see the world and live their lives. Talking about a life-changing piece of literature can offer a new perspective to people who tend to shy away from reading and can encourage others to pick up your favorite book.

2.  I Read 150+ Books in 2 Years. Here’s How It Changed My Life  By Anangsha Alammyan

“Consistent reading helps you develop your  analytical thinking skills  over time. It stimulates your brain and allows you to think in new ways. When you are  actively engaged  in what you’re reading, you would be able to ask better questions, look at things from a different perspective, identify patterns and make connections.” Anangsha Alammyan

Alammyan shares how she got away from habits that weren’t serving her life (such as scrolling on social media) and instead turned her attention to focus on reading. She shares how she changed her schedule and time management processes to allow herself to devote more time to reading, and she also shares the many ways that she benefited from spending more time on her Kindle and less time on her phone.

3.  How My Diagnosis Improved My College Experience  By Blair Kenney

“When my learning specialist convinced me that I was an intelligent person with a reading disorder, I gradually stopped hiding from what I was most afraid of—the belief that I was a person of mediocre intelligence with overambitious goals for herself. As I slowly let go of this fear, I became much more aware of my learning issues. For the first time, I felt that I could dig below the surface of my unhappiness in school without being ashamed of what I might find.” Blair Kenney

Reading does not come easily to everyone, and dyslexia can make it especially difficult for a person to process words. In this essay, Kenney shares her experience of being diagnosed with dyslexia during her sophomore year of college at Yale. She gave herself more patience, grew in her confidence, and developed techniques that worked to improve her reading and processing skills.

“I took that book home to finish reading it. I’d sit somewhat uncomfortably in a tree or against a stone wall or, more often than not, in my sparsely decorated bedroom with the door closed as my mother had hushed arguments with my father on the phone. There were many things in the book that went over my head during my first time reading it. But a land left with neither Rhyme nor Reason, as I listened to my parents fight, that I understood.” Isaac Fitzgerald

Books can transport a reader to another world. In this essay, Fitzgerald explains how Norton Juster’s novel allowed him to escape a difficult time in his childhood through the magic of his imagination. Writing about a book that had a significant impact on your childhood can help you form an instant connection with your reader, as many people hold a childhood literature favorite near and dear to their hearts.

“From the first paragraph my mind was blown wide open. It not only changed my whole perspective on what literature could be, it changed the way I looked at myself in relation to the world. This was heavy stuff. Of the countless books I had read up to this point, even the ones written in first person, none of them felt like they were speaking directly to me. Not really anyway.” Pat Kelly

Many readers have had the experience of feeling like a book was written specifically for them, and in this essay, Kelly shares that experience with J.D. Salinger’s classic American novel. Writing about a book that felt like it was written specifically for you can give you the chance to share what was happening in your life when you read the book and the lasting impact that the book had on you as a person.

There are several topic options to choose from when you’re writing about reading. You may want to write about how literature you love has changed your life or how others can develop their reading skills to derive similar pleasure from reading.

Topic ideas for essays about reading

Middle and high school students who struggle with reading can feel discouraged when, despite their best efforts, their skills do not improve. Research the latest educational techniques for boosting reading skills in high school students (the research often changes) and offer concrete tips (such as using active reading skills) to help students grow.

It’s an excellent persuasive essay topic; it’s fun to write about the piece of literature you believe to be the greatest of all time. Of course, much of this topic is a matter of opinion, and it’s impossible to prove that one piece of literature is “better” than another. Write your essay about how the piece of literature you consider the best positive affected your life and discuss how it’s impacted the world of literature in general.

The world is full of many perspectives and points of view, and it can be hard to imagine the world through someone else’s eyes. Reading books by authors of different gender, race, or socioeconomic status can help open your eyes to the challenges and issues others face. Explain how reading books by authors with different backgrounds has changed your worldview in your essay.

It’s fun to read the information that reinforces viewpoints that you already have, but doing so doesn’t contribute to expanding your mind and helping you see the world from a different perspective. Explain how pushing oneself to see a different point of view can help you better understand your perspective and help open your eyes to ideas you may not have considered.

Tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead.

If you’re stuck picking your next essay topic, check out our round-up of essay topics about education .

reading is life essay

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📖Essay on Importance of Reading: Samples in 100, 150, and 250 Words

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  • Updated on  
  • Nov 11, 2023

Essay on Importance of Education

Language learning requires four skills i.e. Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. It is an important part that eventually builds up the communication skills of a person. Reading will help in attaining knowledge of variable fields. It enhances the intellect of a person. Reading helps students to enhance their language fluency. Students must adopt the habit of reading good books. Reading books can also improve the writing skills. If you are a school student and searching for a good sample essay on the importance of reading then, you landed at the right place. Here in this blog, we have covered some sample essay on the importance of reading!

reading is life essay

Table of Contents

  • 1 Essay on Importance of Reading in 100 Words
  • 2 Essay on Importance of Reading 150 Words
  • 3 Essay on Importance of Reading 250 Words

Also Read: Essay on Social Issues

Essay on Importance of Reading in 100 Words

The English language is considered the global language because it is the most widely spoken language worldwide. Reading is one of the important parts of acquiring complete knowledge of any language. Reading helps in maintaining a good vocabulary that is helpful for every field, whether in school, interviews , competitive exams , or jobs. 

Students must inculcate the habit of reading from a young age. Making a habit of reading good books will eventually convert into an addiction over time and you will surely explore a whole new world of information.

Being exposed to different topics through reading can help you look at the wider perspective of life. You will eventually discover a creative side of yours while developing the habit of reading.

Also Read: Essay on Gaganyaan

Essay on Importance of Reading 150 Words

Reading is considered an important aspect that contributes to the development of the overall personality of any person. If a person wants to do good at a professional level then he/she must practice reading.

There are various advantages of reading. It is not only a source of entertainment but also opens up the creative ability of any person. Reading helps in self-improvement, enhances communication skills, and reduces stress. It is one of the sources of pleasure and also enhances the analytical skills. 

Here are some of the best books to study that may help you enhance your reading skills:

  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling .
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee .
  • The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri .
  • Pride and Prejudice
  • The Great Gatsby

A person with good reading skills would be able to communicate with more confidence and shine brighter at the professional level. Reading is a mental exercise, as it can provide you with the best experience because while reading fiction, or non-fiction you use your imagination without any restrictions thereby exploring a whole new world on your own. So, Just Enjoy Reading!

Also Read: Communication Skills to Succeed at Work

Essay on Importance of Reading 250 Words

Reading is a language skill necessary to present yourself in front of others because without being a good reader, it’s difficult to be a good communicator. Reading books should be practiced regularly. Books are considered a human’s best friend.

It is right to say that knowledge can’t be stolen. Reading enhances the knowledge of a person. There are numerous benefits of reading.

I love reading books and one of my all-time favorite authors is William Shakespeare. His work “As You Like It” is my favorite book. By reading that book I came across many new words. It enabled me to add many words to my vocabulary that I can use in my life.

Apart from this, there are many other benefits of reading books such as reading can help you write in a certain way that can impress the reader. It also enhances communication skills and serves as a source of entertainment . 

Schools conduct various competitions which directly or indirectly involve reading. Some such competitions include debate, essay writing competitions, elocution, new reading in assembly, etc. All such activities require active reading because without reading a person might not be able to speak on a specific topic.

All such activities are conducted to polish the language skills of students from the very beginning so that they can do good at a professional level.

In conclusion, in a world of technological advancement, you are more likely to get easy access to online reading material available on the internet. So, you must not miss this opportunity and devote some time to reading different kinds of books. 

Also Read: SAT Reading Tips

Relevant Blogs

Reading is a good habit; It helps to improve communication skills; Good books whether fiction or non-fiction widen your imagination skills; You can experience a whole new world while reading; It helps you establish your professional personality; Reading skills help you interact with other people at a personal and professional level; Improves vocabulary; Reading novels is considered a great source of entertainment; It helps you acquire excessive knowledge of different fields; Reading is motivational and a great mental exercise.

Reading is important to build the overall personality of a person. It establishes a sense of professionalism and improves the vocabulary. Adapting a habit of reading books will help in expanding your knowledge and creativity.

Here are some of the best books for students to read: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; The Alchemist, The 5 AM Club, Rich Dad Poor Dad, etc.

For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay writing page and follow Leverage Edu .

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  • Reading is a Good Habit Essay

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An Essay On Reading Is A Good Habit

Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing (L-S-R-W) are the four skills of language learning. These are the set of four capabilities that allow an individual to comprehend and use a spoken language for proper and effective interpersonal communication. Reading is considered as one of the best habits anyone can possess. Reading helps a great deal in building our confidence, reduces stress and puts us in a better mood. It also develops our imagination and provides us with a fortune of knowledge. It is rightly said that books are our best friend as reading helps build up our wisdom and thinking capabilities. By developing the habit of reading, one can gain confidence in learning any language. The interest in reading, like any other habit, comes with time. Once a person starts reading, it becomes a part of habit and he/she starts to explore a whole new world.

Reading good books has a plethora of advantages. The habit of reading broadens our horizons and helps us become a better person in life. It also helps in developing a fresh viewpoint of life. The more we read, the more we fall in love with reading. It helps to develop vocabulary and language abilities. Reading is also one of the best ways to reduce anxiety as it provides relaxation and recreation. A book puts us in a better mood and allows us to have a strong imagination. At the end of a hectic and stressful day, all we need is a good book to help us rejuvenate and momentarily escape from the realities of life. 

The habit of reading must be inculcated in children from a young age. Reading is a great habit from the learning point of view as it boosts the understanding of language, improves vocabulary, helps in improving speaking and writing skills, etc. While reading a book, the plot and its characters hover in our imagination. It is said that reading builds imagination power more than any other form of activity. Anyone who has good reading skills shows indication of higher intelligence as reading helps to broaden our wisdom and knowledge to a great extent. It not only boosts our confidence but personality too. 

One of the most beneficial habits one can have is reading. It expands your creativity and provides you with a wealth of information. Reading helps you create confidence and improve your attitude, thus books are your best friend or partner. When you start reading every day, you'll discover a whole new world of information.

When you make it a practice to read every day, you will become addicted to it. Reading can help you develop cognitively and offer you a fresh perspective on life. Good novels can have a great impact on people and lead you down the correct path in life. The more time you spend reading, the more you will fall in love with it. The more time you spend reading, the more you will fall in love with it. Reading can help you improve your vocabulary and linguistic skills. Reading can help you unwind and de-stress.

Reading boosts your creativity and gives you a greater grasp of life. Reading also encourages you to write, and if you do so, you will undoubtedly fall in love with the craft. If you want to create excellent habits in your life, reading should be at the top of your list because it is essential to a person's general growth and development.

Good books will always point you in the right direction. The following are some of the advantages of reading books:

Self-improvement: Reading can help you think more positively. Reading is important because it molds your thinking and provides you with a wealth of information and life lessons. Books will help you have a better understanding of the world around you from a new perspective. It keeps your mind active, healthy, and helps you be more creative.

Communication Skills: Reading increases your vocabulary, enhances your language skills, and improves your communication skills. It teaches you how to be more creative with your thoughts. It not only improves your communication skills, but it also helps you improve your writing skills. In every element of life, effective communication is essential.

Increases your Understanding: Books provide you a foundational understanding of civilizations, customs, the arts, history, geography, health, psychology, and a variety of other topics and elements of life. Books provide an unlimited amount of information and wisdom. 

Reduces Stress: Reading a good book transports you to another world and helps you escape the stresses of everyday life. There are a number of beneficial impacts on your mind, body, and soul that aid with stress relief. It keeps your mind healthy and powerful by stimulating your brain muscles to perform efficiently.

Great Pleasure: Anyone who reads a book for pleasure does so. They delight in reading and gain access to a whole new universe. When you begin reading a book, you will become so engrossed in it that you will not want to put it down until you have finished it.

Enhances your Imagination and Creativity: Reading enhances your imagination and creativity by transporting you to a realm of imagination and, in some ways, increasing your creativity. Reading allows you to examine life from several perspectives. You generate inventive and creative thoughts, visions, and opinions in your mind while reading books. It encourages you to think outside of the box, imagine, and use your imagination.

Enhances your Analytical Abilities: Active reading allows you to gain access to a variety of viewpoints on life. It aids in the analysis of your thoughts and the expression of your opinions. Active reading brings new ideas and thoughts to mind. It activates and alters your brain, allowing you to see things from a different perspective.

Boredom is Lessened: Despite all the other social activities, long-distance travel or a protracted vacation from work can be tedious. In such instances, books come in handy and keep you from being bored.

Reading books adds knowledge and plays a great role in education. Whether it is fiction or nonfiction, we get to learn a great deal from books. It exposes us to the outer world which helps acquire sensibility and understanding of different social subjects. It is therefore very important to develop a good reading habit. We should all read daily for at least 30 minutes to enjoy the wonderful beneficial perks of reading. It is a great happiness to live in a calm place and to enjoy the moments of reading. Reading a good and informative book is one of the most rejuvenating and enthusiastic experiences a person can have. 

One must inculcate the habit of reading. Reading is said to be a great mental exercise. Reading also helps us release boredom. Reading allows us to sleep better. Hence, we must develop the habit of reading books before bedtime. Even in this digital age where any information is just a click away, reading has its own charm. The benefits of reading are irreplaceable as the detailed knowledge it provides is unmatched to anything we read on the internet. Happy reading!

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FAQs on Reading is a Good Habit Essay

1. Why is the habit of reading so important?

Reading is important as it develops our thinking capacity and gives important life lessons. Reading molds our personality and makes us a better person. It also enhances our creativity and keeps our minds healthy and active. Reading improves communication and vocabulary skills. Whenever you try to speak in front of everyone, you are unable to speak proper English. This habit of speaking fluent English can only be corrected with the help of reading books regularly and speaking in English with your peers.

2. Why is the habit of reading declining?

The habit of reading is gradually declining. The advent of the internet is often described as the reason behind the changing habits of reading. Nowadays, most people go to the internet for information rather than reading books. The deterioration in reading habits can also lead to a decline in the world’s cultural development. Hence, people should give reading the importance it deserves. Accordingly, people are becoming lazier and not wanting to read as they find it a waste of time. The students nowadays find newspapers to be boring and they perceive mobile applications of new channels to be the ultimate source of news information.

3. What are the difficulties you will face if you don’t read?

If a student is unwilling to read and speak English or any other languages they intend to learn, then he or she will never be able to be creative and innovative in their approach to any other aspect of life. Reading opens up with the mind of the people and leads them to understand the concept of vocabulary and innovation. A lot of students struggle with their vocabulary and grammar. All of this is just done to help the students improve their speaking ability and experience. If you don't read then you won't be able to write good English literature answers in school as you won't be able to manage the content well.

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Essay on Reading is a Good Habit

Students are often asked to write an essay on Reading is a Good Habit in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Reading is a Good Habit

Introduction.

Reading is a beneficial habit that enhances our knowledge and develops our imagination. It takes us on journeys to different worlds without leaving our homes.

Benefits of Reading

Reading opens our minds to new ideas and perspectives. It helps improve our vocabulary, language skills, and even our understanding of the world.

Reading and Creativity

Our creativity flourishes when we read. It encourages us to think, imagine, and create our own narratives.

In conclusion, reading is a good habit. It’s an enjoyable way to learn, grow, and escape into different worlds.

Also check:

  • Paragraph on Reading is a Good Habit

250 Words Essay on Reading is a Good Habit

The power of reading.

Reading is a powerful habit, capable of transforming lives. It is a gateway to knowledge, a path to intellectual growth, and a tool for personal development. Unlike many other habits, reading offers a multitude of benefits, making it an essential practice for everyone, especially college students.

Building Knowledge and Critical Thinking

Reading broadens the mind, introducing us to new ideas, perspectives, and cultures. It enhances our understanding of various subjects, making us more informed and versatile individuals. Additionally, reading develops critical thinking skills. It challenges us to analyze and interpret information, thereby fostering our ability to make informed decisions and solve complex problems.

Boosting Emotional Intelligence

Reading is not just about gaining knowledge; it’s also about understanding emotions. Literature, in particular, allows us to delve into the minds of characters, fostering empathy and emotional intelligence. This ability to understand and share the feelings of others is a crucial skill in our increasingly interconnected world.

Enhancing Communication Skills

Reading also improves our communication skills. It exposes us to diverse writing styles and expansive vocabularies, helping us to express our thoughts more effectively. Good communication is vital in all aspects of life, from personal relationships to professional settings.

In conclusion, reading is a habit that offers numerous benefits. It equips us with knowledge, enhances our critical thinking, boosts emotional intelligence, and improves communication skills. In the age of information, where knowledge is a key determinant of success, the habit of reading is indeed a good one to cultivate.

500 Words Essay on Reading is a Good Habit

Reading is a good habit that has the potential to fill our minds with knowledge and stimulate our imagination. It’s a timeless form of entertainment and learning, offering a window into the experiences, ideas, and perspectives of others. This essay explores the benefits of reading and why it is an essential habit for college students to cultivate.

Reading is a powerful tool that can broaden our horizons and deepen our understanding of the world. It allows us to explore different cultures, historical periods, and scientific concepts, all from the comfort of our own homes. This makes reading a valuable habit for intellectual growth and personal development.

In today’s digital age, we are inundated with information, making the ability to read and comprehend texts of utmost importance. Reading equips us with critical thinking skills, enabling us to analyze and evaluate the information we encounter, discerning fact from fiction.

Reading for Personal and Professional Growth

Reading is not only a source of knowledge but also a means of personal and professional growth. It can foster empathy by allowing us to see the world from different perspectives, thereby enhancing our emotional intelligence. This can be particularly beneficial for college students as they navigate diverse social environments.

Professionally, reading can enhance our communication skills. It exposes us to a wide range of vocabulary and writing styles, which can improve our ability to articulate thoughts and ideas effectively. For college students preparing to enter the workforce, this can be a significant advantage.

Reading as a Source of Relaxation

Amid the hustle and bustle of college life, reading can serve as a source of relaxation. Unlike screen-based activities that can strain the eyes and mind, reading a book can be a calming experience. It allows us to escape into different worlds and experiences, providing a much-needed break from our daily routines.

Building a Reading Habit

Building a reading habit may seem daunting, especially with the demands of college life. However, it can be achieved by setting aside a specific time for reading each day. Even a few minutes spent reading can add up over time, leading to substantial benefits.

Choosing books that align with your interests can also make the process more enjoyable. With the wide variety of genres available, there is something for everyone. As your reading habit strengthens, you may find yourself exploring new genres and topics, further enriching your knowledge and perspectives.

In conclusion, reading is a good habit that offers numerous benefits, from intellectual growth to personal and professional development. For college students, it provides a foundation for critical thinking, effective communication, and emotional intelligence. Despite the demands of college life, cultivating a reading habit is a worthwhile investment that can yield long-term benefits. By embracing reading, we can enrich our minds, broaden our perspectives, and enhance our lives.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

  • Essay on Good Habits
  • Essay on Women’s Day
  • Essay on Veer Bal Diwas

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Short Essay on Benefits of Reading

Essay on Benefits of Reading (1300 Words)

Reading helps our minds grow in ways that we can’t be taught in school or at home. No one is born with an innate love of reading, but everyone has the capacity for literacy, reading, and writing.

Reading is more than just something that you do on the bus or on the train. It’s a way of life. Reading is important because it allows us to escape into another world, see things from someone else’s perspective, and empathize with them.

Essay on Benefits of Reading

1 – what is reading.

Reading is the act of decoding letters on a page to extract information. For many, reading has become an everyday activity.

It might happen in the morning when you read your daily news before breakfast, in the evening when you read your favorite blog before bed, or even during the lunch break at work when you catch up on your phone for just five minutes.

For most people, it’s hard to imagine life without reading. However, not everyone can read. Around 15% of the world’s population has some form of learning disability that prevents them from being able to read. This means that they cannot interpret words and sentences on paper or digital screens.

Reading is one of the most popular hobbies in America, with nearly three-quarters of adults reading at least one book per year. Reading can take many forms, from novels to comics to magazines to blogs. It can be done privately or shared with friends.

Reading is good for the mind and body. Research shows that reading can reduce stress, improve sleep quality, promote empathy, and even increase lifespan by as much as two years!

2 – Importance of reading

The first thing to know about reading is that it’s not something that you should force your students to do. Reading should be something you engage them in, not something you force them to do.

Let them enjoy reading for what it is — something enjoyable and entertaining at the same time. Engaging students will help them get more out of reading and will set the stage for future academic success.

As an added bonus, you will both get more out of reading as a teacher and as a student. Empathy Reading opens up your mind to a whole new world. It can be uncomfortable at first, but remember to give them the tools to read the material. Not everyone is great at reading; let them know that you’re willing to help them along the way.

It’s important to read. It’s not some new-fangled, modern idea that everyone is championing, but rather a human instinct that has been with us since the beginning of time. Books are more than just storytellers — they offer understanding and insight into different cultures, languages, ages, genders, classes, ideologies.

Here are some of the many reasons why reading is important:

  • Reading is one of the most valuable skills anyone can have. It’s also one of the best ways to escape from reality and find yourself in a whole new world.
  • Reading is valuable for children’s development because it helps them learn different things quickly.
  • Reading improves your vocabulary which makes it easier for you to understand new words when you see them in your environment.
  • Reading is not only an activity for passing time or entertainment; it can be a way to learn about yourself and the world around you.
  • Reading is not only fun, but it can be educational, therapeutic, and even life-changing. When you get into a book, you get to know the characters on an emotional level, get lost in their stories, and experience what they’re feeling.

3 – The benefits of reading

Reading is the best way to learn new things, broaden your knowledge, and find inspiration. It also stimulates your brain.

Reading can help you keep your mind sharp and be in control of it. Reading in different genres helps you develop different skills in different ways.

People read to develop their vocabulary, expand their imagination, and to broaden their knowledge.

Reading opens up more doors than people may realize, so it should be a priority for everyone– whether you’re a preteen or an adult.

Reading helps people to become better thinkers and is the key to unlocking people’s minds.

4 – How to develop reading habit

Make sure you get some quiet time every day to read. If you have a regular day at work or school, read on your lunch breaks or after work. Make reading part of your daily routine.

Turn off all distractions when you’re reading, and find a comfortable spot to sit. Do you always have the TV on while you eat? Try turning off the TV, but continuing to watch it when you read.

Binge on your favorite authors. Choose a genre that you’re interested in and read everything written by that author. Then find another author and binge on their books as well. Go back to the beginning of that author’s series and read all of the books in that series.

Read also: How to avoid distractions while reading?

5 – Tips for Better Reading

Reading is a time-honored tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation. It’s believed that reading can improve your vocabulary, grammar, and spelling, as well as your comprehension skills.

Here are some tips for better reading:-

  • Know why you want to read. What are you getting out of reading? What are you looking for? If reading isn’t motivating enough for you, make reading something else. It’s okay to do something else.
  • Pick the right genre. Reading is fun, but it can also be a chore. That’s because our minds can be easily distracted. If you pick the wrong genre for you, you could end up reading to the point of exhaustion. But on the other hand, if you pick the right genre for you, you might learn new things, or get to know different characters better. Some genres include thrillers, romance novels, mysteries, science fiction, and even picture books. Choose the genre that works for you and read.
  • Read aloud to yourself. Listening to yourself reading is a great way to improve your skills. You can also do this if you are reading in a public space. You will help yourself realize when you read words wrong or catch on to grammar and sentence structure.
  • Never stop reading. If it’s not interesting for you, you’re going to get bored very fast. Just keep reading. There’s no need to read only what interests you; at the same time, you can’t read everything.
  • If you find yourself stuck in a book, don’t force yourself to finish it. If you don’t care for it, set it aside and come back to it later. You can only read a book or magazine a certain number of times before you might start to lose interest.

6 – How to read more

The first thing you can do is start reading more. Whether you want to read on an e-reader or a traditional book, the basic rules are the same:

  • Find the tpocs that are interesting.
  • Start with your topic of interest.
  • Listening to audiobooks will give you a great opportunity to step away from distractions and enjoy a book that you wouldn’t have the time or patience to read on your own. Audiobooks have been my best friend during the work week. Whether I’m commuting or heading out for a run, I’ve found that listening to a book or an audiobook on my commute helps me to listen and do both of those things at once.

Read also: Reading skills (types and strategies)

7 – Conclusion

Reading is something that everyone should do, so be sure to give it a try. There is no other form of education or experience that will give you more life knowledge than reading.

The benefits of reading are far-reaching. Reading can improve your vocabulary, brain function, and emotional intelligence. In addition, it can provide valuable insight into other cultures and worlds.

Short Essay on Benefits of Reading

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reading is life essay

Why Reading is Important in Our Life: Uncovering 20 Benefits of Reading

Dr. Usmangani Ansari

Why Reading is Important in Our Life: Reading is often described as a window to see the world around. It’s a fundamental skill that opens doors to knowledge, imagination, and personal growth. From the moment we pick up our first book, reading becomes an integral part of our lives, shaping our thoughts, perspectives, and understanding of the world around us. In this blog we have discussed about the importance of reading in life, exploring the many invaluable benefits it offers to all who practice it regularly.

“Reading habit opens the door to learn anything about everything and everything about anything.” __ Dr. Md. Usmangani Ansari

Table of Contents

why-reading-is-important-in-our-life

What is the Concept of Reading?

The concept of reading involves the interpretation and comprehension of written or printed content or symbols to extract meaning from a text. It encompasses decoding written language, understanding context, and making connections with prior knowledge.

Reading is not limited to decoding words; it also involves critical thinking, analyzing ideas, and inferring information. It is a gateway to knowledge, imagination, and personal growth. In essence, reading is the process of absorbing and interpreting written information, which serves as a bridge to acquiring knowledge, exploring new worlds, and enhancing one’s cognitive abilities. That’s why world’s renowned people read every day.

What is Importance of Reading in Changing Your Life

The importance of reading in changing your life cannot be overstated. Reading expands your knowledge, broadens your perspective, and stimulates your brain to imagine. It offers insights from diverse voices and concepts, allowing you to understand different cultures and viewpoints. 

Reading is important in our life to inspire personal growth, enhance critical thinking, and nurtures empathy. It empowers you to learn, adapt, and make informed decisions. Through reading books of diverse nature, you can access the wisdom of the ages, learn from the experiences of others, and embark on transformative journeys. In essence, reading is a powerful tool that can reshape your mind, your choices, and ultimately, your life.

Why Reading is Important in Our Life: 20 Key Benefits

Amidst the numerous less conspicuous and intangible reasons that underscore the importance of reading, a few shine particularly bright. These reasons possess the potential to not only transform our individual lives but also influence the trajectory of our collective history as a society. Some of the key benefits of why reading is important in our life are:

1. Reading is Important for Knowledge Acquisition

One of the most apparent benefits of reading is its role as a vehicle for acquiring knowledge. Books, magazines, articles, and various forms of written material are repositories of information on countless subjects and required topics. Whether you’re interested in history, science, philosophy, or any other topic, reading allows you to access a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips.

2. Reading is Important in Vocabulary Expansion

Reading exposes us to new words and phrases, enriching our vocabulary. The more we read, the more words we encounter in different contexts. This expanded vocabulary not only enhances our ability to express ourselves but also improves our comprehension of complex texts.

3. Reading is Important for Improving Focus and Concentration

Reading plays a pivotal role in enhancing focus and concentration. In a world filled with distractions, the act of reading demands our undivided attention. It requires us to immerse ourselves in the text, blocking out external disruptions. Over time, this practice strengthens our ability to concentrate on tasks, both in reading and in other aspects of life. 

Reading is a mental exercise that bolsters our attention span, ultimately improving productivity, academic performance, and the quality of our work. That’s why reading is important in our life as  a valuable tool for sharpening the mind and honing the skill of unwavering concentration.

4. Reading is Important in Enhancing Imagination

Reading fiction and other forms of creative writing stimulates our imagination. It’s a gateway to boundless imagination. When we dive into a book, our minds embark on journeys to uncharted territories, guided only by words on a page. Whether it’s a fantastical realm in a novel or the vivid description of a historical event, reading prompts us to visualize, create, and dream. Reading is important in our life as it ignites the imaginative spark within us.

As we immerse ourselves in stories, we mentally construct characters, settings, and scenarios, breathing life into the narrative. This mental exercise not only entertains but also enriches our creativity. It fosters a sense of wonder and curiosity, encouraging us to explore new ideas and possibilities. 

In a world often constrained by reality, reading is important in liberating our minds to soar beyond the limits of the ordinary, making it an indispensable tool for enhancing our imagination. This imaginative exercise can be immensely enjoyable and helps keep our creative faculties active.

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5. Reading is Important for Stress Reduction

Reading is important in our life as a powerful tool for stress reduction that can soothe the mind and reduce anxiety. Engaging with a good book, magazine, or even a well-written article can transport you to a different world, providing a much-needed escape from the pressures of daily life. When we read, our minds focus on the words, allowing us to temporarily forget about our worries and anxieties. This mental shift can significantly reduce stress levels.

Moreover, reading promotes relaxation. As we immerse ourselves in a captivating story, our bodies tend to relax, and our heart rates decrease. This physical response contributes to a sense of calm and tranquility. Additionally, reading is important in improving sleep quality , another crucial aspect of stress management.

Incorporating regular reading habits into your routine can be a simple yet effective way to combat stress. Whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, or even poetry, the act of reading is important which offers a respite from life’s demands and supports mental well-being.

6. Reading is Important in Fostering Empathy and Understanding

Reading is important in our life which plays a pivotal role in fostering empathy and understanding among individuals. When we dive into the lives and experiences of fictional or real characters in books, we gain a unique window into different perspectives and cultures. This exposure to diverse viewpoints cultivates empathy by helping us relate to the struggles, triumphs, and emotions of others, even if they are vastly different from our own.

Furthermore, reading non-fiction and informative texts broadens our knowledge and understanding of complex issues, making us better-informed and more empathetic global citizens. As we encounter different cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies on the page, we develop a more nuanced perspective, reducing prejudice and bias. Thus, habits of reading are so important which made Bill Gates and Warren Buffet the most known philanthropists in the world. 

In an increasingly interconnected world, the ability to empathize and understand different viewpoints is crucial. Reading is a gateway to this essential skill, allowing us to bridge gaps, connect with others, and create a more compassionate and inclusive society.

7. Reading is Important in Cognitive Stimulation

Reading is important in our life as the most powerful tool for cognitive stimulation and mental agility. Reading challenges our brains. It requires us to process information, make connections, and draw conclusions. When we read, our brains engage in a complex process of decoding words, comprehending meaning, and visualizing scenes, which stimulates various cognitive functions. This mental workout is like exercise for the brain, helping to maintain and improve cognitive abilities.

As we age, reading can be a safeguard against cognitive decline, potentially reducing the risk of conditions like dementia . Whether you’re enjoying fiction, non-fiction, or academic texts, reading is a fundamental way to keep your mind sharp and continuously expand your mental horizons.

8. Reading is Important in Lifelong Learning

Reading is a cornerstone of lifelong learning. It empowers individuals to acquire knowledge, explore new ideas, and stay intellectually engaged throughout their lives. Books, articles, and other written materials serve as valuable resources, enabling us to delve into subjects ranging from science and history to art and philosophy. 

If we understand the importance of reading, we can keep pace with the ever-evolving world, adapt to new technologies, and enhance our problem-solving skills. Reading is important in our life which fosters curiosity, critical thinking, and a thirst for knowledge that transcends age. Lifelong learners recognize that the pursuit of wisdom and understanding is a lifelong journey, and reading is the compass that guides them on this enriching path of continuous education.

9. Reading is Important to Improve Writing Skills

Reading and writing are closely intertwined. The more we read, the better equipped we become to express our thoughts and ideas in writing. Reading is important in our life because it is indispensable for honing writing skills. Exposure to diverse writing styles, genres, and perspectives enriches vocabulary, grammar, and overall language proficiency. When we read widely, we internalize effective writing techniques, enhancing our ability to articulate thoughts coherently.

Books, articles, and literary works provide valuable insights into storytelling, structure, and persuasive communication. They serve as mentors, inspiring creativity and originality in our own writing endeavors. Regular reading not only fuels inspiration but also instills an intuitive sense of syntax and rhythm, leading to more engaging and persuasive prose.

In essence, reading is important as a foundation upon which exceptional writing is built. The more we read, the better equipped we become to convey our ideas effectively and connect with readers on a deeper level.

10. Reading is Important for Critical Thinking

Reading is important and essential for nurturing critical thinking skills. It encourages us to analyze, evaluate, and question the information presented in written texts. When we engage with various sources and perspectives, we learn to discern between fact and opinion, identify logical fallacies, and make well-informed judgments.

Books, articles, and research materials challenge our assumptions, stimulating intellectual growth. They offer opportunities to develop a skeptical mindset, fostering the ability to think independently and critically assess arguments and evidence. Reading is important as it also enhances problem-solving abilities to process and synthesize information.

In a world filled with information, reading equips us with the tools to navigate complexity and make informed decisions, making it an indispensable ally in the development of robust critical thinking skills.

11. Reading is Important for Personal Growth

Reading is a powerful catalyst for personal growth. Reading is important in our life to open doors to new ideas, perspectives, and knowledge, allowing individuals to continuously evolve. Through books, articles, and literature, we gain insights into the human experience, fostering empathy and self-awareness.

Reading self-help and motivational literature can inspire positive change, while biographies of great individuals provide valuable lessons in resilience and determination. Additionally, exploring different cultures and philosophies broadens our horizons and enriches our worldview.

In the pursuit of personal growth, reading is important as an inexhaustible resource. It nurtures intellectual curiosity, encourages introspection, and empowers individuals to adapt, learn, and thrive in an ever-changing world.

12. Reading is Important for Connection to the Past and Future

Reading is important as a bridge that connects us to the past and propels us into the future. Through historical texts, we gain insights into the wisdom, achievements, and mistakes of those who came before us, preserving our collective heritage. It’s a time machine that transports us to different eras and cultures, fostering a deeper understanding of human history.

Simultaneously, reading serves as a gateway to the future. By exploring scientific advancements, futuristic fiction, and visionary essays, we envision what lies ahead. It inspires innovation, fuels our aspirations, and propels us toward a better tomorrow. In this way, reading is a timeless, invaluable tool that binds us to our roots while propelling us forward.

13. Reading is Important for Entertainment and Escapism

Reading serves as a captivating form of entertainment and a vehicle for escapism. When we dive into the pages of a gripping novel, we’re transported to alternate worlds, where we can temporarily escape the demands of reality. Fictional characters become our companions, and their adventures provide a thrilling escape from the mundane.

Furthermore, reading is important as it offers diverse genres, from suspenseful mysteries to heartwarming romances, catering to varied tastes. It ignites our imagination, engages our emotions, and provides a sense of joy and relaxation. In an age of screens and constant stimulation, the simple pleasure of getting lost in a good book remains a cherished form of entertainment and a refuge for the weary soul.

14. Reading is Important for Developing Communication Skills

Reading is a cornerstone for developing strong communication skills. It exposes us to rich vocabularies, diverse sentence structures, and effective writing styles. When we read widely, we absorb these linguistic nuances, improving our own ability to express thoughts and ideas clearly.

Additionally, reading is important to hone our understanding of context and tone, essential for effective communication. It also enhances our grasp of storytelling and persuasion, enabling us to engage and connect with others more effectively. Whether it’s through eloquent speeches, persuasive essays, or everyday conversations, the communication skills cultivated through reading are invaluable, empowering us to convey messages with precision and impact.

15. Reading is Important for Social Connection

Reading fosters social connection by providing common ground for conversations and shared experiences. Book clubs, literary discussions, and online reading communities thrive on the bonds formed through discussing characters, plots, and themes. Reading the same book as a friend or family member creates opportunities for meaningful dialogues and shared emotions.

Moreover, reading is important as the literature we read enables us to empathize with diverse characters, enhancing our understanding of different perspectives and cultures. This empathy, gained through reading, strengthens our ability to relate to and connect with people from various backgrounds, promoting inclusivity and forging deeper social connections. Reading, in all its forms, becomes a conduit for bringing individuals closer together.

16. Reading is Important for Inspiration and Motivation

Reading is a wellspring of inspiration and motivation. It exposes us to the triumphs, struggles, and wisdom of others, igniting our own ambitions. Biographies of remarkable individuals, self-help books, and motivational literature offer guidance and encouragement, propelling us to chase our dreams.

Through powerful narratives and life lessons, reading is important as it rejuvenates our spirits during challenging times. It stokes the fires of creativity, driving us to think innovatively and pursue our passions. Whether it’s a riveting novel, a twhought-provoking essay, or an inspiring poem, reading has the unparalleled ability to kindle the spark of motivation within us, empowering us to reach new heights in our personal and professional lives.

Important article: How to make leisure time productive – 8 ways guide

17. Reading is Important for Cultural Awareness

Reading is a gateway to cultural awareness. It allows us to explore the rich tapestry of human diversity, fostering a deeper understanding of different customs, traditions, and worldviews. Literature from various cultures provides unique insights into the values, beliefs, and historical contexts that shape societies.

By immersing ourselves in these narratives, we develop empathy and respect for cultural differences. This awareness promotes inclusivity, reduces prejudice, and enhances our ability to navigate an increasingly globalized world. Reading is important for broadening our horizons and connects us to the shared human experience, encouraging a more culturally sensitive and harmonious society. In essence, it serves as a powerful tool for bridging cultural gaps and promoting unity in diversity .

18. Reading is Important for Time Management

Reading is important in our life as it enhances time management by sharpening focus and discipline. It’s a reminder that self-improvement and leisure are important aspects of a balanced life. Allocating time for reading can help us prioritize what truly matters. Prioritizing reading, even in short sessions, encourages efficient use of downtime. Reading helps optimize time by enriching the mind while managing the clock.

19. Reading is Important for Making Bonding with Others

Reading creates connections with others by providing common ground for discussions and shared interests. Book clubs, literary circles, or simply recommending a good book can spark meaningful conversations and strengthen relationships. It fosters empathy as you explore characters’ experiences, making it easier to relate to and bond with others.

20. Reading is Important as a Source of Solace

In difficult times, reading books can be a source of solace. They provide comfort, wisdom, and a sense of companionship when we need it most. Whether facing personal challenges or global crises, literature has the power to offer solace and hope. So reading is important in our life’s multidimensional activities to  escape from the world’s pressures.

Why Reading is Important for Children

Reading is paramount for children as it cultivates essential skills and opens doors to a world of knowledge and imagination. It enhances language development, vocabulary, and comprehension. Moreover, it fosters creativity and critical thinking, encouraging kids to question, analyze, and explore. Beyond academics, reading instills empathy by introducing them to diverse characters and cultures by reading diverse nature of topics in their academic books.

Reading is important for children as a lifelong love which not only boosts academic success but also nurtures a lifelong habit of learning. It’s a source of joy, offering an escape into different realms. Ultimately, reading equips children with the tools they need to navigate the complexities of the world and become informed, empathetic, and intellectually curious individuals.

Why Reading is Important for Students

Reading is a cornerstone of student success. It enhances literacy skills, expanding vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking. Beyond academics, it sparks curiosity, stimulates imagination, and fosters a lifelong love for learning. Through books, students can explore diverse cultures, perspectives, and experiences, nurturing empathy and open-mindedness. 

Reading is a fundamental research tool, aiding in assignments and expanding knowledge. Reading is important for students as it also offers a healthy escape, reducing stress, and improving mental well-being. Ultimately, reading equips students with the intellectual tools they need to excel academically, embrace creativity, and navigate the complexities of the world with confidence and insight.

Why Reading is Important for Exam Preparation

Reading is a linchpin of effective exam preparation. It’s a primary means of absorbing and retaining critical information, improving comprehension, and enhancing memory. Whether textbooks, study guides, or supplementary materials, reading helps students grasp complex concepts and reinforce subject knowledge. 

Moreover, reading is important for exam preparation as it fosters disciplined study habits, aids in information organization, and sharpens critical thinking skills—essential for acing exams. Through active reading, highlighting, and note-taking, students engage with their study materials more deeply, increasing their chances of success. In essence, reading is an indispensable tool that empowers students to approach exams with confidence, competence, and a solid foundation of knowledge.

Why Reading is Important in Our Life: Conclusion

The importance of reading in life cannot be overstated. It is a multifaceted activity that enriches our minds, broadens our horizons, and enhances our quality of life. Reading is a lifelong journey, and the benefits it offers are both immediate and enduring.

So, whether you’re a devoted bookworm or someone looking to read more, remember that each page turned is a step toward personal growth, knowledge, and a deeper understanding of the world. In the words of Dr. Seuss, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Embrace the world of books, for it has the power to transform your life in countless ways.

Related Article: Why time is important in our life and success – Unveiling P2F reasons

FAQs on Why Reading is Important in Our Life

Q. What are 5 benefits of reading?

Ans. 5 benefits of reading are:

  • Knowledge acquisition
  • Improved vocabulary
  • Enhanced empathy
  • Stress reduction
  • Cognitive stimulation

Q. Why is reading important in our life essay?

Ans. Reading is vital as it expands knowledge, enhances communication skills, fosters empathy, offers solace, and promotes lifelong learning and personal growth.

Q. What is the main purpose of reading?

Ans. The primary purpose of reading is to acquire knowledge, gain information, and engage with the thoughts and ideas of others.

Q. Why is reading important in our lives?

Ans. Reading is crucial as it broadens our knowledge, enhances communication skills, fosters empathy, reduces stress, and promotes personal growth.

Q. How does reading benefit cognitive abilities?

Ans. Reading stimulates the brain, improving vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking, thus enhancing cognitive abilities.

Q. Can reading improve our communication skills?

Ans. Yes, reading exposes us to diverse language patterns and styles, which ultimately enhances our communication skills.

Q. How does reading help in reducing stress?

Ans. Engaging in a good book provides an escape from daily stresses, reducing cortisol levels and promoting relaxation.

Q. How can reading contribute to cultural awareness?

Ans. Reading exposes us to different cultures, perspectives, and experiences, fostering cultural awareness and understanding .

IMPORTANCE OF READING IN CHANGING YOUR LIFE   WHY READING IS IMPORTANT FOR STUDENTS READING IS IMPORTANT IN OUR LIFE    WHY READING IS IMPORTANT FOR EXAM PREPARATION

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5 ways reading can change your life (and best practices).

You’ve probably heard that reading can be good for you. You may have heard it your whole life. But maybe reading just isn’t your thing.

Maybe you enjoy reading, but you have trouble comprehending difficult material from your classes or your workplace.

Good news—this article can help.

Here, we will discuss many of the benefits of reading and real practices you can try today to improve your reading comprehension.

Why Is Reading So Beneficial?

You’ve heard that reading is good, but what about it is so special? Why should you take the time to read? If you’ve been asking those questions, here are five ways that reading can significantly benefit your life.

1. Reading Helps With Empathy

Empathy is an important character trait people can develop. It helps us relate to other people and encourages us to be kind and considerate of other people’s feelings.

As it turns out, reading can actually help improve empathy.

When people read stories about other people’s lives, it helps them develop the skills to understand the world through another person’s perspective. This is a key element in being empathetic toward others.

One way reading does this is through improving something called “ theory of the mind .” Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states like beliefs, intents, desires or emotions to others and to understand that other people have different beliefs, intents and desires than our own. When you read literary fiction , you’re deepening your understanding of other people’s thoughts, emotions and desires.

This understanding can be used in real life to try to understand and relate to other people, no matter what their background is.

2. Reading Reduces Stress and Helps You Sleep

Life can be stressful, especially with busy or challenging work and school schedules. It’s hard to escape the feeling of stress and anxiety from a hectic lifestyle. Fortunately, reading can actually help lower stress levels. Not only that, but it can also help you sleep better at night.

According to a study conducted by The University of Sussex , reading can reduce stress levels by up to 68%.

The Telegraph quoted Professor David Lewis , the cognitive neuropsychologist who conducted the study, saying, “It really doesn’t matter what book you read, by losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book you can escape from the worries and stresses of the everyday world and spend a while exploring the domain of the author’s imagination … the printed page [can] stimulate your creativity and cause you to enter what is essentially an altered state of consciousness.”

Along with reducing stress, reading can help you get a better night’s sleep. Many people turn to technology before going to bed, but screens can keep you up at night and cause you to have trouble sleeping. Books, on the other hand, can help you sleep better. Reading helps you relax and can signal your body that it’s time to go to sleep.

3. Reading Grows Your Vocabulary

If you want to have an impressive vocabulary, pick up a book.

It’s much easier to learn vocabulary from a book than from memorizing words in the dictionary. That’s because you’re learning the words contextually. The words make sense within the context of what you’re reading so it makes it easier to remember later.

4. Reading Can Help Improve Your Mood

It may seem unlikely, but reading can actually make you feel happier. There are a variety of reasons that this is true.

According to researcher Dr. Josie Billington from the Centre of Research into Reading, Literature and Society, “reading reminds people of activities or occupations they once pursued, or knowledge and skills they still possess, helping to restore their sense of having a place and purpose in the world.”

As with relieving stress, the transportive nature of reading can also take people away from things that are upsetting or frustrating them in their normal lives.

Not only that but when we read, we learn that there are other people who are going through similar or equally difficult struggles as our own. It can help us fight feelings of isolation or loneliness.

Historically, reading has been used to help people through difficult times. During WWI, the United States’ Library War Service , an initiative that started with the Library of Congress, collected over 700 million reading materials for troops. The belief was that the books could help troops heal from the trauma of war.

The librarians noted that the books did help calm the troops and helped them begin their mental and emotional recoveries. Books and reading have the power to improve your mood and help you deal with difficult circumstances.

5. Reading Strengthens the Brain

Another amazing benefit of reading is it improves your brain!

When you read something it ignites your neural pathways. While reading, your brain must remember facts and details such as characters, plots and subplots. As your brain retains this information, you’re creating new memories. That means new synapses are being created, and old ones are being strengthened. This improves your short term and long term memory functions.

Elderly people who do mental exercises like regular reading are 32% less likely to experience mental decline. In fact, a lifetime of reading can decrease a person’s chances of developing Alzheimer’s.

How to Improve Your Reading Comprehension

Reading provides a host of benefits, but what if you have trouble with reading comprehension skills?

A lot of people mistake reading comprehension with retention . Comprehension refers to understanding what you read. Retention is remembering what you read.

However, reading comprehension and retention go hand-in-hand. If you don’t understand what you’re reading, it’s much harder to remember it later.

So what can you do if you’re struggling with reading comprehension and want to improve your skills?

9 Tips for Improving Reading Comprehension

If you’re struggling with understanding what you’re reading or you simply want to improve your comprehension, here are nine tips to help you become a better reader.

1. Read a Text Out Loud

If you’re reading something particularly difficult to understand, it sometimes helps to read the text out loud. Hearing the words instead of just reading internally can sometimes trigger a different part of the brain and allow you to connect with the material.

2. Ask Pre-Reading Questions

Before you begin reading a text, ask yourself some pre-reading questions. Some examples of questions you could ask are: What is the topic of the material? What do you already know about the subject? Why is this material important?

You can also scan over the text to get a basic idea of what it’s about. You can quickly scan the title, headings and first sentences in the paragraph to get a sense of what the material is referring to.

Once you’ve done this, your brain is already working with the information. You have a foundation of what the subject is before you begin getting into the details.

3. Stop to Reevaluate What You Just Read

Often when reading a lot of material, especially difficult texts, it’s easy for your focus to drift off. You can read an entire page and not really comprehend any of it.

If you’ve read a section and you’re not really sure what you read, go back and read it slowly. Try to summarize what you’ve read. See if you can pull out the most important ideas and facts from the text.

4. Explain What You’ve Read to Someone Else

Another great way to understand something you’re reading is to explain it to someone else. Putting the information into your own words is a helpful strategy for understanding the material.

If you’re able to explain it well to someone else, you probably have a good idea of what you’ve read.

5. Take Notes

Another good strategy for reading comprehension is to take notes while you’re reading. Write down the most important information and focus on the main ideas.

This is similar to the idea of explaining it to another person. It gives your brain another medium to interact with the information and an opportunity to put things into your own words.

This also provides a way to write down questions or words that you don’t understand. Any words you don’t know you can look up later.

6. Give Yourself a Chance to Understand the Text

Sometimes people get stuck in a cycle of re-reading the same sentence over and over because it doesn’t make sense to them. Try to avoid this strategy because you can often decipher the meaning of a section as you continue to read.

The context of the sentence can often give you a much better understanding of the meaning.

7. Use Your Finger or a Pen to Follow Along

If you’re struggling to stay focused on a section of material, you can use your finger or a pen to read along. This is an easy way to keep yourself on track and pay attention.

This “ Pointer Method ” can also help you read faster. If you don’t want to use a pen or your pointer finger, you can also use an index card to cover up the part of the text you’re not reading yet to stay focused.

8. Read at the Right Pace

You can adjust your reading speed to improve your comprehension. Search for the main idea of the paragraph and read that sentence slowly. Usually, the first or second sentence in the paragraph lets you know what the rest of the paragraph will be talking about.

Knowing how a paragraph is structured can be to your advantage. Look for the main idea and read that sentence more slowly. The follow-up sentences are usually not as important as the topic sentence. Carefully understand the main idea and then you can read more quickly through the details.

If the material is long or technical, you may want to slow down at the beginning and the end of the paragraph to help you understand it.

Remember, both reading too slowly and too quickly can affect your reading comprehension. Don’t slow down or speed up too much at any point, but pay careful attention to the main ideas.

9. Take a Break From Reading

If you’re reading page after page but not comprehending any part of it, it may be time to take a break.

If the material is an assignment, try to break it up over several days. Some texts are just harder to understand because they’re full of words and ideas that you may be unfamiliar with. If this is the case, it can be helpful to give your brain a break to digest the new information.

Go Pick up a Book Today!

Whether you’re doing it for work or for pleasure, reading can be extremely beneficial for your brain, health and general well-being. It can even make you more compassionate toward people around you.

For increased reading comprehension, remember to take your time to understand what you’re reading. Give yourself several days to digest difficult material and take breaks when you need to.

If you’re feeling stressed about understanding a text, try the tips laid out in this article. The handy user-friendly suggestions can help you tackle that difficult assignment so you can get back to your favorite fiction.

Grow in Reading Skills With a Degree

Lifelong learning often encourages the activity of reading in exploring and gaining knowledge and skills you can apply to your real world. With a degree program at Cornerstone’s Professional & Graduate Studies division, you can continue to enhance your reading abilities while being focused on practical application to your work and life. Learn more about how you can grow in your reading skills by connecting with our enrollment team.

Learn more about our adult programs

Learn more about our graduate programs

reading is life essay

Brianna Hansen

Brianna Hansen (B.S. ’14 ) previously served as admissions and data coordinator for Cornerstone University’s Professional & Graduate Studies division.

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Plan, Prepare & Make the Best Career Choices

Essay About Reading

Reading is a crucial activity since it sharpens your mind and provides you with a wealth of information and life lessons. It improves your understanding of the environment around you. It keeps your brain engaged and nurtures creativity. Here are a few sample essays on the topic ‘reading’.

  • 100 Words Essay On Reading

Reading for pleasure is one of the simplest and most underrated forms of relaxation. It's a way to take a break from the world and lose yourself in another place, without ever having to leave your home. It's not just a mental escape. Reading can also be incredibly soothing for the body. When we read, our heart rate and blood pressure drop, and we actually experience a decrease in stress hormones. For me, reading is a way to recharge myself. I love losing myself in a good book, especially when I need some downtime. It's my favourite way to relax, and it never fails to help me unwind after a long day.

200 Words Essay On Reading

500 words essay on reading.

Essay About Reading

Reading has been a part of human existence since the beginning of time. It's one of the simplest and most natural ways to learn, and it's no wonder that so many people consider reading to be one of the most important things they can do. Reading offers a way to learn about the world and expand your horizons in a way that's both comfortable and safe. It's a great way to gain new perspectives without having to risk anything or make any compromises.

Benefits of Reading

There are many benefits of reading. For one, it can help improve your vocabulary. When you read, you're exposed to new words and different ways of using them. This can help you become a more articulate speaker and writer.

Reading also helps you learn about new topics and explore different points of view. You might not agree with everything you read, but that's okay. Reading allows you to consider arguments and opinions that differ from your own, and that can make you a more well-rounded thinker.

And finally, reading is just plain enjoyable. It's a great way to relax and escape from the world for a while. Whether you're reading fiction or nonfiction, biography or history, there's something for everyone in the world of books.

Though it seems like a simple enough activity, reading can actually offer a great deal of insight and understanding into different perspectives. When you read a book, you're not just absorbing the words on the page, you're also getting a glimpse into the mind of the author.

You can see the world through their eyes, and explore different cultures and lifestyles without ever having to leave your home. You can also gain an understanding of different issues and topics that you may not have otherwise been exposed to.

Different Ways To Read More

If you want to read more, there are some strategies you can use to help fit reading into your day. First, one of the most helpful things you can do is to set aside an hour each day for reading. This will help to ensure that you have time for reading consistently. You can also try making it a priority in your daily routine, such as doing it right before bed or right after you wake up in the morning.

Another helpful strategy is to find a book that piques your interest and keep it with you wherever you go. Having a book close by will make it easier for you to grab a few minutes to read here and there throughout your day. You could even try joining a local book club or starting one with friends if socialising while reading appeals to you.

Finally, try setting goals for yourself and challenge yourself by committing to reading more than you would normally think possible in a given period of time. Book clubs can be great for this too as they often have monthly challenges which can be motivating and fun!

Why It's Important To Read Regularly

Reading books is an important activity that can have many positive effects on one's life. First and foremost, reading has been proven to create more empathy in people. It is well known that those who read more books tend to be more empathetic, understanding others’ perspectives better. This means that reading can help not just our own personal growth, but also how we interact with other people, particularly strangers.

Not only this, but reading books can help us learn new skills and gain knowledge quickly. It is often said that knowledge is power, and reading can be a great source of both specialist knowledge as well as general knowledge about the world. Reading also helps us express ourselves better by teaching us new words and improving our grammar skills.

Overall, regular reading has multiple benefits for the individual reader and for society in general. As such it should be encouraged for all ages of the population, who can each get something valuable out of it.

It can be hard to find the time to read, but the benefits of reading are undeniable. Reading can help you learn new things, it can help you relax and de-stress, and it can even help improve your memory. So, if you're looking for a way to improve your life, start reading more books.

Explore Career Options (By Industry)

  • Construction
  • Entertainment
  • Manufacturing
  • Information Technology

Data Administrator

Database professionals use software to store and organise data such as financial information, and customer shipping records. Individuals who opt for a career as data administrators ensure that data is available for users and secured from unauthorised sales. DB administrators may work in various types of industries. It may involve computer systems design, service firms, insurance companies, banks and hospitals.

Bio Medical Engineer

The field of biomedical engineering opens up a universe of expert chances. An Individual in the biomedical engineering career path work in the field of engineering as well as medicine, in order to find out solutions to common problems of the two fields. The biomedical engineering job opportunities are to collaborate with doctors and researchers to develop medical systems, equipment, or devices that can solve clinical problems. Here we will be discussing jobs after biomedical engineering, how to get a job in biomedical engineering, biomedical engineering scope, and salary. 

Ethical Hacker

A career as ethical hacker involves various challenges and provides lucrative opportunities in the digital era where every giant business and startup owns its cyberspace on the world wide web. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path try to find the vulnerabilities in the cyber system to get its authority. If he or she succeeds in it then he or she gets its illegal authority. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path then steal information or delete the file that could affect the business, functioning, or services of the organization.

GIS officer work on various GIS software to conduct a study and gather spatial and non-spatial information. GIS experts update the GIS data and maintain it. The databases include aerial or satellite imagery, latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates, and manually digitized images of maps. In a career as GIS expert, one is responsible for creating online and mobile maps.

Data Analyst

The invention of the database has given fresh breath to the people involved in the data analytics career path. Analysis refers to splitting up a whole into its individual components for individual analysis. Data analysis is a method through which raw data are processed and transformed into information that would be beneficial for user strategic thinking.

Data are collected and examined to respond to questions, evaluate hypotheses or contradict theories. It is a tool for analyzing, transforming, modeling, and arranging data with useful knowledge, to assist in decision-making and methods, encompassing various strategies, and is used in different fields of business, research, and social science.

Geothermal Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as geothermal engineers are the professionals involved in the processing of geothermal energy. The responsibilities of geothermal engineers may vary depending on the workplace location. Those who work in fields design facilities to process and distribute geothermal energy. They oversee the functioning of machinery used in the field.

Database Architect

If you are intrigued by the programming world and are interested in developing communications networks then a career as database architect may be a good option for you. Data architect roles and responsibilities include building design models for data communication networks. Wide Area Networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), and intranets are included in the database networks. It is expected that database architects will have in-depth knowledge of a company's business to develop a network to fulfil the requirements of the organisation. Stay tuned as we look at the larger picture and give you more information on what is db architecture, why you should pursue database architecture, what to expect from such a degree and what your job opportunities will be after graduation. Here, we will be discussing how to become a data architect. Students can visit NIT Trichy , IIT Kharagpur , JMI New Delhi . 

Remote Sensing Technician

Individuals who opt for a career as a remote sensing technician possess unique personalities. Remote sensing analysts seem to be rational human beings, they are strong, independent, persistent, sincere, realistic and resourceful. Some of them are analytical as well, which means they are intelligent, introspective and inquisitive. 

Remote sensing scientists use remote sensing technology to support scientists in fields such as community planning, flight planning or the management of natural resources. Analysing data collected from aircraft, satellites or ground-based platforms using statistical analysis software, image analysis software or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a significant part of their work. Do you want to learn how to become remote sensing technician? There's no need to be concerned; we've devised a simple remote sensing technician career path for you. Scroll through the pages and read.

Budget Analyst

Budget analysis, in a nutshell, entails thoroughly analyzing the details of a financial budget. The budget analysis aims to better understand and manage revenue. Budget analysts assist in the achievement of financial targets, the preservation of profitability, and the pursuit of long-term growth for a business. Budget analysts generally have a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, economics, or a closely related field. Knowledge of Financial Management is of prime importance in this career.

Underwriter

An underwriter is a person who assesses and evaluates the risk of insurance in his or her field like mortgage, loan, health policy, investment, and so on and so forth. The underwriter career path does involve risks as analysing the risks means finding out if there is a way for the insurance underwriter jobs to recover the money from its clients. If the risk turns out to be too much for the company then in the future it is an underwriter who will be held accountable for it. Therefore, one must carry out his or her job with a lot of attention and diligence.

Finance Executive

Product manager.

A Product Manager is a professional responsible for product planning and marketing. He or she manages the product throughout the Product Life Cycle, gathering and prioritising the product. A product manager job description includes defining the product vision and working closely with team members of other departments to deliver winning products.  

Operations Manager

Individuals in the operations manager jobs are responsible for ensuring the efficiency of each department to acquire its optimal goal. They plan the use of resources and distribution of materials. The operations manager's job description includes managing budgets, negotiating contracts, and performing administrative tasks.

Stock Analyst

Individuals who opt for a career as a stock analyst examine the company's investments makes decisions and keep track of financial securities. The nature of such investments will differ from one business to the next. Individuals in the stock analyst career use data mining to forecast a company's profits and revenues, advise clients on whether to buy or sell, participate in seminars, and discussing financial matters with executives and evaluate annual reports.

A Researcher is a professional who is responsible for collecting data and information by reviewing the literature and conducting experiments and surveys. He or she uses various methodological processes to provide accurate data and information that is utilised by academicians and other industry professionals. Here, we will discuss what is a researcher, the researcher's salary, types of researchers.

Welding Engineer

Welding Engineer Job Description: A Welding Engineer work involves managing welding projects and supervising welding teams. He or she is responsible for reviewing welding procedures, processes and documentation. A career as Welding Engineer involves conducting failure analyses and causes on welding issues. 

Transportation Planner

A career as Transportation Planner requires technical application of science and technology in engineering, particularly the concepts, equipment and technologies involved in the production of products and services. In fields like land use, infrastructure review, ecological standards and street design, he or she considers issues of health, environment and performance. A Transportation Planner assigns resources for implementing and designing programmes. He or she is responsible for assessing needs, preparing plans and forecasts and compliance with regulations.

Environmental Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as an environmental engineer are construction professionals who utilise the skills and knowledge of biology, soil science, chemistry and the concept of engineering to design and develop projects that serve as solutions to various environmental problems. 

Safety Manager

A Safety Manager is a professional responsible for employee’s safety at work. He or she plans, implements and oversees the company’s employee safety. A Safety Manager ensures compliance and adherence to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines.

Conservation Architect

A Conservation Architect is a professional responsible for conserving and restoring buildings or monuments having a historic value. He or she applies techniques to document and stabilise the object’s state without any further damage. A Conservation Architect restores the monuments and heritage buildings to bring them back to their original state.

Structural Engineer

A Structural Engineer designs buildings, bridges, and other related structures. He or she analyzes the structures and makes sure the structures are strong enough to be used by the people. A career as a Structural Engineer requires working in the construction process. It comes under the civil engineering discipline. A Structure Engineer creates structural models with the help of computer-aided design software. 

Highway Engineer

Highway Engineer Job Description:  A Highway Engineer is a civil engineer who specialises in planning and building thousands of miles of roads that support connectivity and allow transportation across the country. He or she ensures that traffic management schemes are effectively planned concerning economic sustainability and successful implementation.

Field Surveyor

Are you searching for a Field Surveyor Job Description? A Field Surveyor is a professional responsible for conducting field surveys for various places or geographical conditions. He or she collects the required data and information as per the instructions given by senior officials. 

Orthotist and Prosthetist

Orthotists and Prosthetists are professionals who provide aid to patients with disabilities. They fix them to artificial limbs (prosthetics) and help them to regain stability. There are times when people lose their limbs in an accident. In some other occasions, they are born without a limb or orthopaedic impairment. Orthotists and prosthetists play a crucial role in their lives with fixing them to assistive devices and provide mobility.

Pathologist

A career in pathology in India is filled with several responsibilities as it is a medical branch and affects human lives. The demand for pathologists has been increasing over the past few years as people are getting more aware of different diseases. Not only that, but an increase in population and lifestyle changes have also contributed to the increase in a pathologist’s demand. The pathology careers provide an extremely huge number of opportunities and if you want to be a part of the medical field you can consider being a pathologist. If you want to know more about a career in pathology in India then continue reading this article.

Veterinary Doctor

Speech therapist, gynaecologist.

Gynaecology can be defined as the study of the female body. The job outlook for gynaecology is excellent since there is evergreen demand for one because of their responsibility of dealing with not only women’s health but also fertility and pregnancy issues. Although most women prefer to have a women obstetrician gynaecologist as their doctor, men also explore a career as a gynaecologist and there are ample amounts of male doctors in the field who are gynaecologists and aid women during delivery and childbirth. 

Audiologist

The audiologist career involves audiology professionals who are responsible to treat hearing loss and proactively preventing the relevant damage. Individuals who opt for a career as an audiologist use various testing strategies with the aim to determine if someone has a normal sensitivity to sounds or not. After the identification of hearing loss, a hearing doctor is required to determine which sections of the hearing are affected, to what extent they are affected, and where the wound causing the hearing loss is found. As soon as the hearing loss is identified, the patients are provided with recommendations for interventions and rehabilitation such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and appropriate medical referrals. While audiology is a branch of science that studies and researches hearing, balance, and related disorders.

An oncologist is a specialised doctor responsible for providing medical care to patients diagnosed with cancer. He or she uses several therapies to control the cancer and its effect on the human body such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and biopsy. An oncologist designs a treatment plan based on a pathology report after diagnosing the type of cancer and where it is spreading inside the body.

Are you searching for an ‘Anatomist job description’? An Anatomist is a research professional who applies the laws of biological science to determine the ability of bodies of various living organisms including animals and humans to regenerate the damaged or destroyed organs. If you want to know what does an anatomist do, then read the entire article, where we will answer all your questions.

For an individual who opts for a career as an actor, the primary responsibility is to completely speak to the character he or she is playing and to persuade the crowd that the character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. Here in this article, we will discuss how to become an actor in India, actor exams, actor salary in India, and actor jobs. 

Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats create and direct original routines for themselves, in addition to developing interpretations of existing routines. The work of circus acrobats can be seen in a variety of performance settings, including circus, reality shows, sports events like the Olympics, movies and commercials. Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats must be prepared to face rejections and intermittent periods of work. The creativity of acrobats may extend to other aspects of the performance. For example, acrobats in the circus may work with gym trainers, celebrities or collaborate with other professionals to enhance such performance elements as costume and or maybe at the teaching end of the career.

Video Game Designer

Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.

Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.

Radio Jockey

Radio Jockey is an exciting, promising career and a great challenge for music lovers. If you are really interested in a career as radio jockey, then it is very important for an RJ to have an automatic, fun, and friendly personality. If you want to get a job done in this field, a strong command of the language and a good voice are always good things. Apart from this, in order to be a good radio jockey, you will also listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later make your own by practicing.

A career as radio jockey has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. If you want to know more about a career as radio jockey, and how to become a radio jockey then continue reading the article.

Choreographer

The word “choreography" actually comes from Greek words that mean “dance writing." Individuals who opt for a career as a choreographer create and direct original dances, in addition to developing interpretations of existing dances. A Choreographer dances and utilises his or her creativity in other aspects of dance performance. For example, he or she may work with the music director to select music or collaborate with other famous choreographers to enhance such performance elements as lighting, costume and set design.

Social Media Manager

A career as social media manager involves implementing the company’s or brand’s marketing plan across all social media channels. Social media managers help in building or improving a brand’s or a company’s website traffic, build brand awareness, create and implement marketing and brand strategy. Social media managers are key to important social communication as well.

Photographer

Photography is considered both a science and an art, an artistic means of expression in which the camera replaces the pen. In a career as a photographer, an individual is hired to capture the moments of public and private events, such as press conferences or weddings, or may also work inside a studio, where people go to get their picture clicked. Photography is divided into many streams each generating numerous career opportunities in photography. With the boom in advertising, media, and the fashion industry, photography has emerged as a lucrative and thrilling career option for many Indian youths.

An individual who is pursuing a career as a producer is responsible for managing the business aspects of production. They are involved in each aspect of production from its inception to deception. Famous movie producers review the script, recommend changes and visualise the story. 

They are responsible for overseeing the finance involved in the project and distributing the film for broadcasting on various platforms. A career as a producer is quite fulfilling as well as exhaustive in terms of playing different roles in order for a production to be successful. Famous movie producers are responsible for hiring creative and technical personnel on contract basis.

Copy Writer

In a career as a copywriter, one has to consult with the client and understand the brief well. A career as a copywriter has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. Several new mediums of advertising are opening therefore making it a lucrative career choice. Students can pursue various copywriter courses such as Journalism , Advertising , Marketing Management . Here, we have discussed how to become a freelance copywriter, copywriter career path, how to become a copywriter in India, and copywriting career outlook. 

In a career as a vlogger, one generally works for himself or herself. However, once an individual has gained viewership there are several brands and companies that approach them for paid collaboration. It is one of those fields where an individual can earn well while following his or her passion. 

Ever since internet costs got reduced the viewership for these types of content has increased on a large scale. Therefore, a career as a vlogger has a lot to offer. If you want to know more about the Vlogger eligibility, roles and responsibilities then continue reading the article. 

For publishing books, newspapers, magazines and digital material, editorial and commercial strategies are set by publishers. Individuals in publishing career paths make choices about the markets their businesses will reach and the type of content that their audience will be served. Individuals in book publisher careers collaborate with editorial staff, designers, authors, and freelance contributors who develop and manage the creation of content.

Careers in journalism are filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. One cannot afford to miss out on the details. As it is the small details that provide insights into a story. Depending on those insights a journalist goes about writing a news article. A journalism career can be stressful at times but if you are someone who is passionate about it then it is the right choice for you. If you want to know more about the media field and journalist career then continue reading this article.

Individuals in the editor career path is an unsung hero of the news industry who polishes the language of the news stories provided by stringers, reporters, copywriters and content writers and also news agencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an editor make it more persuasive, concise and clear for readers. In this article, we will discuss the details of the editor's career path such as how to become an editor in India, editor salary in India and editor skills and qualities.

Individuals who opt for a career as a reporter may often be at work on national holidays and festivities. He or she pitches various story ideas and covers news stories in risky situations. Students can pursue a BMC (Bachelor of Mass Communication) , B.M.M. (Bachelor of Mass Media) , or  MAJMC (MA in Journalism and Mass Communication) to become a reporter. While we sit at home reporters travel to locations to collect information that carries a news value.  

Corporate Executive

Are you searching for a Corporate Executive job description? A Corporate Executive role comes with administrative duties. He or she provides support to the leadership of the organisation. A Corporate Executive fulfils the business purpose and ensures its financial stability. In this article, we are going to discuss how to become corporate executive.

Multimedia Specialist

A multimedia specialist is a media professional who creates, audio, videos, graphic image files, computer animations for multimedia applications. He or she is responsible for planning, producing, and maintaining websites and applications. 

Quality Controller

A quality controller plays a crucial role in an organisation. He or she is responsible for performing quality checks on manufactured products. He or she identifies the defects in a product and rejects the product. 

A quality controller records detailed information about products with defects and sends it to the supervisor or plant manager to take necessary actions to improve the production process.

Production Manager

A QA Lead is in charge of the QA Team. The role of QA Lead comes with the responsibility of assessing services and products in order to determine that he or she meets the quality standards. He or she develops, implements and manages test plans. 

Process Development Engineer

The Process Development Engineers design, implement, manufacture, mine, and other production systems using technical knowledge and expertise in the industry. They use computer modeling software to test technologies and machinery. An individual who is opting career as Process Development Engineer is responsible for developing cost-effective and efficient processes. They also monitor the production process and ensure it functions smoothly and efficiently.

AWS Solution Architect

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The Influence of Reading on Our Life

Reading of great books has, all through the ages, been recognized as the most powerful contributor to the development of an individual’s personality. The great thinkers and the philosophers of the world have often identified the role of good books as an influential reformer of personal life and attitude. One of such great books that have influenced my understanding of the world attitude towards others, and me is To Kill a Mockingbird , the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Harper Lee. The novel is specifically important for me as it created, for the first time in my little reading career, an intense desire to read ever so many books with such influencing power.

I was fascinated by the ideas of the coexistence of good and evil, racial and social injustice, the role of gender, tolerance, and prejudice. These characteristic features of the novel had great impact on me as there was considerable change in my world-view and thinking. This change was reflected in my attitude towards other and I began to see things in their totality rather than living with distorted views and attitudes. My understanding of innocence, the moral nature of human beings, especially in relation to the concepts of good and evil, the issues related to social inequality and the like was very much changed and I began to experience these concepts in my day-to-day life.

The most striking influence of the book on my understanding of the universe was that I came to the true realization of man’s moral nature. The author is very powerful in portraying the transition of the characters of Scout and Jem, from innocence of the childhood where they believe that people are good because they have never seen evil to the ultimate experience of where they confront evil and assimilate this perception to their world knowledge.

This world is one where the people who do not accept evil, like the characters of Tom Robinson and Boo Radley in the novel, perish. I came to the consciousness of this peculiar nature of the world which produces all kinds of evils related to racism, hatred, prejudice, ignorance pose, and other sort of hazards to innocence. This is a crude realization which I, like many other readers of the novel, came to acknowledge that there exist in every man the elements of innocence or good as well as evil.

A realization of this sort would, in any human being, bring about changes in the perspectives of the general nature of things, especially with regard to one’s awareness about others and oneself. The same happened in my case and I began to see people as they are. I can also appreciate the person I really am.

This is a revolutionary change in my attitude and perspective as I was a kind of person who would blame anything and everything in the world without the right apprehension of the nature of things. Now the situation, the world, and the people remain the same; but I can view the reality behind every situation, happening, and behavior of people in a wider worldview. This is a drastic change that was brought about by different elements, the most significant among them being, as I would always admit and acknowledge, the novel by Harper Lee. The power of book is really amazing.

Thus, I would, ever, be one of the many champions of the strength of books in the change of one’s awareness of the world, of others, and of oneself. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the books that would prompt people to acknowledge the power of reading. The world view that one acquires from such legendary works is hundred times greater than the experience from conquering the entire world. This is the real power of writing and the same is the greatness of reading.

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reading is life essay

Tiana Reid was born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1989. She is a writer, editor at The New Inquiry , and PhD Candidate in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. Her writing has been published in Canadian Art, Flash Art, The Paris Review, SSENSE, VICE, Vulture, and more. She lives in New York City.

Editor’s note: This essay is the third piece to be published as part of Conditions , a new series exploring how various forces affect our ability to live fulfilling, creative lives.

A reading life

On unraveling

To be caught in the mood of reading is to be unraveled. Think of a thin chain necklace, one of your favorites, knotted almost to the point of no return. Both a tangled chain and a text must be loved, loosened, and delicately gripped. With reading, however, you are lucky if you find yourself caught, because it means you have something to hold on to, something to puzzle over, something to work through.

People often speak of the pleasures of reading—imagination, memory, knowledge—but sometimes pleasures hurt, too. What I mean to say is that I read when I’m happy, sad, and everything in between. I read alone, with others, and with others in mind. Of course, there are times when I can’t read, more times than I would like, but I always have reading in my back pocket as something that will not only nourish my creative life, whatever that is, but generally keep me alive.

Even with the reasonable knowledge of the resources at my disposal, I find it hard to sustain life (mine, the lives of others), let alone a creative life. Even when I don’t feel like it (and I often don’t feel like it), survival is a fight. But in this sense, my life is creative: I have to create it. We all experiment in order to survive. Life does not just happen; even if we don’t notice, and especially when we don’t, we are making it happen. Some feminists have called this theory of everyday life “social reproduction,” a concept that acknowledges that society creates and recreates itself through the work of others, and often women.

In no particular order, then, here is a small library of reading materials that have, in recent times, kept me going. My point here is not that you take each selection as a kind of what-to-read guide, but rather as a case study, or an invitation to move through and around these particular texts (or other texts altogether) in your own way. Each opens up to a whole new reading list—and a whole new way to relate to yourself, and to your creative life—if you let it.

On getting close to the text

Reading: The Limits of Critique by Rita Felski

Writers are often stereotyped as anti-social people who are hard to get close to. Most days, I want intimacy so badly I could die. Maybe this is why, after 10 years of publishing my writing, I still don’t consider myself a writer. I can’t relate.

In the 2013 book The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning & Black Study , Stefano Harney and Fred Moten write that “critique endangers the sociality it is supposed to defend.” This is a line I have memorized for its ability to capture how language can form us while simultaneously creating boundaries that make us more isolated.

In 2015, Rita Felski’s book The Limits of Critique came out and galvanized part of a larger discussion on what it means to read. Western literary critics in the post-war period, she argues, tend to favor what Paul Ricoeur calls a “hermeneutics of suspicion,” or, a mode of interpretation akin to a detective trying to solve a crime. What is the difference between reading and critique? If, for Felski, critique has some kind of end goal, perhaps reading takes the long road.

For a living (or, for a modest stipend), I am a literary critic in training, which is a fancy way of saying that I am a graduate student in English and Comparative Literature at an institution that provides funding in exchange for labor. I am also a writer and editor, which means my relationship to reading is often transactional. I am looking for an argument, a quote, a line to tweet. But I came to Felski again by way of David Scott’s 2017 book, Stuart Hall’s Voice: Intimations of an Ethics of Receptive Generosity , which emphasizes how learning is really about opening yourself up. Scott’s language is a reminder that you don’t always have to get something out of a text to become close with what it has to offer.

(You see what I am doing here, I hope—that one book unfolds to another, and yet another. We begin, then, in flight. We begin with the interlaced making of belonging.)

On consuming

Reading: “ You and me are not friends, OK? ” by Simone White

Can I tell you how this poem makes me feel without writing out the whole thing? It’s just 15 lines, so I could, but I won’t—if only because there is something in it for me (if not for you) in simply recounting what this poem does for me.

Let’s start from the beginning, with the title. “You and me are not friends, OK?” Simone White asks this in her 2016 book of poetry, Of Being Dispersed , but it’s really not a question. This is going to sound self-obsessed and perhaps even unproductive, however: I have this problem where people too often think I like them when I don’t. Or is it that they think I have time for them, but in actuality I don’t want to make time for them, even if sometimes I do anyway. This drains me, truly, and offers me little time for my life and for my work, which are often too close to detach. You and me are not friends. Ok?

Sex and food are two things I’m afraid to attach, which is strange because I love them both. White is not afraid. This is how she opens her poem: “With ‘barbecue’ in one ear and ‘chips’ in the other, that is how a goddess comes / with one calf cramped and a finger up her ass; a goddess comes for twenty minutes.” These 32 words cut. Men write about sex all the time, even when they’re not trying to, but women cannot come across as subtle. They can’t afford to. (Recall Sylvia Plath in “ Burning the Letters :” “I am not subtle / Love, love, and well, I was tired.”)

Later in White’s poem, she writes, “The probity of her pussy satisfies all curiosities. ‘Whatever, baby—let’s try it.’” Once you hear, “the probity of her pussy,” you cannot dare unhear it. Probity, like: integrity and truthfulness. Pussy, like: well, you know.

Toward the end, a line for all lines: “Doritos might be a distraction but don’t be confused about how they work: you gotta eat.” And I eat White’s poems like no one is watching: viciously and with unadulterated satisfaction. This is something I reread and reread, like a favorite dish.

On restlessness

Reading: No Telephone to Heaven by Michelle Cliff

During the first days of winter, eating leftover pasta in the morning, I spot Michelle Cliff’s No Telephone to Heaven (1987) in a pile on my living room floor. It’s a book about diasporic yearnings; about moving amidst the feeling of suffocation. I am restless, so it calls out to me.

The first line: “It was a hot afternoon after a day of solid heavy rain.” And later: “The sun—hanging somewhere behind the sky, somewhere they could not find it—was unable to dry the roadbed or the thick foliage along the mountainside, so the surface stayed slick-wet, making driving a trial.” Inside my living room, standing in underwear beside the window, it’s not yet light out and I remember the turmoil I felt first reading this book more than 10 years earlier.

Cliff’s novel was one of my first favorite books, after Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 classic, Jane Eyre . When I was young, too young, a lover kind enough to take note of my favorite things gave me a paragraph from Cliff’s book blown up on a canvas. Some of it went:

“You knew her also as the girl left behind in the Brooklyn apartment. …Make ashtrays of her hands, and a trophy of her head. She cowers in the bush fearing capture. Waiting for someone to come. Crouching. Not speaking for years. Not feeling much of anything, except a vague dread that she belongs nowhere. She fills her time. In schools, playgrounds, other people’s beds. In pursuit of knowledge, grubs, and, she thinks, life.”

I felt like this was a brilliant description of my life as I knew it. The gift itself was beautiful; too beautiful for me to notice at the time. I liked the woman who gave it to me but I was a girl, and I didn’t know how to love. I was too busy trying to shore myself up to care even remotely for someone else’s feelings. After too much to drink, I felt betrayed by my own feelings, which were like mountains I could not climb. In an erratic response, the only way I could imagine at the time, I pierced a knife through Cliff’s words, through the stretched canvas, and threw the remains in an industrial-sized recycling bin outside of my mother’s house. It took me years to regret it, but I finally did.

On othering

Reading: The Animal That Therefore I Am by Jacques Derrida

What academics call “high theory” takes some getting used to, and it takes even more time to question the highness of it all. While reading the white men who enjoy the divine gift of being classified as Philosophy, an attention to who gets sorted and how, what fits into what category, and how things are ordered and arranged will help us imagine those matters of excess, i.e., that which cannot fit.

The French philosopher Jacques Derrida asks: What constitutes an “other?” Notice, I did not say who. One of the most compelling parts of Derrida’s The Animal That Therefore I Am , translated by David Wills from the original French, is the importance of naming. In English, “name calling” retains a sense of violence in the way that logocentrism—the West’s obsession with words and language—assumes the sanctity of the reality that it names. You must name that which you need to sort, categorize, classify, or order, and yet all attempts at sealing things with language will eventually fail.

This passage resonated with me: “there is already a heterogeneous multiplicity of the living, or more precisely… a multiplicity of organizations of relations between living and dead.” Postcolonial studies, black studies, the study of slavery, women and gender studies, disability studies, etc. can also be said to be the study of those who have been, could be, or are considered animals. Is this a naming, a consideration, a recognition, a regard, or a refusal? Derrida writes on “the Animal” as “all living things that man does not recognize as his fellows, his neighbors or his brothers.”

Read this book pages at a time, in the earliest morning you can find.

On resisting the entanglement of life and work

Reading: W. E. B. Du Bois , “The Damnation of Women”

Recently as a guest in a seminar run by a well-known professor who was visiting from another school, I said that I did not want to police my own students through surveillance and enforcement. Instead, I had tried to foster a communitarian environment, albeit in a corporate university that could never accept it. She agreed with my approach to an extent, but snapped back by saying I did not have the luxury not to be just a little authoritarian (my words, not hers). She told me that “as a black woman” (she was not black but of color ), students would undermine me from the get-go. Her caution was, in some sense, spurred by the imperative of professionalization.

As I approach the end of my doctoral program (and thus my debut on the job market), I find myself increasingly refusing “professionalization” just for the sake of job security. At the same time, I can’t deny the fact that as much as I am against the university’s approaches, I am simultaneously beholden to it, and to all of its structures of power. In this way, the American university chips away at you until you forget you had friends, family, or a life. You become self-regulating. You forget how to imagine, and you become small.

While Du Bois’s “The Damnation of Women” begins with intertwined moments of intimacy, memory, and childhood, we are quickly thrown into the more important category of “work.” What is referred to colloquially as “work” is ever broadening, and is said to encompass infinity: social, cultural, and creative practices, emotions, forms of care, gigs, et cetera. Du Bois writes, “The future woman must have a life work and economic independence.” This sentence, to me, seems awkwardly constructed. My first impulse is to edit it to read that “the future woman must have a life, work, and economic independence.” But that is an entirely different sentence, which speaks more to the contemporary “work-life balance” language we all know well.

Whether for Du Bois life work (or lifework?) is defined as the main work we carry out over a lifetime, or perhaps is closer to a sense of purpose, a strengthening of character, and a spiritual awakening, the significance of work remains. This holds true whether it alludes to church women amassing millions of dollars in property to support their communities, or anti-slavery leaders like Mary Ann Shadd , Harriet Tubman , or Sojourner Truth pursuing activism. “Not being expected to be merely ornamental, [women] have girded themselves for work, instead of adoring their bodies only for play,” Du Bois writes.

I try to think of “life work” whenever I come across a new email from Columbia University’s Office of Work/Life. Like many of us in this age leftists call “neoliberalism” or “late capitalism,” I live my work and work my life. Even as the separation of the two grows thinner and thinner, and as my frustrations with the university’s structures wear on me, I can’t afford to forget the bursts of life-giving energy—what Rosa Luxemburg called “unobstructed, effervescing life fall[ing] into a thousand new forms and improvisations, bring[ing] to light creative new force.” This kind of imaginative wildness found in “life work,” I hope, has nothing to do with being a professional.

Recently in Vulture , art critic Jerry Saltz opened a hard-headedly titled guide “ How to be an artist: 33 rules to take you from clueless amateur to generational talent (or at least help you live life a little more creatively) ” by writing, “Art is for anyone. It’s just not for everyone.” I won’t say anything about art (not now, at least), but I do believe, however naively, that reading is for anyone and everyone. “High” and “low” are racist and classist terms—I tend to try to forget about it. Black queer culture has taught us that it’s not only texts that get read, it’s you and me, and your mama.

In 2018, I read little for pleasure. I read for work. I worked at home. I worked in different countries, different beds. The less I read, the less together I was emotionally and thus creatively. My relationship to working, and the conditions that I work and read through, are both what sustain me and condemn me. After a breakup, I dated more than ever this year, which was still not much, but with these new people who had been in my life barely a minute, I would give them everything: time, dreams, dinners, desire. After all, everything is not much when you feel like you have nothing. I couldn’t stop comparing their exterior with my interior. The terror would stop, however momentarily, when I devoured the insides of a text.

In other words, when there is nothing left to be done, I read. Words are just dictionary entries until you decide they’re worth another chance at life.

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Illustration of a librarian holding out a book

The experts: librarians on 20 easy, enjoyable ways to read more brilliant books

Do you love reading – but all too often find yourself just scrolling through your phone or watching TV? Here is how to get lost in literature again

I n the age of digital distractions, it is easy to struggle to find the time and headspace to get lost in literature. How can you get back into the habit? Librarians share the best ways to rediscover reading, make it a regular habit – and their tips for the most unputdownable books.

1. Don’t beat yourself up if you haven’t read in years

“A whole combination of things have come together in an unfortunate way to make it harder for people to read,” says Nancy Pearl, who is referred to as “ America’s librarian ” and lives in Seattle, where she worked for almost 40 years in public libraries. “The state of the world makes it very hard to read, because there is so much to worry about. People don’t have the energy to concentrate on reading as we used to.”

2. Listen to a book rather than ‘read’

“The thing about reading is that it is a choice that you make,” says Pearl. “You can read or you can go out in the garden and get rid of some weeds or watch the television. If you have consistently not found pleasure in reading, then you’re not going to choose reading, because it involves sitting down doing one thing at a time – except if you’re listening to audiobooks.

“I was a very late adopter of audiobooks. Now I would much rather listen to a book than sit down and read a book because I can do it while I’m walking.”

“Listening to an audiobook is reading,” says Louise Morrish, a librarian turned novelist who has worked at all kinds of libraries, including a haunted one, and now works at a secondary school in Hampshire. “There have been scientific studies where they’ve stuck sensors on to people’s heads, and the areas of the brain that are lighting up and connecting are the same when you’re listening to a story as when you’re reading it yourself.”

3. Join a library

“Your local library is a really good source,” says Morrish. “The librarians there are brilliant at helping you find books and it is free: you can take a punt on something and won’t have wasted money.”

“I always suggest going to the library or bookstore and talking about what you’re looking for,” says Pearl. “Say: ‘I just read this book, I want another book just like it.’”

There is so much more than just books in libraries. Danny Middleton works at Manchester Central Library , which has to be the coolest public library in Britain (and officially the busiest, with 4,200 visitors a day), offering murder mystery nights, silent discos and drag bingo. Middleton is in charge of reader development, which involves “encouraging people to come through the doors and discover what magic is inside”, he says. “Once we get them in the library, then it’s bam! You can’t go out until you’ve joined.”

4. Widen your search

“Think about books that you have liked in the past,” says Morrish. “Searching on the internet for ‘books like …’ or ‘books written like …’ is always a good place to start. Goodreads is incredible. It has lists and lists of books: novels, short stories, thrillers. There are so many bespoke lists on there so you can find books that you fancy. A new website – shepherd.com – collates books in terms of your interests. You can type in, ‘I want to read books about women who have overcome adversity,’ and you’ll have people on there who have curated lists of books with that as the subject matter.”

Morrish also recommends BookTok and following authors and book bloggers on social media, which she says is a “fantastic corner of the internet to hang out”. Joining a local book club “is a really good way of meeting people who love books”, Morrish says.

5. Work out what you are drawn to in books

For some readers this will be characters, for others it will be a sense of place, but for most it is all about the plot, says Pearl. “One book that satisfies all three of those needs is Larry McMurtry ’s Pulitzer prize-winning Lonesome Dove,” says Pearl. “It is the story of two Texas Rangers after the [American] civil war, taking a herd of cattle across the United States to be slaughtered. You will never forget the experience of meeting those two characters. And for those who are plot people, oh my gosh, the story of that cattle drive, and what happens on the way, that keeps the pages turning.”

Illustration of a man putting birthday candles in a book

6. Create a positive reading routine

“My big life hack is to read every single day,” says Morrish. “I read every night without fail, even if it’s just for five minutes or a page. You get through a book that way. You don’t lose your place or forget what is going on in the story. It becomes a habit.” If you are too tired at night, “you could create a routine where you read when you commute or listen to an audiobook when you walk the dog”, Morrish suggests. Setting a reading target can be a good incentive: “Say to yourself: ‘This month I’m going to try to read two books a week.’ And if you reach that target, give yourself a treat,”.

7. Read what you love

Finding the right thing to get back into reading depends entirely on your preferences, says Middleton, who doesn’t “do grisly”. But for many people, crime and thrillers are very accessible, with Richard Osman, James Patterson, Ann Cleeves and Lee Child particularly hot in Manchester, Middleton says. “Don’t be put off reading things by worrying about what other people might think,” says Ian Cooke, head of contemporary British and Irish collections at the British Library in London. “Loads of people love reading romance and it’s a really strong, innovative genre. I love reading comics, which some people think isn’t ‘proper reading’; it’s a different type of literacy.”

8. Be open minded

“Experiment with trying something new,” says Cooke, which you can do easily through public libraries. “If you don’t like something, take it back, borrow something else.” He gives poetry as an example, which he got into eight years ago after previously being slightly scared by it: “It’s like music; it’s people talking about their experiences in very personal ways.” Charlotte Wetton is a current favourite poet of Cooke’s. “Try to read as widely as you can because your tastes may have changed if you’ve had a gap,” says Morrish. “You may have once loved vampire books but now you’ve moved on to something else.”

9. Consider nonfiction

If you struggle to get into a story, head to the non-fiction aisle, says Morrish. “I’m very interested in the gut microbiome at the moment so am finding books on that. If you watch a lot of true crime on television, there are loads of books out there that are based on true crime cases. Biographies and memoirs are very readable, too.” Literary prizes can offer inspiration: “The Women’s prize have their inaugural prize for non-fiction this year and there is the Walter Scott prize for historical fiction,” says Morrish. “Reading comes in all forms – magazines, catalogues, books, short story collections, manuals – it doesn’t have to be a novel.”

10. Pick up a Quick Read

Middleton suggests the Quick Reads series, which are short and accessible versions of novels and non-fiction. “Massive authors contribute page-turning thrillers, comedy or holiday read romances. They are written in very accessible English, with short, snappy chapters, and are only about 150 to 200 pages.”

An illustration of a dog bringing a woman a book

11. Remove any distractions

When reading, “turn your phone off or put it in a different room”, says Morrish. “It is the biggest distraction possible. For children particularly, if they get a notification on their phone, then they’re off and they don’t get back to the book.”

12. Surround yourself with books

“Leave books lying around your home that look enticing,” says Mariesa Dulak, a librarian at a primary school in Ealing, west London and a children’s author . This is a helpful technique to encourage yourself and family members to read more: “If you let children see you reaching for a book rather than your phone, then it is going to make them want to read, too.” This can also be replicated in the workplace says Middleton: “If you have books in the staff room, when you’re sat having a brew, the books will be staring at you and you might be tempted to pick one up.”

13. It is never too early to establish good reading habits

Start reading to kids as soon as possible, says Dulak. “If you are taking your baby out with the buggy, in the same way that you might pack a snack, make sure you’ve got a board book in there which they can interact with. Hearing you read the words out loud to them is such an important part of learning language: there is nothing that a child likes more than their parent’s voice.”

14. Read aloud

“Somehow we stop reading to kids when they learn to read themselves,” says Pearl. “One of the best things to do is to set aside a part of the evening for a family read, which can be all of you sitting around reading, not having your phone handy. I do think reading out loud through the teen years is a great way to share that experience with your children.” Cooke recommends attending or tuning in online to an author reading, such as through the library Living Knowledge network.

15. Keep a reading diary

“Write down what you’re reading, who wrote it, who published it and what you thought of it,” says Cooke. “So over time, you can go back, see what you’ve read and what you’ve liked. It doesn’t have to be very involved, just a couple of sentences to jog your memory.”

An illustration of a man holding a book

16. Ebook or print?

“Print,” says Middleton. “I’m old school, I like holding it in my hands and turning the page. I like an audiobook when I’m doing the ironing, though.” Pearl adds: “I read Susie Boyt’s book Loved and Missed recently and that was a book that I really needed to hold to encounter the words and the characters myself.” Dulak says: “I would say that a Kindle has its place but only when I’m on holiday,”

Cooke is an ebook enthusiast: “What’s really exciting about digital is it can allow new ways to tell stories and engage people, such as books that include the reader making a choice as they go through or [a book] that reacts to the reader’s environment.” He recommends Breathe by Kate Pullinger , a ghost story that is designed to be read on your phone and uses data about you to create a personal experience of the book based on your circumstances.

17. Avoid fines

The best way to do this, says Dulak, is to “keep your books visible – not under the bed – and in the same place so you always know where they are”. “Don’t fear the fine,” says Cooke. “Find out what your library’s policy is, how to renew online, and set a calendar alert.”

18. For the perfect unputdownable holiday read, try …

Pearl: “What I would look for is a good saga or a really good fantasy novel. Rosamunde Pilcher was a great holiday book writer.”

Morrish: “For people who don’t read regularly, I would recommend Tahereh Mafi , a crossover author who writes adult and YA. Her writing style is almost like a text message: short, sharp chapters, written in stream of consciousness.”

Middleton: “The Tales of the City books by Armistead Maupin. I’m halfway through the new one – it’s brilliant.”

Cooke: “ 80 Days by Inkle Studios , an online retelling of the classic in which you help Phileas Fogg around the world and get drawn into your own adventures too.”

Dulak: “The Skandar series by AF Steadman is good for kids because it’s got bloodthirsty unicorns and Harry Potter-esque magic but with a more contemporary twist. For older readers, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, a beautifully written page-turner about love, loss and gaming.”

19. Know when to give up

The librarians agree on the 50-page rule. “Read to the bottom of page 50,” says Pearl. “If you’re enjoying it, of course go on. If you just can’t slog through it, then stop reading. If all you care about is, did they get the killer?, then turn to the last page.” She adds: “As my 50s came and went, I realised that you don’t have enough time left to read all the books that you want to read. So if you’re 51 and up, subtract your age from 100 and that number, which gets smaller every year, is the number of pages you should read before you can guiltlessly give up on a book. When you turn 100, the ultimate reward is that you can judge a book by its cover.”

20. Read a book and reap the rewards

“If you take 10 minutes a day to sink into a book, newspaper or read anything, it is very good for your mental health,” says Middleton. “There is lots of medical evidence of that being the case. Reading a book for 10 minutes is better for you than listening to your favourite record.”

Morrish makes a final impassioned plea: “It has been scientifically proven that reading increases your powers of empathy, social skills and ability to relate to other people. It relaxes you, it lowers your cortisol levels and blood pressure. It increases your vocabulary, your knowledge, creativity and imagination. If you read for pleasure, your grades will be better. To read from a book gives you time off the screen, which is hugely beneficial for your mental health.”

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Reading Life

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“Arthur has taken the essay and filled it, over and over, with his singular insights and perceptions. The form is especially suited to his temperament. Beginning in 1999 with Irish Nocturnes , he has shown, through many collections, how wide-ranging, compelling and illuminating this particular, and often undervalued, brand of literature can be... What he is aiming for, and achieves [in Reading Life ] is ‘a closer, deeper reading of a few fragments of experience’... his essays branch out into a web of allusions, without sacrificing their hold on the particular. Always erudite and entertaining, Chris Arthur goes his own way, keeping his mind independent and all his senses alert... It’s all exhilarating.”

Patricia Craig, The Irish Times , January 6th 2018 (the full review can be read here )

How do you read a girl's bare feet, a fallen fuchsia blossom, or the act of throwing a gun into a reservoir's deep water? In Reading Life Chris Arthur continues his essayistic explorations, using this fascinating and flexible literary form to fashion fourteen exquisitely crafted readings whose lyricism often suggests poetry as much as prose. Sometimes reading is meant literally and books are the point of focus; sometimes it's meant metaphorically with the objects and events around us being read. But whether he's considering child prostitution in Paris, Flann O'Brien's great comic novel At Swim-Two-Birds , a whale's tooth, a bayonet, or the poems of Seamus Heaney, common to all of these readings is a search for the meanings that lie behind the superficialities of ordinary discourse.

The book's epigraph — taken from Alberto Manguel's A History of Reading  — emphasizes its main theme:

We all read ourselves and the world around us in order to glimpse what and where we are. We read to understand, or to begin to understand. We cannot do but read. Reading, almost as much as breathing, is our essential function.

This is how Reading Life begins:

The Shimna — whose name in Irish means "river of the bulrushes" — rises in the Mourne mountains near Lough Shannagh and meets the sea at Newcastle, County Down, a town whose setting must be one of the most beautiful in Europe. It's where, in the words of Percy French's famous song, "the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea." They really do, and Newcastle, with its main street and esplanade built only a stone's throw from the waves, enjoys the majestic backdrop of the mountains rising steeply and spectacularly behind it. For part of its way, the Shimna flows through Tollymore (from Tulaigh mhór , "the big hillock"), a forest park whose densely wooded acres on the lower slopes of the Mournes offer a delightful choice of walks. My favorite involves crossing the river by a set of stepping stones. If the river is in spate, the stones can become impassable. In a dry midsummer, when the water level is sufficiently low, the stepping stones and their foundations protrude like a recumbent section of battlements affixed to the river bed. You can walk up and down their steps quite dryly almost all the way across. With only a trickle of flow, the river reduced to a few puddled threads of shallow, sluggish movement, it's more like walking on some ruined castle's crenellated wall than crossing a stretch of water. The most challenging conditions are when the spaces between the steps are entirely submerged, just managing to contain the snaking currents coursing through them, and the steps themselves — a dozen diamond-shaped granite blocks greened with moss — seem like a little linear archipelago, the islands separated by the Shimna's powerful flow. They offer a line of steps — at once enticing and intimidating — only millimeters above the river's level. Going across under these conditions is as close to walking on water as any of us is likely to experience. It requires concentration. The river's great moving sweep right at your feet is mesmerizing. It can undermine even a strong sense of balance. I've seen some walkers take a few unsteady steps across, falter, almost topple and then retreat, preferring to continue on the bank-side path and cross at the bridge further upstream, rather than risk falling in or being stranded halfway over by a sense of water-induced vertigo.

At one point on the walk by the Shimna, not long after crossing the stepping stones, you come to a high bank that affords a good view of some of the river's largest pools. These must be seven or eight feet deep at least, but the water is so clear you can make out the precise shape of every stone at the bottom. The water has a definite greenish tinge to it. I'm not sure if this is caused by some kind of mineral dissolved in it, or if it's the color of the stones on the river bed that gives the water this particular tint. Or maybe it's a property of the overhanging trees, their verdant shade making the water take on the appearance of a weak, leafy brew. Whatever the cause of this coloration, I've often watched salmon swimming in these green-deep pools, their sleek forms moving effortlessly in their element — ghostly torpedoes hinting at the presence of a another world close to, yet different from, our own.

Watching the salmon always reminds me of the traditional tale of Finn MacCool and the Salmon of Knowledge. Finn (to use the common Anglicization of Fuin Mac Cumhal or Fionn Mac Cumhaill ) is one of the great heroes of Irish mythology. Tradition has it that he was destined to become leader of the band of warriors known as the Fianna. To join this elite group — let alone become its leader — demanded more than merely military prowess. Finn knew he would have to be well-versed in traditional poetry and learning too (would that such literary accomplishments were always a prerequisite for those who take up arms). Accordingly, so the legend goes, the young Finn apprenticed himself to Finnegas the Bard, a renowned poet who had been living on the banks of the river Boyne for seven years, perfecting his art and trying to catch the Salmon of Knowledge. An ancient prophecy foretold that whoever ate this fabled fish would gain all the wisdom of the world. The salmon lived in a deep pool in the river overhung by oak trees. I imagined it having the same green translucence as the Shimna's pools at Tollymore.

One day, after all his years of effort, Finnegas finally catches the elusive salmon of knowledge. He instructs his acolyte to prepare it, warning Finn that under no circumstances must he eat any of it himself. The story tells how Finn faithfully obeys his master, but that some hot fat from the cooking fish spits onto his thumb. Without thinking, he puts his thumb in his mouth and sucks it to relieve the pain — and in that moment becomes enlightened. Bringing the fish to Finnegas, the poet immediately notices the change in his young disciple. Questioning him, he discovers what has happened and instructs Finn to eat the rest of the salmon, whose knowledge, so we are told, came from having eaten the nuts of nine hazel trees that grew beside a magic undersea well.

In Theories of Everything , astronomer John Barrow suggests that myths "do not arise from data or as solutions to practical problems." Instead, "they emerge as antidotes" for humankind's feelings of "smallness and insignificance." Given our position in the world, and the fact that so much is beyond our understanding or control, it's not surprising that we feel the need for consoling antidotes that hint at fathomable meanings. Stories offer some kind of psychological compensation for not being in control, for feeling overwhelmed by the scale and complexity of things and their often baffling lack of sense. The story of Finn and the Salmon of Knowledge offers a kind of narrative balm for the fact that our understanding can only ever be partial. What I particularly like about it is the way the story celebrates the rich fecundity of fragments. A single fish that is the embodiment of all knowledge, hazelnuts that contain the secret of everything — these are wonderful symbols for the depths of meaning contained in the ordinary, seemingly simple things around us. From a tiny splinter of being — a splash of hot fat — Finn gains insight into totality.

One summer afternoon after I'd crossed the stepping stones and was watching the salmon swimming with their mysterious heavy gracefulness in the Shimna's green-deep pools, a dog appeared on the opposite bank. He too spotted the salmon and proceeded to try to catch them, jumping in with ungainly splashes — pounces of tremendous energy, but complete ineptitude. They posed no danger to the fish; depth and refraction kept them safe. The transparency of the water and the dark, alluring shapes moving below, seemingly so close, kept the dog entranced. He jumped in repeatedly, pausing on the bank only for long enough to let the ripples settle so that the swimming shapes could be seen clearly again. Their tantalizing presence caused him to bark and growl excitedly, to wag his tail uncontrollably, as the puzzlingly elusive forms beckoned to instincts that could not be resisted.

I'd not thought of Tollymore, the stepping stones, or the salmon-chasing dog for years. But faced with trying to explain the nature of this book, they came back to me again. I don't know how I knew to summon them from whatever stratum of the mind holds the ore of metaphor, nor did I do so consciously, but I'm glad they returned.

At first, the stepping stones were what I welcomed most. They seemed to offer a fitting symbol for what Reading Life attempts. I liked the idea of seeing it as building a series of crossing points across life's rivers, laying down footholds close to — right in — the water of experience so that we can feel its surge and flow, savor the rich flavors that it carries. The way each stepping stone is self-contained, yet contributes to the line of steps of which it's a part, seemed to fit my style of writing more than, say, a bridge would, with its one continuous structure, more elaborate building materials, less simple construction technique, and the promise of more distanced — albeit safer — crossings.

But it wasn't long before the comparisons I smelted out of this piece of metaphorical ore buckled and failed. There are too many dissimilarities between actual stepping stones and those in Reading Life to allow the parallel to stand unchallenged. With the Shimna stones, you can see across to where you want to go; both banks of the river are in plain sight. The steps offer a direct way across, a straight line that runs from one side to the other. The stones themselves are regularly spaced and on a uniformly solid foundation. None of them tip or wobble. You can see all of them at once in a single glance, imagine your passage across before setting out. Their flat tops are made with the size and shape of a foot in mind. They're fixed, immovable, designed to take a weight. The stepping stones I've assembled here, by contrast, offer no such reassuring certainties. They're rarely linear and walking on them often feels like attempting to cross the Shimna when the river is in massive spate, the current tugging powerfully at your ankles. Not only are the stones submerged by the surging flow of whatever river they're attempting to offer a way across, but they've also been dislodged from any pattern of secure alignment, making it necessary to feel forward precariously, testing for steady footing. There are no guarantees that there will be another stone, or that what's laid out will bring you to dry land.

I've not given up on the stepping stone comparison completely, thus its presence here. But, in the end, out of all the metaphorical ore my memories of Tollymore offered, it was the dog and the salmon that seemed to mirror most closely the way Reading Life proceeds. I've come to think of my writing as attempting to catch some of the unexpected salmon I see moving in life's pools. They're not the Shimna's sleek, torpedo-bodied fish, but instead have all manner of unlikely guises — a child's feet, a whale's tooth, a wartime pistol, three old walking sticks, books by Flann O'Brien, Michel de Montaigne, Seamus Heaney and other writers. Such things may not have been fed by magic hazelnuts growing by an undersea well, but each of the fragments that have caught my eye seems laden with a cargo that's worth teasing out, however commonplace they may at first appear. Like the Shimna salmon, they hint at the presence of another realm of meaning close to, yet different from, our workaday preoccupations.

The fact that I was born in Belfast and grew up in Northern Ireland, at a particularly turbulent time in that small country's history, means that many of my salmon bear distinctive Ulster markings — sometimes scars. The fact that I left Ireland in my twenties and that, in any case, my reading had already taken me to distant destinations, means that my salmon also swim far beyond any Irish waters. And unlike the dog that simply hurled itself into the Shimna's green-deep pools, I can fish with all the sophisticated tackle words afford. If, like the dog, depth and refraction mean I miss my targets, I can only keep on trying. If, to a reader's eye, some of my salmon of knowledge seem more like sprats of inconsequence, I can only say that as we gaze into the waters around us we each must pursue whatever shapes strike us as worth catching.

The title of the book emphasizes its major concern —  reading . This is sometimes meant in the literal sense of reading books, sometimes in the broader, metaphorical sense of reading the objects and events around us. I've arranged the essays so as to alternate between these two senses. Common to all them is a search for the meanings that lie behind or beyond the superficial readings of ordinary discourse. "Reading Life" — the book's title essay — brings together the two fundamental threads of reading books and reading the world around us.

I know, of course, that I'm fishing for things I'll never catch. But the hope remains that a splash of water from the pools in which I cast my line will contain a few droplets that once brushed a salmon's side, and that these may find their way into my mouth and the mouths of my readers. Tasting them won't bring about some sudden, Finn-like moment of epiphany, a tsunami of realization in which everything falls into place. All they offer is a closer, deeper reading of a few fragments of experience. But such reading will, I hope, serve the function Alberto Manguel points to in the epigraph I've chosen for the book — namely that it will help us to catch some glimpses of what and where we are.

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"Chris Arthur has persisted, with wide critical success, in a deeply old-fashioned form of words: the essay. Arthur was once warden of a nature reserve on the shores of Lough Neagh, and his early life in Co Antrim still animates him... Few of his essays have ever been simple 'nature writing': the landscape and wildlife in Ulster serve as grist to a formidable intellectual mill. Reading Life , his sixth book, extends a seductive flow of speculation and connection."

Michael Viney, The Irish Times , 4 Nov 2017

“Every essay is engaging, and contains myriad twists, turns and treasures. Arthur’s prose is mesmeric and musical, his authorial voice quiet yet compelling, assured yet inquisitive ... the language is constantly inventive in imagery and vocabulary.”

Ellen Wiles, Times Literary Supplement , 6 Feb 2018

“Beneath the fizz and dance of memory and imagination that play so beautifully across his pages, is the single idea which is at heart, a devotional one. Pay attention, the essays say. Be still. This life all around us is larger, more mysterious than we are. Let us take our place within it. ... Why don’t more of us know more about this particular, extraordinary writer? ... Reading Life is a showcase of an essayist at the top of his game. Though each of his pieces is highly crafted and finished, they have a tentative, contingent quality to them that leaves them hanging in the air long after our reading.”

Kirsty Gunn, “Endangered Species”, Scottish Review of Books , 10 Feb 2018

“Sitting somewhere on the borderline of meditation and poem, Arthur’s gracefully composed essays are often profoundly moving. And this set, Reading Life , offers up much for deep contemplation... This is an exquisite collection.”

Frances Devlin-Glass, “Particularities of Time and Space” , Tinteán March 6 2018

“Like the French phenomenologists Gaston Bachelard and Francis Ponge, Chris Arthur explores the significance of everyday objects that we may otherwise take for granted. His lyrical essays probe the essence of objects as diverse as his daughter’s feet or a whale’s tooth and enable the reader to share in the consciousness of these intimate experiences….each fragment of each essay is a stepping stone to another level of meaning ... When Arthur quotes Kobayashi Issa’s haiku, ‘What a strange thing, / To be thus alive / Beneath the cherry blossoms,’ he makes us aware of the simplicity and complexity of man’s relation to art and nature. He doesn’t take for granted the most common objects, but instead teases out their variations, reading from them and into them ... Arthur’s essays breathe life into his chosen genre.”

Michael Greenstein, The Dalhousie Review , 97.3 (Autumn 2017): 434-436

“ Reading Life , keeps an eye on the particular while exploring perennial questions... Though essay collections rarely outshine crime novels, biographies, or histories on the best-seller lists, readers who come across a collection such as Chris Arthur’s Reading Life know its value.”

Greg Brown, World Literature Today , May 2018

“Chris Arthur has made an art out of the close scrutiny of seemingly insignificant experiences of life and of things, teasing out from them a wider meaning, and setting up reverberations far beyond what he begins with.”

David Burleigh, review of Reading Life , Journal of Irish Studies , Vol.XXXIII (2018), pp.136-139

“Arthur’s Ireland is a personal homeland, an imagined homeland: his imagination has created it from memories and other sources. He works out his own sense of Ireland and his own sense of self through a personal field of reference developed over a long period, using a variety of sources: pre-Christian and non-Christian religions, youthful memories, adventures in nature, family history, images, books, and everyday objects which he endows with symbolic significance…Instead of accepting a given identity from a religion or a society, Arthur shows how imagination and inquiry can create one’s own unique place in the world.”

Graham Good, “Talismans” , in the Dublin Review of Books , November 1st 2018

“The nuanced thoughtful nature of Chris Arthur’s prose belies the violence that the eye behind the text has witnessed. The ‘gentle brooding of who we are’ keeps brutality in check, grants perspective, always offers more, yet is aware too of the possibility that we can be catapulted back into a damaged broken sphere... Reading Life is [also] a treasure chest of quotes and thought-hatchings from many authors: classical and contemporary, European and American, but also Eastern. Flann O’Brien I’m sure would be delighted to swim alongside Montaigne, George Steiner, Basho, Heaney, Sven Birkerts, Annie Dillard — just to mention some of my own favourites. The lens of other eyes and observations constantly float in and out.”

Carol O’Connor, The Australasian Journal of Irish Studies , Vol.18 (2018), pp.156-158

“In ‘reading’ the objects of the world around us, Arthur offers a kind of enactment and commentary regarding the essayist’s purpose. ‘Essays deal in the shrapnel of being,’ he writes, ‘turning over now one piece, now another, carefully running the fingers of their prose along the edges, testing for sharpness, looking for hints of connection, feeling for the cut-off remnants of joins, trying to reconstruct a sense of setting, context, contiguity, extrapolating from the minuscule moments and objects that create a life reminders of the massive milieu in which they and it are embedded.’ The extended metaphor — stunning in its disruptive mashup of violence and contemplation — exemplifies Arthur’s method. He favors complex and suspended syntax; he crafts intricate details that subtly interconnect. Arthur’s essays have always worked by way of fragments, assembling mosaics or braiding multiple narratives. His style lies in the scope of these assemblages and the patient, measured pacing with which he brings the pieces together.”

Elizabeth Dodd, “The Shrapnel of Being,” The Florida Review , 42.2 (Fall 2018)

“There are fourteen essays here, many of which deal with themes of recollection, place, and language, and though all of them command attention some are particularly notable (the ones on fuchsia memories and ‘elderly’ walking sticks this reader found especially so). Because there is no overarching narrative but rather a playful, almost ludic engagement with the discarded and the everyday, the reader can dip in and out; indeed random, non-linearity not only works well but perhaps is the approach best suited for this kind of collection, especially when it comes to wider cultural matters.”

Glenn Hooper, Canadian Journal of Irish Studies , Vol.42 (2019), pp.264-266

“Few writers today can rival Chris Arthur in his mastery of the traditional essay, that endangered and slow-moving literary species which manages to survive despite the competing pressures of 24/7 journalism and the incessant clamor of everybody's infallible opinions. More interested in the glance than the gaze, the spark than the fire, Arthur — like so many great essayists — takes creative advantage of our strangest faculty: the wandering mind. I found Reading Life enchanting and invigorating, chock-full of those wonderful and surprising insights that come only from an inspired divided attention.”

Pre-publication quote from Robert Atwan, Series Editor, The Best American Essays

“Here is an essay to be read and read, to be pondered for its dazzling originality, and studied for its graceful style. Arthur considers George Steiner, Alberto Manguel, Walter Ong, Sven Birkerts, and other well-known scholars and critics, and he cites such writers as Chesterton, Borges, and Les Murray; but his principal example is J.A. Baker's Peregrine . This brilliantly original and prize-worthy essay reveals the joys of reading as we 'navigate a way through the mysterious transience of our existence' — 'the very life of life' and 'the secret world' of that life. Arthur not only introduces us to Baker but to the author himself — Chris Arthur — the maker and shaper of five books of essays. Read him.”

George Core, Editor of the Sewanee Review, in Sewanee Review , 120.4 (2012), p.87, commenting on an early version of Reading Life 's title essay, as it appeared in the Southwest Review in 2011

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"Fundamentally an essay is a train of thought — but a cleaned-up train of thought, as dialogue is cleaned-up conversation. Real thought, like real conversation, is full of false starts. It would be exhausting to read."

Paul Graham

Reading Life front cover

  • Introduction
  • Footnotes Reading my daughter's feet
  • Breath Reading an entry from the Goncourt brothers' Journal
  • Fuchsia Reading a patch of fallen blossom
  • When a Dog Barks Late at Night and Then Retires Again to Bed Reading Flann O'Brien's At Swim-Two-Birds
  • Priests Reading fishing and desecration
  • When the Time Comes to Leave Them Reading Montaigne
  • Tracks Reading footprints in the snow
  • Sonatina for Oboe and Bayonet Reading All Quiet on the Western Front
  • Describing a Thought-Path Reading a path along which I cycle nearly every day
  • Containing Agostino Reading a copy of Alberto Moravia's Novella
  • Scrimshaw Reading a whale's tooth
  • "Coincidences, Graces, Gifts" Reading Seamus Heaney
  • Memory Sticks Reading three old walking sticks
  • Reading Life Reading J.A. Baker's The Peregrine
  • Afterword Reading Essays

At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien

"When a Dog Barks Late at Night and then Retires Again to Bed" explores the experience of reading Flann O'Brien's great novel At Swim-Two-Birds in 1974, and rereading it several decades later. The essay includes this paragraph: "It's hard to measure the influence reading has on a life, let alone calculate the effect of any single book. Some titles carry so little in the waters of their text that the words just wash over us and vanish, leaving no discernible trace. Others are more like boulder-loaded waves, a turmoil of water and sediment pounding on our shores. They feel as if they leave us marked by the storm of their passage. But do we really understand what happens when a book touches us (or when it fails to)? Can reading rewire the psyche, leave an impression that's indelible, or is it no more than something of the moment, its impact evaporating as soon as we disengage the reading eye?"

Fuschia

Beside one of Leonardo da Vinci's famous anatomical drawings there's a comment written in the artist's hand: "How could you describe this heart in words without filling a whole book?" "Fuchsia" hints at how a description of fuchsia blossom can take on similar dimensions when it's closely attended to and the memories, connections and associations implicit in it are teased out.

A whale's tooth

This whale's tooth provides the pivot around which "Scrimshaw" weaves a meditation. "Looked at in one way, the tooth is just a remnant from childhood, an eccentric curio of little value to anyone but me. Looked at in another way, it feels almost like a relic, something made near numinous by the wonders it's festooned with. Like the Buddhists of Sri Lanka and their famous Temple of the Tooth, built to house what's said to be one of the Buddha's incisors, perhaps this essay is my way of enshrining the whale's tooth, placing it in the verbal equivalent of a jewel-studded reliquary."

The Peregrine by J A Baker

The title essay in Reading Life makes substantial reference to J.A. Baker's account of watching Peregrine Falcons over a ten year period. Arthur describes Baker's prose as "writing that binds us to life's jugular; its proximity to the pulse of being is sometimes startling, laced with a sense of naked immediacy."

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Corbin: There’s life-changing power in a second look

By nicola corbin - | apr 24, 2024.

reading is life essay

Photo supplied, Weber State Univesity

“The feature article and the cover photo reminded me of your award-winning essay of 20 years ago. … You were way ahead of your time.”

The email came from my mentor in the honors program at my undergraduate institution in June 2022. She had been reading a newsmagazine article and it triggered a memory, one that now has me thinking.

Have you ever been given a second look, which led to an opportunity, which then led to you achieving a dream or a goal? As we approach another graduation season, I’ve been reflecting on how life-changing second looks can be.

You see, that email from my honors adviser would never have happened if there hadn’t been a program in place 29 years ago at that university to take a second look at my college application. I was a new immigrant whose home country’s high school grades — in the top 10% of my class — translated here to Ds and Fs. My paper story was not that of the traditional college student. Thankfully, my application was sent to a program that gave it, and me, a second look.

I was brought in for an interview and learned how dismal my transcripts were. The counselor who conducted the interview plainly told me that, on paper, I did not meet the standards for the university. The tears pooled in my eyes, and I remember thinking that perhaps I could get a job at McDonald’s.

Then came the “however.” My SAT scores muddied the picture that the grades painted. He said if I successfully completed the program’s summer institute as a conditionally admitted student, I could be fully admitted to the university. Well, that crack in the door was all I needed. By fall, a few of us from the program were offered spots in the honors program, where I connected with this professor. She encouraged me to submit a class essay to a journal, and it won an award.

The program that granted me this second look was established from funding designated by the New Jersey Legislature following the 1967 riots in Newark to provide systemic opportunities to educationally and economically disadvantaged folks.

It was designed to support students with varying needs throughout college. It was where I found my first job as a tutor, where I became a resident assistant and AmeriCorps volunteer who helped first graders learn to read. More importantly, it was where this brand-new immigrant found friends, a community and counselors who deeply understood the social intricacies that my intersectional identities as an immigrant and a Black woman brought. This second look put me on the path to Weber State University.

Recently, efforts such as these have been moved to the cultural front burner and restricted. Honestly, it has been painful to imagine higher education without such programs designed to give a second look. As varied as our lives are, there will always be as many reasons to do so. For each of us, our paper story will never be our entire story, nor the final word on our potential. Imagine all the human talents we deprive the world of when we refuse to take a second look.

I’m proud to work at Weber State, an open enrollment university, whose faculty and staff look beyond our students’ paper stories so that people from all walks of life are able to achieve their academic dreams. And, when they celebrate their accomplishments at commencement in a few days, many of our graduates will be doing so because Weber State’s mission calls us all to take a second look.

Nicola A. Corbin is an associate professor of communication at Weber State University, where she teaches public relations and mass media courses and directs the university’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

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A painting of a young man who is holding a finger to his temple and furrowing his brow. He is wearing a dark green jacket.

Lord Byron Was Hard to Pin Down. That’s What Made Him Great.

Two hundred years after his death, this Romantic poet is still worth reading.

“Who would write, who had anything better to do?” Byron once said. Credit... Musée Fabre/Hulton Fine Art Collection, via Getty Images

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By Benjamin Markovits

Benjamin Markovits is the author of a trilogy of novels about Lord Byron, “Imposture,” “A Quiet Adjustment” and “Childish Loves.”

  • April 19, 2024

This week is the 200th anniversary of Lord Byron’s death. The most famous poet of his age (an odd phrase now) died fighting for Greek independence in the marshes of Missolonghi. “Who would write, who had anything better to do?” he once said. There was a strange contest over his body and memory: The lungs and larynx remained in Greece but friends carried the rest back to England, where huge crowds followed the funeral procession. A month after his death, his former editor burned his memoirs, worried they would damage the reputation of a superstar read around the world.

Does anyone read Byron now? He’s one of those unusual figures who have become better known for the lives they led than the books they wrote. Even some of his fans admire the letters more than the poems. It isn’t totally clear what it means to say that Byron is your favorite poet. Of the so-called Big Six Romantics, he’s the hardest to place. The hikers and the introverts read Wordsworth, the hippies love Blake, Keats is for the purists, Shelley for the political dreamers … and Byron? In spite of his fame, he lacks brand recognition. That’s partly because, halfway through his career, he decided to change the brand. “If I am sincere with myself,” he once wrote, “(but I fear one lies more to one’s self than to any one else), every page should confute, refute and utterly abjure its predecessor.”

All of which makes him a complicated sell. Academics trying to revive his reputation sometimes claim him as the anti-Romantic, a satirist who made fun of the movement’s clichés. Which is true. But he also wrote wonderful love poems, including two of his best-known lyrics, “ She Walks in Beauty ” and “ So We’ll Go No More a Roving .” Both are cleareyed about their own sentimentality, but more sad than satirical.

There are other ways of reclaiming him: as the first celebrity writer, as an early adopter of autofiction, for his sexual fluidity. He fell in love with both men and women, and slept with almost everybody, including his half sister, Augusta — which explains why his old editor, John Murray, decided to burn the memoirs.

Writers usually get famous because they touch a chord, and then keep playing it. And even if, as their work matures, they find ways to deepen the tone, it’s still recognizable; readers know what to expect from the product. And Byron touched a chord very young. His breakthrough poem — another odd phrase — was published when he was 24. “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage,” about a moody young nobleman who travels through war-torn Europe chased by some secret sorrow, made him a household name. Fan mail flowed in; women offered themselves in assignations. (Philip Roth joked in “The Ghost Writer” that for an author to get laid in New York you need only publish a couplet.) “Childe Harold” eventually stretched to four volumes.

Movie versions of Byron’s life tend to take the Childe Harold angle, presenting him as the beautiful young nobleman and exaggerating his Gothic or camp tendencies. He’s been played by Rupert Everett and Hugh Grant. You can find those elements in his writing, too, especially in the early verse, but then a few things changed. He got married, and the marriage went badly; he left England in 1816 and didn’t return; his fame hardened, and as it hardened, he began to realize that it didn’t really fit him.

People who met Byron for the first time expected him to be someone he wasn’t. This bugged him, not just as a human being but as a writer. He asked his friend Tom Moore to tell a well-known literary critic “that I was not, and, indeed, am not even now , the misanthropical and gloomy gentleman he takes me for, but a facetious companion, well to do with those with whom I am intimate, and as loquacious and laughing as if I were a much cleverer fellow.”

Byron was writing this from Venice after his separation from his wife. It was in many ways an unhappy couple of years. Still recovering from the trauma of his marriage, he overindulged himself, sexually and otherwise. The beautiful young nobleman was growing middle-aged. “Lord Byron could not have been more than 30,” one visitor remarked, “but he looked 40. His face had become pale, bloated and sallow. He had grown very fat, his shoulders broad and round, and the knuckles of his hands were lost in fat.” Some of Byron’s reputation for scandalous living dates to his stay in Venice. But he also made another literary breakthrough, finishing one long poem, “ Beppo ,” and starting his masterpiece, written “in the same style and manner” — “ Don Juan .”

“Don Juan” would occupy him for the rest of his short life. It cost him his relationship with Murray, who disapproved of the new tone in Byron’s writing. “You have so many ‘ divine ’ poems,” Byron told him. “Is it nothing to have written a Human one?” Around the time that Shelley was writing “ To a Skylark ” (“Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!”) and Keats was working on “ Ode to a Nightingale ” (“Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!”), Byron in “Beppo” was advising visitors who come to Venice for the Carnival to bring ketchup or soy with them, because Venetians give up sauce for Lent. But he was making a broader point, too. Poetical truths, about birds, about nature, don’t always rank high on the list of what matters. Poets should spend more time talking about things like money and food.

Part of what his early success taught him was to be suspicious of it, which meant being suspicious of writers — of the ways they lie to themselves and their readers. Keats, for example, was guilty of “a sort of mental masturbation,” Byron said. “I don’t mean that he is indecent but viciously soliciting his own ideas into a state which is neither poetry nor anything else.” The work of Leigh Hunt was “disfigured only by a strange style. His answer was that his style was a system … and, when a man talks of system, his case is hopeless.” Experience, Byron believed, was the real source of literary value. “Could any man have written it,” he said of “Don Juan,” “who has not lived in the world?”

But experience relies on the honesty of the writer, and honesty, as Byron knew, is not a simple virtue. His own style became increasingly hard to pin down and hard to imitate — there is nobody who writes quite like him. Sometimes he lays on the devices pretty thick (“He rushed into the field, and, foremost fighting, fell”), the way you might scatter salt over a meal to add all-purpose flavor. But he can also write poetry that is unabashedly prosy: “There might be one more motive, which makes two.” What he’s particularly good at is achieving vividness without metaphor or adjective: “I have imbibed such a love for money that I keep some Sequins in a drawer to count, & cry over them once a week.” This is classic Byron, self-mocking and sincere at the same time.

The overall effect is like someone pitching knuckle balls. He seems to be just tossing lines at you, almost carelessly or without effort, but they’re always moving unpredictably, and when you try to do it yourself, you realize how hard it is to throw without spin. Two centuries later, this still seems a talent worth celebrating.

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Europe in the World

The Arc of Human Life as an Introduction to Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Theological Contributions

Published: April 24, 2024

Author: Megan Heeder

Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988) was a Swiss theologian who was a prolific author, writing over 500 essays and articles and publishing 85 books. While impressive not only in quantity, but also in depth, his theological contributions were shaped by more than erudite reflections. His work as a student chaplain in Basel, Switzerland and friendship with Adrienne von Speyr heavily shaped his theology.

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Balthasar’s Life Out of Death serves as a study-in-miniature of the major themes of his sixteen-volume Trilogy, a three-part systematic theological exploration of Christ as beauty, goodness, and truth. Life Out of Death is as accessible in its manner of writing and size as the corpus of Balthasar’s work is dense and extensive. In it, Balthasar takes the course of a human life as his inspiration for meditations on how the Paschal Mystery (the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ) changes the nature of not only human death, but existence itself. Tracing how Christ’s Paschal Mystery fits within and transforms the arc of human life both serves as an introduction to Balthasar’s treatment of Christian themes and offers insights on how he draws rich theological conclusions from something as ordinary as the human life cycle.

Birth: Theological Anthropology

Life begins when a child is born, and realizes the miracle of her existence and acceptance into the world through her mother’s smile. As the child grows, she realizes within her development distinct truths about herself, the world, and others. Eventually, she asks herself what she wants to achieve in life. At this point, Balthasar observes the meeting of the eternal and transitory in the desire to create something permanent that transcends time, something which is a reflection of one’s personal uniqueness. He notes that part of being human is resisting the transitory state of the world through love or achievement, or both. Illustrating the everyday, yet remarkable nature of Balthasar’s theology, this point is not only a theological one. It is something which nearly every young person can relate to as they become aware of themselves as a person in the world, longing to make a difference in the lives of others and to push back against the injustices with their own achievement, love story, or unique existence. Balthasar once observed what is true today: that to exist is to grapple with the question of what matters most in one’s life, how to spend one’s time, and what one wishes to leave behind in pursuit of what matters.

What Will I Offer the World? The Unity of Divine Mission and Christian Serenity

As one seeks to answer these questions, they ask themselves what is worthy of their assent–that is, what do they want to say “yes” to, as they implicitly say “no” to the thousands of other lives they could live? This “yes,” Balthasar says, requires letting go of one’s self. It is in this letting-go that one finds oneself. This is true for Balthasar not only because of philosophical conclusions, but because of the mission of Jesus. One of Balthasar’s theological claims throughout his work is that Jesus’s mission is not external to Him, something He assents to and subsequently takes up. Rather, Jesus and His mission are one. His work of reconciling the world to God is who He is. He brings the eternal “into the field of the world” so that “the Kingdom of God [might] spring up in this field” (35). The eternal breaks into the temporal in the life of Christ. Christ’s life not only enacts reconciliation between God and humanity, but is God’s reconciliation with the world.

Like any person who wonders what their life will contribute to the world, Jesus is challenged by the work of doing something definitive within the transitory nature of human existence. Balthasar points to Christ’s death as the act which makes this paradox possible; because Christ died, our deaths have already taken place within him. What he has done is transferred eucharistically into us. Because of Jesus’s sacrifice, Christian serenity is possible. Our impending death need not worry us. Balthasar assures us that we are safe in the hands of the Father, who “will catch us in his fatherly hands, even if together with Jesus we feel ourselves abandoned, even if we seem to sink into a bottomless abyss.” (41)

One might ask what will come of the work we do in the world. Balthasar observes that insofar as we surrendered ourselves to the tasks we did, doing them not for our own glory or gain, the work that we have done on earth will be preserved. Such work mirrors the obedient surrender of Christ. It is only in this giving-away of self that transient tasks can be brought to fruition, the power to love is unleashed, and the human person imitates both the mission and person of Christ so that their death can be perfected.

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Love is as Strong as Death

The question of the legacy one will leave behind often intensifies as one realizes they will not live forever. Balthasar focuses intensely on the fact that Good Friday is not immediately followed by Easter Sunday’s Resurrection–rather, Holy Saturday lies in between them, a period of what Balthasar terms “letting oneself be taken.” Balthasar’s emphasis on Christ’s descent into Hell and what He endures there is one of his theology’s more controversial points.

The Resurrection does not heal Christ’s wounds. Balthasar notes that Christ’s opened heart–what he terms “the most deadly” of all of His wounds–remains open in the final life of the Resurrection. The peace He offers is that which death’s transfigured peace has entered, a peace accessible because He incorporated universal death into His own personal aliveness. In losing Himself in death, Christ brought about and made possible our, as well as His own and the Church’s, utmost aliveness.

Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter, and the Ascension are all inextricably connected in Balthasar’s view–in Christ, in the Church’s liturgical life, and in the life of individuals. The interconnection of death and life within the cycle of human life is much the same–a single day can be marked by literal or metaphorical deaths, births, and moments of surrender that can become glorified when united with those of Jesus.

In the end, Balthasar says, life and death are united in mission. But, he warns, their intertwined transformation takes place on the condition that one not forget how dark a life of self-abandonment can be if resistances to love are to be overcome, and themselves transfigured. But hope of this transfiguration persists as the communion of saints sings that “love is strong as death” (Song 8:6f).

Suggested further reading:

Balthasar, Hans Urs von. Engagement with God. Translated by R. John Halliburton. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2008.

Balthasar, Hans Urs von. Life Out of Death: Meditations on the Paschal Mystery. Translated by Martina Stockl. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012.

Balthasar, Hans Urs von. Love Alone is Credible. Translated by D.C. Schindler. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2004.

Balthasar, Hans Urs von. Mysterium Paschale. Translated by Aidan Nichols. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 1993.

Nichols, Aidan. A Key to Balthasar: Hans Urs von Balthasar on Beauty, Goodness, and Truth. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011.

About the author

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Megan Heeder holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Marquette University. Her area of specialty is in Systematics and Ethics, particularly engaging resources from the Catholic intellectual tradition to develop a moral theological approach to eating disorders in a digital age, including Balthasar’s theological aesthetics.

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6 Common Leadership Styles — and How to Decide Which to Use When

  • Rebecca Knight

reading is life essay

Being a great leader means recognizing that different circumstances call for different approaches.

Research suggests that the most effective leaders adapt their style to different circumstances — be it a change in setting, a shift in organizational dynamics, or a turn in the business cycle. But what if you feel like you’re not equipped to take on a new and different leadership style — let alone more than one? In this article, the author outlines the six leadership styles Daniel Goleman first introduced in his 2000 HBR article, “Leadership That Gets Results,” and explains when to use each one. The good news is that personality is not destiny. Even if you’re naturally introverted or you tend to be driven by data and analysis rather than emotion, you can still learn how to adapt different leadership styles to organize, motivate, and direct your team.

Much has been written about common leadership styles and how to identify the right style for you, whether it’s transactional or transformational, bureaucratic or laissez-faire. But according to Daniel Goleman, a psychologist best known for his work on emotional intelligence, “Being a great leader means recognizing that different circumstances may call for different approaches.”

reading is life essay

  • RK Rebecca Knight is a journalist who writes about all things related to the changing nature of careers and the workplace. Her essays and reported stories have been featured in The Boston Globe, Business Insider, The New York Times, BBC, and The Christian Science Monitor. She was shortlisted as a Reuters Institute Fellow at Oxford University in 2023. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade as an editor and reporter at the Financial Times in New York, London, and Boston.

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