Reading has entertained, educated, empowered, and enhanced human life since reed met papyrus. Yet, somewhere along our educational journey, reading has become a chore and a bore. Between the hundreds of pages of U.S. History and Physics textbooks, the joy of reading seems to vanish. The statistics reflect this, as of adult Americans report that they have not read another book in the past year. This disinterest in reading could have something to do with what people believe about reading. When we think of reading, we tend to think of school-related study or leisure reading. But the reading can have so many other purposes.
While there are many motives for reading, I will mainly address pleasure (escapism and entertainment), knowledge, self-improvement, cultural enrichment, and education. While there may be some overlap, these categories provide one with an understanding of some types of reading.
The majority of fiction readers fall into the category of pleasure readers. These are people who read not just for fun but also for the sake of reading. They would stick to books that are enjoyable to them and often find either a specific author or book genre that they enjoy. They may be grouped as science fiction lovers, historical fiction admirers, and romance-book eaters. I am a big fan of historical and biblical fiction. ("" is a classic!) If you are not sure where to start, I recommend thinking about what interests you and pick up a book about it! Enjoy traveling? Pick up a travel memoir. Interested in the history of Medieval Spain? Pick up historical fiction based in that era. Eventually, going through your lists of interest will help you find what you enjoy. Recommendations from friends, websites, and lists of books on a topic can also aid you in your quest.
Then comes knowledge. This type of reading is typically done at school as you are reading to gain information and knowledge about a specific topic. The topic could be anything from how to build a house to understanding why the Crusades occurred. People tend to zone in on a topic they are interested in and read as much as possible about that interest. As a passionate history nerd, I read many history-related books, such as "" or "" If you enjoy sciences or other such topics, scientific journals and books such as "" might interest you.
Similar to knowledge are the categories of cultural enrichment and education. These are different from just knowledge because the motives are different. Knowledge, as I am using it, is mainly about your passion or interest, whereas educational reading is more about exploring unfamiliar areas to become a better-rounded person. This might include reading the latest fiction works to familiarize yourself with modern writing, or it might mean digging into the Spanish influenza epidemic–something you may know nothing about. Cultural enrichment focuses on reading that helps you understand a culture, people, or period. For instance, you might read "" to gain a better understanding of the struggles faced by Asian Americans during WW2. Or you may read "", a memoir of an African American man describing the life of his white mother paralleled with his own, to provide a glimpse of the struggles of biracial people.
Self-improvement reading is mainly composed of books that, you guessed it, help improve your life. It might include reading a how-to manual for car repairs or "".
There are still many other reading subcategories that exist, but I hope this showed you where to start falling in love with books again. Reading is a valuable and diverse tool that allows you to expand your horizons and relax, all while sitting on the couch.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of 日韩AV. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, 日韩AV or the Seventh-day Adventist church.