How to read Longer, Better and Faster
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My journey with books started when I was in 3rd grade. After every parent-teacher meeting, there used to be a Scholastic fair in my school. I was amazed by the sheer number of books I used to see there, all with different colors and pictures on them. I always used to buy at least two books there, although I rarely completed them. As time passed by I started visiting my school library quite frequently. During once such visit I discovered the Famous Five series, and I was hooked on reading from that point onwards.
I slowly and steadily started to discover a whole new world in books. After couple of years of doing so, whenever I visited a big bookstore, I used to vigorously search for bulky classical novels. Charles Dickens used to be my favorite at that time, since his novels were not that expensive and were quite lengthy too. I enjoyed long novels because they don’t end that fast, and I have more new worlds to discover. From then on, fiction was my favorite genre.
For anyone who wants to get better at reading and writing, I would recommend picking up any book and just jumping into it. It does not matter if it is fiction or nonfiction. In the beginning, when you are building a habit of reading, the most important thing is to enjoy the process. Your mind needs to get used to the idea of going through pages after pages and building the words of that book into a facinating imaginary world.
As you will get used to reading lengthier books you will start noticing drastic increase in your reading speed. Over the years I have experienced that one cannot force increase the speed, rather it has to come naturally.
Once you get the hang of spending time with a book, reading on more complex subjects won’t be painful. I have experienced that over the years. Now even bulkier technology books does not seem that daunting. Today’s world of instant gratification and endless scrolling has reduced our attention span to a mere couple of minutes. We need stimulation every other moment. It is increasingly becoming a challenge to keep our minds engaged in a single topic for long duration. In this effort to increase the focus of the mind, I believe reading will go a long way. Some of my very first fiction reads are below, click on the title in order to navigate to the book.
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (story of an orphan boy)
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (story of a survivor stuck on an island)
For those interested in mystery and detective stories I would recommend: -
Sherlock Homes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde
For those interested in more mature themes: -
Animal Farm by George Orwell (A Riveting Tale of Revolution and Betrayal)
1984 by George Orwell
Some of the most unforgettable sci fi books I ever read: -
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
For the medically inclined and fitness enthusiast:
How not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger (talks about how a vegetarian diet can not only help in preventing disease but also reversing them).
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker (one of my favorites)
There is also a popular website called Project Gutenberg. It has a great collection of eBooks absolutely free.
If you are constantly on a move and cannot carry too many books, you can try the Amazon Kindle, I personally have used it over the years to enjoy distraction free reading on the go.
Go ahead and pick any of the above to start your incredible journey. Wish you best of luck in your quest to read more and more. Do let me know which one of the above was your favorite and why😉.
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