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NaijaStories Reading Club

Public Group active 3 days, 12 hours ago

As writers, reading is one of our best tools. We need to read voraciously. Thankfully we are in a group where there is plenty of writing to be devoured FREELY, let’s make good use of this DATA BANK by reading and commenting on stories we read.

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Benefits of Reading.

This topic contains 3 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by Avatar of ostar ostar 10 months, 1 week ago.

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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  • #100416
    Avatar of Ellie
    Ellie
    Participant
    @elly (Writer with 7687 pts)

    I just felt we should remind ourselves that reading is fun and it has its own gains, please lets all share what we have gained from books we have read or reading in general. Here is what i saw somewhere and i agree with it:

    Reading is an active mental process: Unlike sitting in front of the idiot box (TV), reading makes you use your brain. While reading you would be forced to reason out many things which are unfamiliar to you. In this process you would use the grey cells of your brain to think and become smarter.

    Reading improves your vocabulary: Remember in elementary school when you learned how to infer the meaning of one word by reading the context of the other words in the sentence? You get the same benefit from book reading. While reading books, especially challenging ones, you will find yourself exposed to many new words you wouldn’t be otherwise.

    Gives you a glimpse into other cultures and places of the world: How would you know about the life of people in Mexico if you don’t read about it? Reading gives you an insight into the diversity of ethnicity of people, their customs, their lifestyles etc. You become more aware about the different places and the code of conduct in those places.
    Improves concentration and focus: It requires you to focus on what you are reading for long periods. Unlike magazines, Internet posts or e-Mails that might contain small chunks of information, books tell the whole story. Since you must concentrate in order to read, like a muscle, you will get better at concentration.

    Builds self-esteem: The more you read, the more knowledgeable you become. With more knowledge comes more confidence. More confidence builds self-esteem. So it’s a chain reaction. Since you are so well read, people look to you for answers. Your feelings about yourself can only get better.

    Improves memory: Many studies show if you don’t use your memory, you lose it. Crossword puzzles are an example of a word game that staves off Alzheimer’s. Reading, although not a game, helps you stretch your memory muscles in a similar way. Reading requires remembering details, facts and figures and in literature, plot lines, themes and characters.

    Improves your discipline: Making time to read is something we all know we should do, but who schedules book reading time every day? Very few… That’s why adding book reading to your daily schedule and sticking to it, improves discipline.

    Improves creativity: Reading about diversity of life and exposing yourself to new ideas and more information helps to develop the creative side of the brain as it imbibes innovation into your thinking process.

    You always have something to talk about: Have you ever found yourself in an embarrassing situation where you didn’t have anything to talk about? Did you hate yourself for making a fool of yourself? Do you want a remedy for this? It’s simple. Start reading. Reading widens your horizon of information. You’ll always have something to talk about. You can discuss various plots in the novels you read, you can discuss the stuff you are learning in the business books you are reading as well. The possibilities of sharing become endless.

    Reduces boredom: One of the rules I have is if I am feeling bored, I will pick up a book and start reading. What I’ve found by sticking to this is that I become interested in the book’s subject and stop being bored. I mean, if you’re bored anyway, you might as well be reading a good book, right?

#103318
Avatar of starrilyn
starrilyn
Participant
@starrilyn (Junior Writer with 4930 pts)

Indeed. Reading does all of this and so much more. The more we read, the more we learn; and the more we learn, the more we know; and the more we know, the more we can achieve.

#103319
Avatar of Tola Odejayi
Tola Odejayi
Participant
@TolaO (Senior Scribe with 25004 pts)

To be clear, @elly and @starrilyn, reading is just the means to the end of gaining information and reliving experiences.

The question is, if I could do this by a more convenient means (like having the information piped directly in my brain), would I still want to read?

Maybe I would; after all, part of the joy in reading is the process through which you gain the information rather than gaining the information itself. I probably wouldn’t want to know the beginning and end of a mystery story at once; I would rather savour the suspense as I worked my way through the story.

Even with this, it is possible that the information that is piped into my brain is piped slowly enough to let me enjoy the suspense. So while reading is still the primary way of gaining knowledge, it’s possible that things may change in the future.

#103320
Avatar of ostar
ostar
Participant
@ostar (Junior Writer with 3040 pts)

Reading is the only means to explore the silent heartbeats of a man’s soul. In reading, I am inspirited!

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