Without any pictures
On one occasion I was reading a great novel. It was great, as in fascinating, and great, as it had 500 or so pages. Then an acquaintance came to me and asked how it was that I could read such a huge book that has no any pictures without getting bored (as it is a habit and hobby of mine to read). He said “I see you reading such huge books many times, but they are without any pictures. I couldn’t do that even if I tried! I can only watch movies.”
Reading is not a talent, as many seem to perceive. On the contrary, it is simply a habit that can be cultivated. In fact, it is in everyone’s best interest to develop the habit of reading. This is why I read, and why you should too:
ü When you read, you expand your horizon. Reading takes you from where you are to where that text is all about. Imagine you are reading an article about the Great Zambezi River. In reading you learn of the river, and maybe the people living alongside it. You come to know about the ecology of the river, all the animals and insects found in it. In fact, in the end, you understand about the Zambezi River as if you have visited the area. It is the same with novels and other books. They pull you in and make you experience what is written in them.
ü In reading you listen to the voices of great authors/men and women. One great Author once said “when you read you speak to the minds of great men, even those who are long gone”. Isn’t that interesting? When people write, they use their writing voices; when you read, you hear what they are saying, you learn their wisdom. When you read a book written by Barack Obama, it is like you are seated at a table with him and he is talking to you.
ü It inflates your imagination. Watching movies is great; in fact it is a good thing. But reading is even better because instead of seeing what the producers and actors have made for you to see, you create your own images in your mind. The mind is a powerful machine and it can create an environment from imagination, all you have to do is feed it some data. It is like making your own food from scratch rather than buying one that is ready-made. It is superior because you can make it any way you want, and you can make it healthier.
ü It builds up your language skills. Of course this is not about pronunciation unless you are reading aloud, but reading makes you learn new vocabularies much faster, and you learn their meanings too. You see, it is easier to depict the meaning of a vocabulary when it is associated with other words in a sentence than when it is alone. And then you learn how certain words are spelt and written, a useful scheme in the world of chatting.
ü It gives you something to do. There are those times when you are out of interesting things to do and you are just bored stiff! Well, read!
So it is good for you to start reading. And of course, like any habit, you start small. In fact, you can start with little books with pictures, then to little books without pictures, and then you will eventually graduate to big books that others consider outrageous!
It is also important to cultivate the habit of reading to children since they are very young so that it won’t be such a task when they’re all grown up. If they’re quite young you first start by reading to them some interesting stories and biographies so that they can develop an interest in books. They will be reading on their own when they’re older and they’ve learned how to read and write.
It is important to know that there is a whole world of treasures hidden in books. All you have to do is to start hunting for them between the pages. Besides, information is power!
