How to Become a Better Reader

Reading is just the best. My favorite part about reading is getting absorbed into the book, letting your imagination run wild, and becoming the characters as you flip each page.

 

When I was younger, I hated reading.

I mainly didn’t like it because I wasn’t very good at reading and I felt insecure because of it. All of my friends were reading “The Magic Tree House” books and since I wasn’t on that level, I decided that reading wasn’t for me and I just wouldn’t do it.

 

Wow, that was NOT a good idea.

I wish someone had told me that practice makes perfect!

When I was younger, the only time I read was when I had to, aka required summer reading. Did you dread summer reading when you were younger, too? It just seemed not right to have to be forced to read a book during the summer when you were supposed to be taking a break from school.

 

Once I hit high school, I started to like reading more and I became a better reader.

I actually started to love summer reading, too. Well, I didn’t love it because it was still considered homework, but now I’m thankful that I was required to read books for school.

 

You see, when I was younger, I didn’t like reading for two reasons.

A: I didn’t like reading because I didn’t practice. Therefore, I wasn’t a strong reader.

B: I didn’t like reading because I did not have an interest in the books I was reading.

Since I am an elementary education major, I am just now seeing the studies and research about reading and the importance of reading often.

 

Reading is vital, y’all.

The more you read, the better reader you’ll become. The key is to find something that you’re interested. I personally love fictional books. I like a good suspense or thriller book like “Big Little Lies,” or “Girl on the Train,” but I also love a romantic book like “A Life Intercepted.”

When we are toddlers, it is very important for the mother or the father to read to their child. There is a correlation between being read to and success later in life. Readers truly are leaders; It’s not some silly phrase just to get a good rhyme in, but that saying is true!

Reading is just a good brain activity as it stimulates your brain, it keeps your brain working, and even your vocabulary expands as a result of reading! Reading has so many benefits!

 

Once I started finding books that I liked in high school, I couldn’t stop.

Reading can seriously get addicting. It’s the best when you find an author you love or you find a new series that you can’t get enough of. Once you know what you like to read, the world opens up and there are possibilities left and right!

One of my favorite things to do is to go on either Amazon or Goodreads. I put the books that I read in my “library” on Goodreads and I rate them based on what I thought of them. Goodreads will suggest books that they think I’ll like based on what I’ve read and how I’ve rated books- isn’t that so neat?!

I love Amazon because I just search a book I already know that I love and I scroll down to see other suggestions. They are usually pretty spot on and I usually love the book that was suggested!

If you are having trouble reading, if you don’t like to read but you want to love it, if you just want to become a better reader, here’s what you do.

 

Go to Barnes and Nobles, the library,  amazon.com, or Goodreads and spend some time to find a book.

Try it out. Read it and see how you like it. Find the type of book that you love, the type of book that you can’t put down, the book that makes you want to run tell your best friend about, and move from there. Once you find that special book, find others that are similar and keep on reading.

If you are trying to improve your writing skills, reading will help with that, too! I notice that when I read, I am more inspired to write and I subconsciously become a better writer. It’s so amazing how everything is connected!

 

Practice really does make perfect, y’all!

The more you read, the better reader you’ll become! Instead of succumbing to the next Netflix show that is about to automatically play in 10 seconds, close out that tab and open up a book. I found that when I read instead of watch Netflix, I feel better and I feel more energized, not more lazy as Netflix usually makes me feel. To me, Netflix is mindless; It takes no work or effort to watch, but reading does. Instead of filling your mind with the content of TV shows, try filling it with the words of a good book.

 

This past year, I actually haven’t even watched TV that much.

I’ve been trying to make an effort to read more and it’s been great. I made a Goodreads challenge this year to read 20 books! Seems easy enough, right? It’s actually harder than you’d think! I’ve read about 12/20 books, so I’m making good progress! Now my issue is that I’ve started so many books that I’m in the middle of about 5 different books!

 

Here are some of my ULTIMATE favorite books!

The Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn

Big Little Lies by Laine Moriarty

A Life Intercepted by Charles Martin

Unwritten by Charles Martin

The Noticer by Andy Andrews

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

She Reads Truth by Raechel Myers and Amanda Bible Williams

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

The Pretty Little Liars Series by Sara Shepard

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

The Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff

It All Starts with Food by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig

 

I hope y’all feel inspired to start reading and to just do it! Reading is such a gift and it’s so fulfilling! There are some affiliate links in here, so I will make a commission or a percentage should you choose to buy one of these books! If you want to know my #1 book, the very top book, it’s Big Little Lies. My favorite series is the “Christy Miller” series. Any of the books listed are great, though!

Happy Reading, y’all!!!