Essay on The Importance of Reading

Being a reader means you’re more likely to learn something new every day; William Lyon Phelps is an enthusiast of reading. In his speech The Pleasure of Books he writes to persuade everyone to read, “Books are for use, not for show; you should own no book that you are afraid to mark up, or afraid to place on the table, wide open and face down.” When Phelps wrote this speech the time period was the middle ages when German students gathered in Berlin to burn books with “un-German” ideas. The speech itself is telling the readers and listeners that books provide knowledge, and they are an advantage that we have as humans. Reading is fundamental for a human being, and are written for you to read. In The Pleasure of Books, William

Ages ago, spanning from when the Greeks ruled and well into the time when the Colonists first came to America, reading was a skill only the wealthy and the very lucky had the privilege to learn. In those times reading wasn’t necessary to work and to be successful. However, now in this modern era, reading has become necessary for everyday life; it has become vital to a society that is ever more dependent on technology. Nevertheless, reading is beneficial in ways that listening and watching movies can never be. The works of Anne Bradstreet, Henry David Thoreau, and Ben Franklin help acknowledge this idea through the impacts they have had on readers still today.

The importance of learning how to read and write is called, literacy. “Oh my gosh! I want to rip my hairs out!” I told myself this as I was writing a research paper in the eighth grade. Reading and writing used to feel like a chore, until one day when my English teacher saw me struggling and was determined to help me enjoy it if not even love it.

Reading, an activity that has been around for years, centuries even; appears to be reaching the end of its popularity among the modern youth. Reading literature remains the key to a successful and cultured society. Today the ability to read remains highly valued. In our advancing world, there remains much more to learn and know; the importance of reading is increasing. During the Victorian era, wealthy people gathered around and read books for an hour or so, seeing that being able to read was a sign of social status. But, today people not only read for pleasure and knowledge, but to educate and catch up with the events taking place all around us. Almost every job today, requires the basic ability to know how to read and write.

“To know how to read is to light a lamp in the mind, to release the soul from prison, to open a gate to the universe" Pearl S. Buck once said in her book Pavilion of Women. Many different people read for many different reasons. Some people read to distract themselves from what they are currently dealing with, others as a pastime and a few read to open their minds. Reading books and other forms of literature can not only expand one's vocabulary, but, open one's mind to different concepts or ideas.

Im not good at putting whats in my head on paper because I am never sure how to word anything. I am not the best reader or English person, I am very slow reader because It takes me some time to comprehend what I am reading and what it is trying to say. But I love English I love writing I am just not the best like I get to where I don’t put in comas and periods in their spots that they need to be in. One of my favorite books is “If I stay” because as your reading it, it makes you realize that you never know when it’s your time to go and that everyday we need to live our life’s to the fullest because in a moment your whole life can change and will never be the same.I love reading stories that can make you realize how precious our life is on

The importance of deep reading has its many benefits. In todays’ society, people are using their digital devices instead of reading printed materials every day. Throughout the passage, the author, Annie Murphy Paul persuades the audience on how deep reading is beneficial and how it is important for a variety of reasons. She grasps the reader’s attention on how people could benefit from this.

“According to Stock, an examination of this very broad historical palate reveals two traditional approaches to the question of why we read: the "aesthetic" and the "ascetic." The aesthetic approach "involves the pleasure of the text in and for itself" (7), says Stock. One of its most distinctive features is the absence of an ethical dimension. In other words, reading for pleasure (or, as Stock sometimes says, "enjoyment") is bereft of an ethical or moral aspect.”

According to French philosopher Descartes, “The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest men of the past centuries.” Reading awakens the mind. It ignites the brain. It tugs at the heart. It remedies the soul. Through experiences in reading, people gain insights and wisdom by meeting the great men Descartes refers to. The experiences and themes an author incorporates into his or her writing leaves a reader with a greater depth of knowledge than previously possessed. My intrigue with reading is derived from its unparalleled ability to educate, inform, and inspire me within a matter of minutes. Reading continues to have an impact on my life by teaching me new lessons all the time. My experiences with reading have taught me two main lessons: never be afraid to stand up for personal beliefs and live life to the fullest.

Since the dawn of time, humans have learned to communicate through certain writings or stories. Many individuals have benefitted from the gift of reading that we take so much for granted these days. The hunger for knowledge is a basic human instinct that has took place and influenced many people's lives, including mine. But I ask myself these questions. Is knowledge reading, or is reading knowledge? Can reading influence your life choices? Well here I am, thinking back on my childhood clouded by parental disputes and my adventure as a reader and how it has influenced my life today. My reading experiences as a child up to the present have had a great influence on me. My goal in this paper is to take you through a journey of my experiences

One of my greatest passions is reading. Whether it’s a biography, a thriller, a newspaper or even blogs, you’ll find me reading during my free time. When I was younger, I enjoyed reading during meals. While others were watching TV, I was either busy reading the bible or going through the newspaper to learn more on the current events. As I grew older, the habit grew and when I went to college, I had an easy time going through books during my research.

Back when I was very little, before I could read my parents would read to me a story every night. I had a big bookshelf right next to my bed and my brothers would come to hear the book my dad was reading. Back when I was younger, my favorite book was the fox in socks. I loved all the rhymes and tongue twisters. It helped motivate me to learn to read. While I was learning I read it over and over again until I memorized it. I slowly started to read in my own. Now I can read by myself without sounding out it word in an sentence.

In retrospect, my biggest regret in high school was not reading enough books. Due to my passion for math and science, reading has always been secondary to me. For most of high school, I never read much more than what was required of me. It was easy for me to dismiss everything that was not directly relevant to my ideal career path. However, now that I understand and appreciate the purpose of reading, I regret my neglect of it. Although I have not always recognized the importance of reading, reading has largely affected the way I think, building and helping me to discover my personal beliefs.

I wouldn’t say that I am a good writer, and I really don’t like to read books either. Through my years in school I became literate in these two categories. I was and still am not interested in writing, or reading books in my spare time. The only writing I have ever done is for school. Writing just does not interest me, and the only reading I do out of class is reading about sports in magazines, or reading the news, or looking at web pages. I have only read a couple of books on my own, 95% of all the books I have read have been for school. The reason for not writing out of class is probably attributed to the fact that I am a very impatient person, and I have a short attention span. I have no interest in writing and reading so when

Reading" is the process which involves looking at a series of written symbols and getting meaning from them. When we read, we use our eyes to receive written symbols (letters, punctuation marks and spaces) and we use our brain to convert them into words, sentences and paragraphs that communicate something to us.