Wingate University: A Personal Analysis

“How Reading Changed My Life” is the book from where the piece of fragment that we read was taken. This book was written by Anna Quindlen. I was able to relate to Quindlen’s perspective and strongly agree with her. Although children have more extra time to read their favorite books over and over again, adults were children and if they liked to re-read books in the past because the book was in their interest, they will also reread their favorite novel in the present.

One of my favourite things to do in the whole world is to curl up on the couch with some tea and read a good book or watch my favourite movie. Italo Calvino once said, "A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.” If you have ever read a novel or watched a film, and it has impacted you in some way or taught you something you never knew, is what makes a text valuable. Reading isn’t just for entertainment, it can also teach us valuable lessons and shape us and our attitude towards the world around us.

Reading novels is my answer to every obstacle and every complication that I ever experience. I recall my elder’s claiming I will not understand anything at all The Great Gatsby says when I first bought it. I was ten the first time I read The Great Gatsby, and till now I have read it thirteen times. At the end of each book I read I analyze them, and if they come to be one of my favorites, I even write a paper for myself. Reading novels taught me to understand people, it inspired me to learn more. Every book I finish leaves me longing for

Growing up I was never a big fan of reading, but as I got older I noticed books are very essential. They are filled with adventures and lessons that only exist in wildest imagination. Without books many of us wouldn't know half the things we know today. Books teaches us math , science, history ,and even how to use a computer or how to play a sport. With so many different genres to choose from and millions of books to read , the task of reading can never get boring, especially when you're actively reading

Before we divulge into the topic of this essay, let me begin by stating that neither the author of the main source, Steven Johnson, nor I intend to devalue books or look down upon them. In his book, Everything Bad Is Good For You, he starts off talking about the importance of books. He says, “We should all encourage our kids to read more, to develop a comfort with and an appetite for reading” (Johnson 21). Reading provides many different benefits, some including “concentration, the ability to make sense of words, to follow narrative threads, to sculpt imagined worlds out of mere sentences on pages” (Johnson 23). As an avid reader myself, I have always had an interest in books.

I viewed reading as a chore, was often unenthused, and would mostly annotate on the overarching themes without gathering any meaning from them. Books were merely a series of words printed on paper. This school year, however, I began to understand the allure reading has to offer. I have grown to appreciate reading and the insights a book can offer. When reading our numerous texts, I was able to live vicariously through the characters of the books and relate aspects of their lives to my own. Because all of the books from English I pertain to coming of age, I was able to not only learn about maturation as a process, but understand how it pertains to my own life. Through protagonists such as Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye or Esperanza from The House on Mango Street, I learned about my “misguided desire to preserve childhood innocence” and to empower feminism similar to Holden and Esperanza respectively (Heart of Gold, Raghuram). Gradually, I have finally developed the ability to relate to novels and its characters amidst writing my own story.Whether it be thematic elements or the details of a case I am working on, I have become more observant to even the most trivial details. Now when I read, I not only look at the themes, motifs, and symbols, but also repeated phrases or situations that parallel each others as well as the symbolic meaning behind some ambiguous phrases or scenes. Reading now, in contrast to last summer, is a

However, reading from many sources changes one’s view on the world extensively, and exploring the story of the Finches in To Kill a Mockingbird is simply a reminder that my prior troubles were the least to worry about. Reading allows me to immerse myself in someone else’s environment, to

Growing up in a family of six, there was never a shortage of people to read to me, the only shortage that existed was my ability to understand and appreciate the story in front of me. I was always on the move and the sedentary act of reading a book never appealed to my childish motives. Coupling my inability to hear well and my stagnant progress in school, I was quickly falling behind. With most of my childhood dedicated to the fantastical world I had created, I had no time to listen to someone else’s story. I would not continue on this way though, for my mom, noticing my lack of literacy skills, made it her effort to divulge in me the wonders of someone else’s world, each world becoming a part of my own.

In the reading passage “Reading Literature Makes Us smarter and Nicer, ” Annie Mulphy Paul(2013) encouraged the readers to read literature. The author discussed what literature changes people and how people change through reading literature. According to the author, people reading literature could understand more about others. Unlike reading websites, deep reading with printed books bring elevating and enlightening experiences that will enlarge people.

The power and freedom that lies between the pages of novels has the ability to transport the readers to a new world, impart a wealth of knowledge to them, offer a new perspective, and so much more. The only limit on novel are the covers that bind them, the ideas within them can be cherished and shared forever. Although written in 1837, Emerson’s quote, “Books are the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst” still holds true today. An avid reader or skilled author wields unparalleled power, power that can be used for a myriad of good, or infinite evil.

Reading takes you so many different places. From a perfect world to a world where you can’t control your thoughts or the things you do. Sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s scary. You get pulled into the book and now your the kid who keeps reliving the last day of their life over and over again or the kid who is getting sucked into the closet into a new world away from their life at home.

At a very young age I became invested in books. I can remember countless summers sitting on the hammock outside my home reading until the sun began it's descent. Reading is not only my escape from reality, but it is also my guide to dealing with reality itself. Recently I had the privilege of reading the book Me Before You, and it influenced me to view the world in a different perspective and left a tremendous impact on my life.

Through the course of me reading, I have learned a lot about myself as a reader. One example is, I don’t comprehend what goes on in the books so well. As I have progressed in my readings, it has been easier for me to comprehend things, I’ve been reading more books so I can

In a 2009 study, 166 participants were split randomly into 2 groups. One group was told that what they were reading was fictional, while the other was told it wasn’t. Before they began the reading and after, the participants took a required personality test. This entire study was done to determine if literature could change one’s personality. The group that read the fictional story had minor but noticeable changes. They were more open to experiences, and they were also found to be more understanding of another’s thoughts and feelings. The group that read the information presented as an article had no significant changes. This study showed that if a person continually reads throughout the course of their life, they will gradually become more understanding.

As a child, my interests were more focused on reading than writing. In elementary school I fell in love with books. Initially I read simple children’s books, much like everybody else in my class, but it did not take long for my passion to drive me to read more difficult writings. Fiction books quickly became a replacement for any childhood toys. Instead of blocks or stuffed animals I would ask my parents for books. Since they were aimed at young readers, they tended to be short. I found myself going through them within days, and then soon several hours. Towards the end of elementary school I was reading series like Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. I was captivated, and reading truly opened up a whole new world for me.