11 Ways To Cultivate Reading Habit

Somewhere after “lose weight”, “stop procrastinating”, and “fall in love”, “read more” is one of the top goals that many people set for themselves. And rightly so: A good book can be hugely satisfying, can teach you about things beyond your daily horizons, and can create characters so vivid you feel as if you really know them.

If reading is a habit you’d like to get into, there are a number of ways to cultivate it.

First, realize that reading is highly enjoyable, if you have a good book. If you have a lousy book (or an extremely difficult one) and you are forcing yourself through it, it will seem like a chore. If this happens for several days in a row, consider abandoning the book and finding one that you’ll really love.

Other than that, try these tips to cultivate a lifetime reading habit:

1. Set times. You should have a few set times during every day when you’ll read for at least 5-10 minutes. These are times that you will read no matter what! You may  now have four times a day when you read for 10 minutes each — or 40 minutes a day. That’s a great start, and by itself would be an excellent daily reading habit.
2. Always carry a book. Wherever you go, take a book with you. If there is a time when you have to wait like at a doctor’s office, whip out your book and read. Great way to pass the time.
3. Make a list. Keep a list of all the great books you want to read. You can keep this in your journal, in a pocket notebook, on your personal home page, on your personal wiki, wherever. Be sure to add to it whenever you hear about a good book, online or in person. Keep a running list, and cross out the ones you read.
4. Find a quiet place. Find a place in your home where you can sit in a comfortable chair (don’t lay down unless you’re going to sleep) and curl up with a good book without interruptions. There should be no television or computer near the chair to minimize distractions, and no music or noisy family members/roommates. If you don’t have a place like this, create one.
5. Reduce television/Internet. If you really want to read more, try cutting back on TV or Internet consumption. This may be difficult for many people. Still, every minute you reduce of Internet/TV, you could use for reading. This could create hours of book reading time.
6. Read to your kid. If you have children, you must, must read to them. Creating the reading habit in your kids is the best way to ensure they’ll be readers when they grow up … and it will help them to be successful in life as well.
7. Keep a log. Similar to the reading list, this log should have not only the title and author of the books you read, but the dates you start and finish them if possible. Even better, put a note next to each with your thoughts about the book. It is extremely satisfying to go back over the log after a couple of months to see all the great books you’ve read.
8. Go to used book shops. Go to a discount book store where you can drop off all old books and get a big discount on used books. You could do this at the Sunday markets, or another good option is the road side hawkers on main university road, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi.
9. Read fun and compelling books. Find books that really grip you and keep you going. Even if they aren’t literary masterpieces, they make you want to read — and that’s the goal here. After you have cultivated the reading habit, you can move on to more difficult stuff, but for now, go for the fun, gripping stuff.
10. Make it pleasurable. Make your reading time your favorite time of day. Have some good tea or coffee while you read, or another kind of treat. Get into a comfortable chair with a good blanket. Read during sunrise or sunset, or at the beach.
11. Blog it. One of the best ways to form a habit is to put it on your blog. If you don’t have one, create one. It’s free. Have your family go there and give you book suggestions and comment on the ones you’re reading. It keeps you accountable for your goals.

You could come up with book suggestions and more reading tips and share with us here at The Readers’ Avenue!

So go ahead and share your views!

Qissa Kahani Session For Children - 23rd March 2011

It is pleasure to know that Kifayat Academy's Suntra Kahani Corner is now becoming a tradition whereby children and their parents gather at historic venues of Karachi to enjoy some tales from the past and present. Their previous event at Mohatta Palace was a great success. 

This 23rd March, Kifayat Publishers in collaboration with Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP) and FM91 invite you and your children to, Qissa Kahani @ Frere Hall-  a unique and interactive story‐telling session where children will explore Pakistan's history, culture and identity through stories, quizzes and poetry. Also get a chance to win some prizes. 

Date: 23rd March 2011

Time: 10:30 am -1:00pm

Venue: Frere Hall, Karachi

NOTE:  Please register your children at citizensarchive@gmail.com  or call on: 0332-2541272

Online Book Discussion

Lets do some online book discussion!

How many of you have read "Patrus Ke Mazameen"? Why don't you share some of the excerpts that you liked most from the book!

This is what some of us liked. Please share by posting a comment here.

TRA meeting - Discussion on Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie



 

Held on January 23, 2011:

The Readers' Avenue (TRA) conducted its first discussion session on the title 'Burnt Shadows' by Kamila Shamsie at T2F.

We would like to thank all those who participated; especially Amra Alam - Chief Editor Suntra Magazine and Afrah Jamal - columnist Daily Times for their time and interest.

The summary of discussion is as follows:

• Burnt Shadows is not a book that is intended to be pleasant; its a story of destruction and devastation.
• The central idea of the novel is that the world did not learn a lesson from the mistakes and disasters of the past.
•  The story makes us understand how history affects relationships and to what extent a political situation can create a major impact on individuals.
• Hiroko - the central character of the novel, experiences an absolute change in her life and destiny after the bombing at Nagasaki and it completely reshaped her approach and outlook towards life.

In the end, the 'thought of the month' segment was conducted by Amra Alam; she read out the extracts from Suntra magazine which was greatly enjoyed by everyone.The next title selected for discussion is 'The Power' by Rhonda Byrne. The date and venue for the meeting will be announced soon.

We look forward to your participation in our next session as well.

 Happy Reading!

The Readers' Avenue (TRA) - Meeting at T2F

January 1, 2011: The Readers' Avenue conducted its 2nd meeting today at T2F. The purpose of the meeting was to decide the date for the next discussion session for the title 'Burnt Shadows' by Kamila Shamsie. Hence, it was unanimously decided by the members to hold the book discussion on 22nd January 2011.

Further, TRA is more than pleased to announce that Ms. Amra Alam - Chief Editor Suntra Magazine, has willingly offered to conduct a 20 minutes 'thought of the month' session at the end of every discussion on a regular basis.

The Readers' Avenue extends its heartiest gratitude to Ms. Amra Alam for taking out the time for TRA session and offering her presence in future also for 'thought of the month' segment. Ms. Amra, apart from her services as Editor-in-Chief for Suntra has also authored more than 80 books during the period of her affiliation with Book Group. She also works for Tulika Publishers India where her work has been translated in Hindi, Sanskrit and Bengali. Suntra magazine is her recent publication in collaboration with Kifayat Publishers.

We look forward to seeing you all in our upcoming discussion session.

Happy Reading!

Regards,

Sarah Haris & Nuvaira Dhedhi

The Readers' Avenue - 1st Meeting at T2F

December 11, 2010: The Readers' Avenue successfully conducted its first introductory session with members at T2F. We would like to thank all those who attended the session as your active participation can make this venture a success.

Further, it was encouraging to receive feedback, suggestions & reccomendations with respect to selection of the title for our next discussion session. Out of 16 recommendations 2 titles were chosen which are as follows:

• Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie
• The Power by Rhonda Byrne

The date & venue for our next meeting will be announced soon.

We look forward to meeting you.

Happy Reading!! :-)

Regards,

Sarah Haris & Nuvaira Dhedhi

Reading Habit in Children

Over the years, there has been a gradual decline of reading habit in children and at present it has almost slipped into oblivion. The causes are multiple; the burden of text books together with after-school tutorials are the most apparent reasons that have led to aversion for reading among children. However, out of all the causes the dearth of quality children's reading material in our society has affected the reading culture to a major extent. Besides, the social life pattern of our society has so radically transformed over the years that it is now a challenge for parents to support and instill love for reading in households. Most importantly, the electronic media has so much to offer to the children of the present age that books or any reading material cease to attract attention. In this regard, facilitation and a collaborative effort on the part of parents and teachers and the community as a whole inclusive of the publishing community, is imperative.  

From the transitory period of early childhood education through school years, a child develops choices; likes and dislikes including positive and negative attitude towards reading. It is rightly believed that home environment largely determines a child’s interests in the long run. To elaborate, at an early stage parents are the role models of a child whom he identifies with and tends to follow their personality traits, outlook and preferences. The values about importance of reading if shared by parents with children are likely to bring about a positive impact on a child’s attitude towards reading. Hence, encouragement from home environment is fundamental for which parents are expected to analyze their priorities and preferences. Let the child know how enjoyable it is to learn from reading a book, newspaper article, magazine story etc. The very interest in reading will consequently get transferred to the child. Simply by observing the parents read will motivate the child appreciate the value of reading. Therefore, it is observed that in households where reading is a common practice, children naturally tend to develop interest in reading as well.

While highlighting the issue of reading habit in children, the expected role of schools cannot be overlooked. In most of the cases, parents while sending their children to schools have a lot of expectations from institutions in terms of good conducive environment and quality education that cater to an overall development of personality of the child. Hence, utmost sincerity and dedication on the part of school management and teachers is required for sure and encouragement for reading is one of the many qualities that demands facilitation from the school environment. It is apparent from research that children who read a lot are fast learners and are able to absorb concepts comparatively much easily.

Hence, it is recommended by renowned educationists of Europe and the United States of America that class lessons should be planned out in a way that involves thorough reading, research and analytical thinking on the part of students. In the light of that, activity centered teaching strategy proves to be considerably fruitful, effective and durable for attaining a positive change in aptitude and attitude of the learner. For students of lower levels, it is recommended to have regular story sessions which would indeed acclimatize them for reading.  Similarly, at somewhat a higher level, frequently held group discussions and class presentations on topics related to ethics, general knowledge, environment, current affairs, science and technology facilitate students for extensive reading enabling them to open up and refine their critical thinking, assessment and reasoning abilities.

A weekly assignment on book/story review is yet one of the key tools by which students, to a greater extent, can get accustomed to reading while simultaneously enhancing their written expression. Besides, book reading should be made compulsory in all schools where students on a weekly basis must issue one book at least from the school library. Moreover, it would be highly encouraging for students if guided by teachers in selection of a quality reading material that caters to their interest and mental level.  In addition to that, emphasis should also be laid upon newspaper reading for which students can be assigned to keep a record of important and interesting news items to be discussed and shared with other students in presence of the teacher during a classroom session; this would also make their learning more interactive and a pleasurable experience.

Hence, teaching-learning process should be so designed that it opens avenues for the child existing beyond textbooks, giving special preference to innovative thinking. It is to be realized that education is no more a static process; it is a dynamic, continuous and lifelong process demanding adaptability to the rapidly changing times. Social competence and optimum individual growth are attainable if an individual is all set to mould himself as per requirement of situation. Therefore, infusing love for reading is one of the prerequisites to quality education.

Notwithstanding the role of educational institutes and home environment with respect to curtailing the declining reading culture in our society in general and among our children in specific, the committed and unswerving role on the part of publishers is the need of the hour.

In India one finds a wide chain of publishing houses thriving for a very long time, many of which are working exclusively in the sphere of children's publications. It is encouraging to learn that children's books are available in the market at reasonable rates also. It is even more fulfilling to see the efforts of Indian publishers towards children's publications which have powerful content supported by colourful illustrations together with striking presentation value in terms of design. Besides, there are many non-profit trusts in India which are publishing high quality books for children at affordable rates and in multiple Indian languages. This demonstrates how much importance they have in their society for children's literature. The dedicated endeavour on the part of Indian publishing community at large has attracted considerable readership in India especially in the lower middle section of the Indian society.

Unfortunately in Pakistan not much effort has been invested so far towards development of children's literature in particular. The rationale behind stating the example of India here is to accentuate the need for a conscious and consolidated effort on the part of the publishing community of Pakistan at large towards the objective of thorough research and development of children's literature.

Reading is the best quality we can cultivate in our children; this can only be possible if the content is substantially fulfilling which children of today's world are able to relate to and enjoy to the fullest.

Sarah Haris