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How to Fall in Love with Reading (or at Least Hate It a Little Less)

Mind Hacks to Fall in Love with Reading Within a Fast-paced, Technologically-driven Society Where Reading Popularity Is Falling as Digital Entertainment Rises

By Christabelle ContrerasPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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1. Think about It as an Opportunity to Live a Hundred Lives

I used to be an avid reader as a child. I still recall the anticipation I’d felt throughout the day when I didn’t have my book at hand. My family members would pass by me and probably think to themselves, “what a great kid — so studious, always reading.” The truth is, I had packed my bags and ran away from home with my mind. Captivated by the mystery, I had run off with Reynie and George joining the Mysterious Benedict Society where I needed my courage and wits to survive. I recall finding Cathy’s Book and desperately trying to discover her location and what events had transpired prior to her having gone missing (Additionally, she went missing in my hometown which led me to embark on a journey in visiting all of the places her shadow had once lingered). I remember joining Dauntless beside Beatrice in Divergent and discovering the corruption which had taken place within our government.

Then, as I developed and my interest began to gear towards more informational content, I began sitting across a coffee table with Malcolm Gladwell as he told me about our innate tendency towards rapid prejudices that affect our behaviors whether we are conscious of it or not. He called this “thin-slicing” in Blink. Then I would have miniature debates with C.S. Lewis at the park through Mere Christianity. He had also let me in on a little secret, (code name: Narnia) but that’s too confidential for now. Someone who had truly sparked my interest was Howard Zinn as he wore his heart on his sleeve and expressed the pain of the Native Americans that I hadn’t ever been exposed to.

Fiction or Nonfiction, we all have the opportunity to live and meet a hundred lives.

Who says we only live once?

2. Take Each Insight to Heart

It was through these books that I had lived a hundred lives and gained a lot of insight at a young age. The following are a few examples from the books mentioned above:

Not everyone knows how it feels to have a family:

“I can't say for sure, because I have no experience, but -- well, is this what family is like? The feeling that everyone's connected, that with one piece missing the whole thing's broken?” (Trenton Lee Stewart).

“If this were a war year, if this were 1918 or 1944, I wouldn't be the only girl whose dad was never coming home. Think of that: a whole generation of us, daughters and young wives, waiting for a car that will never roll into the driveway. Waiting for a door that will never open again.” (Jordan Weisman)

Don’t allow fear to drive your life:

“No one seems to realize how much we are driven by FEAR, the essential component of human personality. Everything else - from ambition to love to despair - derives in some way from this single powerful emotion.” (Trenton Lee Stewart).

Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it. (Veronica Roth).

And most importantly: “Rules and school are tools for fools! I don't give two mules for rules” (Trenton Lee Stewart).

I’m kidding.

3. Converse with the Author

It starts off as an assignment in class to “annotate” or make charts, create graphs, yadayadayada… All of that is just technical terminology and methods to converse with the author. Half of the fun is engaging with the text. This is the difference between watching a movie and reading a book. I’ve noticed after watching a movie or show, my mind feels dulled out as I’ve been passively allowing the screen to dictate the last couple of hours of my life. It requires no effort, no imagination, and no interaction. It’s as if we are listening to a lecture for an hour with the opportunity to completely disengage.

However, as I read a novel, my imagination is lit on fire as I’m completely enveloped in a different world. Afterward, my mind feels as if it had been fueled with energy and excitement. It’s more like a class discussion where your input doesn’t go unheard.Your mind contains your very own unique perspective that nobody else in this world could imitate. Tune into those opinions and reactions in your mind. Mark up your books! Highlight, underline, write on the edges, write journal entries, post-it note it up! Whatever feels the most comfortable and works best for you to engage with the author. I’ve even heard of many cases where readers would scavenge through the notes they’ve taken to compile a letter they would send or email to the author filled with either lingering questions, spontaneous ideas, or even delightful gratitude for the novel (maybe even displeasure that they feel must be addressed). Furthermore, the authors would gladly and readily correspond back to them.

The more you practice “engaging with the author,” the more you’ll find it to be an enjoyable, refreshing experience to read. It will also be beneficial for all areas of your life as it provokes your creative thought processes and allows you to truly gauge and shape your ever-changing own unique opinions.

literature
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About the Creator

Christabelle Contreras

On a continuous journey to remain resilient through every fleeting stage of this gift called life. + faith, dance, gymnastics, well-being, poetry & neuroscience

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