The essence of reading

I remember back in the day at school when the one thing I loathed was reading. For a girl who was studying Literature, it amazes me how I managed to get anything done. For starters, I only actually read a book if a friend told me it was really worth the read. Most times I simply asked them to narrate the story and I would work around that. I know – really silly! From time to time, so many people including myself wondered why reading was so important. Fine, I would study to pass an exam but I didn’t get what the fuss about reading for fun was all about. If I hated the thought of studying to pass a class, clearly you can imagine my frustration in being told I needed to read on my own too –because for me that meant OK! Magazine or Ebony! And it’s not like I couldn’t read or anything. On the contrary, I was a very good reader (if I can say so myself). I just foolishly thought that being able to read was all I needed. I was dead wrong. I didn’t realize that reading could broaden my thinking and perspective on other things. I didn’t realize that reading had the power to develop my mind. Eventually (after a few pushes), I got deeper and deeper into the reading convention and found that I actually enjoyed it. I started reading all sorts of books, from fiction novels like The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and The Testament by John Grisham to biographies like my personal favourites Dreams from my Father by Barack Obama and The Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. I discovered new things and my imagination developed. For the first time in my life I actually couldn’t wait to get hold of a book and just get lost in it. I also believed that movies and TV were enough to widen my brain but I was wrong about that too. TV is more like amusement and amusement is a non-thinking activity. With reading, a person can go anywhere and be anything in the world. It develops your creative side. I love reading to children. I read to my daughter whenever I can. I actually do the appropriate voices just to make it even more exciting. Like when I’m reading the big bad wolf’s part in the story of The Three Little Pigs or the evil witch with the house made of candy and goodies in Hansel and Gretel. And as I read to my little listener, I stop every once in a while and ask her what she thinks is going to happen next. Creativity and genius at its best! I think she told me that after the wolf huffed and puffed to blow the brick house down that belonged to the third and wisest little pig; he had to take a nap because he was so exhausted! And when he awoke, the little pig was gone! I was blown away because naturally, you would feel completely exhausted after trying to blow a brick house down with your breath! So yes, a nap would come in handy! And yes, if I were the little pig, I’d probably be tempted to escape too seeing as the house had a chimney! Interpretation is elementary in developing a good self image. It is important because words - spoken and written - are the building blocks of life. You are, right now, the result of words that you have heard or read AND believed about yourself. What you become in the future will depend on the words you believe about yourself now. People, families, relationships, and even nations are built from words. So read as many books as you can. It shouldn’t matter what they are about. Grab a ‘politics only’ book even though you are not into politics and see how much of it you can actually pick up. Read about sports and education, life and religion. Anything, because the wider the variety, the better. Other than my occasional classics, from time to time I read my daughter’s Rumpelstilskin. It is funny and we all know that a sense of humour is just crucial!! rachelgaruka@yahoo.co.uk