Who am I as a Reader?

924 words | 4 page(s)

I still remember the early times when I was first introduced to the reading activity. My first experiences were listening to my parents as they read my children stories. I would really envy them for their ability to read because reading was like a superpower to me. I would think if I can read on my own, I won’t have to rely on my parents. But my attitude towards reading changed as I entered school life. Reading course textbooks was not the same as reading stories. Course textbooks were boring and it was an opinion shared by my fellow students, too. But I am curious and I had again fallen in love with reading by middle school. I would visit library so often to borrow books that most of the employees at the library knew me by my name. But I mostly read books in my native language back home and very rarely in English language. My language skills in English are still developing and I believe I will eventually start enjoying books in English language as well.

One of my strengths as a reader is my passion for reading. I do not only read course textbooks but also other fiction and non-fiction books, magazines, and articles. I am curious and like to learn as much as possible. Reading helps me expand my thinking horizon and improves my understanding of the world. Another strength of mine as a reader is good memory. Since I am quite focused on whatever it is I am reading, I often remember the information for a long time.

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One of my weaknesses as a reader is limited vocabulary, especially, when I am reading English books. Since I often have to see the meaning in a dictionary, it makes the reading process less enjoyable. Another weakness of mine as a reader is slow speed because I am still developing my English language skills. As a result, I have to read quite slow in order to understand the material which is sometimes frustrating when I have too many assignments. I also find it difficult to motivate myself to read when the language style is too different to what I am used to. Some examples are old English literature such as plays where communication style is quite different and involves outdated words like thou and thy.

As I have already mentioned, I enjoy reading because it expands my worldview. I am curious and reading is naturally an enjoyable activity for me. I also enjoy reading because it helps me improve my vocabulary. One of the major ways I have been trying to increase my English language vocabulary is through reading. I also think technological advances have increased my love for reading because reading is more convenient activity and in addition, we can easily find any type of information in seconds. Tablet devices and e-book readers mean we can carry hundreds and thousands of books with us in a convenient manner. Similarly, there are all kinds of websites with free content, including many from mainstream media and publishing companies.

I have noticed I enjoy nonfiction more than fiction. Even though many people enjoy fiction, I enjoy the learning part of reading. This is also one of the reasons why I read articles on the internet every day. In fact, one of the reasons I love Facebook is that my Facebook friends often share articles which I find interesting and valuable. These articles are on all kinds of topics such as politics, science, history, and business. I don’t have a particular favorite author because I am mostly into nonfiction because some of the books I really love include Guns, Germs, and Steel and The Snowball (Warren Buffet’s biography). I also search for book recommendations from my favorite personalities such as Bill Gates.

I have developed some strategies for more effective reading. First of all, I look up the meaning of the word if I don’t know it because otherwise I may not properly understand whatever it is I am reading. I also try to find background information on something that may have been mentioned in an article such as a past historical event or a person. Internet makes it very easy to do and Wikipedia is my favorite website for such purposes. If I am reading something long, I take a break after half an hour so that I do not become bored. Sometimes I also discuss what I have read with friends and I think this is good because my friends may have different views. I don’t usually seek summaries if I intend to read the whole book but if I don’t think I will be able to finish the book either because it is too long or the topic is not too interesting for me, I seek summaries online to get the main points. This is another reason why I love internet so much because I believe internet does promote love for reading. I know some friends who cannot motivate themselves to read whole books but they do enjoy reading short articles on the internet.

I think my relationship with reading is quite similar to many other people. We do not always enjoy reading in school because we mostly read course textbooks. But as we grow older and we want to learn more about the world, we develop interest in reading. I also think internet is great because I would not be reading as much as I read now if it were not for the internet.

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