"I don't have time." "I don't like it." "It's boring." "Reading for fun? It's not that important."
Puh-lease. If you don't consistently read for pleasure and don't believe that it's important, stop reading this immediately and read The Reading Bill of Rights . All set? Convinced now? Good; let's get started. Step One- Admit That You Have a Problem Repeat after me: I don't read consistently for my own enjoyment and that's a problem. It's OK. You're not alone. And, you are about to change that. Independent, outside reading is a habit that can be learned like any skill. You need to approach it with purpose, and know that it will take some work and time, but it'll be worth it. Step Two- Create Your Reading Space You need to create a comfortable, QUIET reading space for yourself. Free from distractions. No music. No devices. And no annoying little brothers and sisters allowed. Maybe a little table next to your bed with a lamp? Maybe a comfy bean bag chair in a QUIET corner with good lighting? Maybe the closet under the stairs? Well, maybe not the closet under the stairs. Unless it's a QUIET, comfy, well-lit, free-from-distraction closet under the stairs. You get the picture. Step Three- Find the Time I know. I know. Homework takes awhile. You have to practice violin. You have soccer practice. You're too tired and want to just go to bed. Wait, that last one is me. It's true, though, we're all busy. But reading is important. Your brain needs food. Every day. For at least 20 minutes. 20 minutes in a row. Find the time. Take a look at how often you're on your phone or computer for fun. Can you carve out 20 minutes someplace? Maybe it's right before you go to bed, or right when you get home from school, or *gasp* the first thing you do in the morning before you start your day? Experiment with different times and see if you can find something consistent that works for you and your schedule. Step Four- Choose a Book THIS IS THE BEST PART!! Anything goes, at first. You can experiment and challenge yourself later. Find something that interests you and that does not feel too challenging; it's OK to read easier texts -- you want this to be enjoyable, don't you? In the beginning, as you're trying to create this habit for yourself, try magazines, graphic novels, shorter books that feel on the easy (but interesting) side to you. Get recommendations from friends, teachers, librarians. Pick out a couple of things to have at the ready, in case you feel you've made a poor choice and want to switch. Step Five- Set a Goal Give yourself two to three weeks to commit to this wholeheartedly and really try to see it through. The first weeks will be the toughest. The longer you work at it, the more of a habit independently reading for fun will become, and you just might end up surprising yourself. Your future self will thank you. Good luck! And if you ever feel like giving up, revisit the Reading Bill of Rights to remind yourself just how important reading for pleasure is. Happy Reading!
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Did you hear, did you hear?!? Empire of Storms, the 5th book in the Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas, was released this week. I started reading this series a year ago and could not put it down. Could. Not. Put. It. Down. Seriously, I ignored my family for weeks. The series centers around kick-butt hero-assassin Celaena Sardothien. I mean just look at the book cover; she's super-scary awesome. Her story is told in a world of kings and castles, with banished magic, impending evil, and sizzling romances (gotta have those, right?). I tried to check it out of the library, but there are already too many requests on it. Guess I'm going to have to go out and buy this one, too! Mature content- I'd recommend the series at 8th grade and up. Well hello world! I'm pretty darn excited to be starting a blog. I hope to use this space to recommend book titles, share reading tips, and spread reading news. So, let my first entry start with some exciting news! Laurie Halse Anderson, THE Laurie Halse Anderson will be visiting WellesleyBooks on Tuesday, October 18th to talk about and sign copies of her latest book, Ashes. More info here: store.wellesleybooks.com WellsleyBooks has quite the lineup of authors visiting in September and October - check it out. But did I mention that Laurie Halse Anderson is one of them? Very cool.
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