I always hated to read.. i always wondered how do people manage to read books and enjoy doing that... Even at that time i was in college and i had to read books in order to pass my exams, i was always trying to read in a smart way by trying to skip pages and read mainly the most important things that i thought would probably be in the exams...and despite the fact that i was always getting A's in most of my exams and papers.. i was not totally satisifed about my reading attitude simply because i consider it a problem. Why?
Ok here is why i always thought that i need to learn to become a reader. since i was a kid, i have always enjoyed writing. I can write and write for hours without feeling tired or bored, i tried writing poetry,short stories.. even my emails to most of my friends are always long. I love to write but i always hated to read. isnt that weird?
Wait a minute, in order for a writer to be , he or she need to be a reader first, simply because the more you read the better your writing can become. This is what my teachers in high school used to tell me.
I tried to solve my reading problem by taking the following steps:
1- Register with a local library
2- Buy a book every month
3- Read at least 2 pages of a book every night before i go to bed
4- Link my reading to my writing in order to be more enjoyable
It was not an easy task for me and i was always trying to find excuses to not read and cover behind my busy schedule at the time i was working and training.
One day, i was taking my hot choclate at a coffee shop in Santa Monica, and one lady was sitting across from me enjoying her coffee and reading a book. the way that lady was reading her book fascinated me. A big smile was on her face and she was really so focused on the book to the extent that she was not paying attention to the fact that i was gazing at her...
After few minutes, i took a glance at the cover of the book that has a beautiful woman on. I tried to copy the title as well which was " powerful inspirations" Eight lessons that will change your life. By Kathy Ireland and Laura Morton.
I left the coffee shop and i went directly to my library to look for the book and guess what? i found it. I checked out the book and i went back home. While checking the book , i told myslef that i will not even finish the 1st chapter.. however, i was able to read 2 chapters on the same day i took the book, which is a big achievement for someone like me. At that partciular moment, i realized the reason why that woman has that big smile on her face, simply beacuse when you read the book, you will feel that the writer is adressing every single women on this planet regardless of her age, color, religion, social background. The whole idea behind the book was to enable Women and to empower them. It shared so many truths about the writer herself that can be applied to change most of our lives as women.
Believe it or not, I was able to finish that book in 3 days. And that was my first step into developing my love towards Reading.
This was basically my story with Reading. Please feel free to share any book titles with me. your experience with Reading, and any other comments that woul be relevant to this post.
Best,
Houssna Jabir
