“Reading is a ticket,
A ticket that can take you anywhere
A teleportation device right at your hands,
Creating experiences nothing like nothing else,
Reading is a tool, a gift, a pleasure,
Reading is, quite amazing” — Lucas Truong
I think reading is somewhat like a plane. There are times when I am totally immersed in books and I can read a book a day for weeks. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those times when the immaculate concentration disappears and I struggle to get myself to read two chapters of a book. A plane will be soaring across the sky, but then it will have to go back down to refuel. I have been reading less and less every year, even though I am trying my best to stop that. I find that the time to read a book is getting limited, because of all the other academic, co-curricular and social things happening. Nonetheless, I still think reading is important in the way it teaches me to open up my mind to everything that’s happening, and because it gives me a desire to become a better person based on what happens in the books that I read. Books have played quite an important role in my life, especially when I need to zone out of the stressful world. Even though they are just words and sometimes pictures, reading has given an opportunity to think about the good things in life.
If someone asked me why I think reading is important for young people (assuming they know I think it is important), I would talk about how reading helps you later on in life, and how enjoying reading comes with many benefits. Everyone wants a good job, good academic skills, and to have an enjoyable life. Reading helps with your writing, comprehension, communication skills, and overall anything to do with the English subject. If someone could read in other languages, it could help them in that department too. Books exercise your brain, and develop creativity, and require you to use your mind more. If someone wanted to get a good job, they need creativity, concentration, mental health, and communication skills. All of these come with reading, and reading books at a young age gets you prepared. While your mental and physical health is developing, that is when it is the easiest to change, but when someone reaches maturity and further, it is very difficult. If someone had a bad habit, at a young age it would not be hard to fix, but as they get older, they will have less assistance or have reached a point where they are fully mature and the habit stays with them.
A reason why young people are reading less is because nowadays there are a lot more barriers that distract teens and those younger from reading. As a result of the developing world, there are so many more things to do compared to years ago. Any sort of entertainment or activity that burns time and is enjoyable for some people is a key factor. Games, social media, electronic devices, places like shopping centres, gyms, and entertainment facilities are just some out of many more. All of these things seem more inviting than looking at some words stacked on top of each other, which is why reading has become unpopular. School also adds to the equation, with teens getting more work every year, but we can’t forget the main reason: not finding anything to read. It is often hard to find the right book that you can immerse yourself into, which is why less people are making an effort to read. Many don’t know where to start and what to look at, which eventually turns into the “I can’t be bothered excuse”, or the famous “I have no time” one. In fact, there is a lot of time, but people don’t realise it, due to the other things they are doing every day.
Reading the Neil Gaiman Speech, I thought that he had some excellent points. In our day and age, there are a lot of people (including myself) that still get lectured on what the “good books” and what the “bad books” are, which to me, doesn’t feel right. One of the most interesting parts I found was when he said we want the future generation to be literate, and that is why they should read books. This was something I haven’t thought about before, but now it makes clear sense. I also think it’s not just the adults that are destroying a young person’s passion for reading, it is also society and the modern world. There are so many things going on, so many things creating the sense that reading isn’t that important anymore. As said so many times before, reading opens up so many places, and there are so many things to find out and to learn from. Aside from all the key points in the speech though, from everything to do with literacy, parents, libraries and more, there was one point that moved me the most. It was when Neil Gaiman said to look around the room. He stated that the walls, and chair we’re sitting on, have all been imagined by someone long ago. Everything that exists today has once been imagined, and reading books gets you to do exactly that: imagine. I think this was the best part of the whole speech, something hard to notice, but when you do, it is mind-blowing.
Lately, I have been trying to do more reading, and I am covering the wider reading topics on canvas. I am reading Invisibly Breathing by Eleen Merriman, Gone by Michael Grant, and Zeroes, by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti. I have read a book called Is Science Magic?, by Ovid K. Wong, Wildcard by Marie Lu and What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera. Lastly, I have read a book called Favourite Poems, 101 Children’s Classics. These are all books that I have either looked for from the wider reading list, or the books that I have seen and found interesting. I am planning to read a book set in Africa, or a book about Greek Mythology.
If I had to make a desert reading list, I could actually choose a lot of things, but these would be my top picks:
-Warcross, by Marie Lu.
Easily the best book I have read in my entire life. Wildcard (the second book following Warcross) is also great, but I have just finished that, and Warcross is less fresh in my mind. A story about a young broke bounty hunter who is invited to help fight hackers in the world’s biggest game, Warcross, is set in the US and Japan.
-Dragonkeeper by Carole Wilkinson.
A book set in Ancient China, in the Han Dynasty. A slave saves a dragon’s life and runs away from her brutal master. She tries to stay alive while being hunted by a dragon hunter and makes connections with the dragon she never realised.
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K Rowling.
The final book in the Harry Potter series, and very long and entertaining. One of the bestselling books of all time. It is magical, brutal, and full of action. It is the last year for Harry Potter, and his last chance to take down his worst enemy.
-Holes by Louis Sachar.
This book combines all the emotions, making it seem longer than it actually is. A boy who was falsely charged for robbery uncovers the truth about the crime and his past. He was forced to go to a detention camp, where he tries to find a way to get out.
-Bureau of Mysteries (1 or 2) by H.J Harper
One of my all-time favourites, and a thriller. A perfect combination of humour, crime, and mystery, a boy and his master attempt to save the world from those that want to wreak havoc on the world.