How to read and enjoy a good storybook

How to read and enjoy a good storybook

            How hard, is it, to read a book, you may wonder. Just open that book and read it. It’s just so simple - any idiot could do that. But, may I ask you, have you ever enjoyed a really good book from the front to the back and it leaves you hungering for more?

            Unknown to many, most people in this world find it hard just to open a book and read it. They would rather surf the net or send SMS to their friends. They think that reading is an old-fashioned and ‘out’ hobby – they would not be caught dead holding on to a book! This usually happen after they had tested reading - with the wrong technique- and, now I’m going to show you how to read and enjoy a storybook to its fullest and become a true reader.

            Firstly, pick the right book for you. Most people would prefer a thin book as it is ‘thinner’ so there is less to read or because it should be easier to read. However, this is not the case when you are choosing a book. The main thing is that you must choose a book which you have interest in. There are many types of storybooks which you can choose from – e.g. adventure, horror, mystery, legends, recollections of wars and battles etc. For example, if you are interested in magical, alternate worlds, then you might want to try the Pendragon series, Harry Potter series or Narnia. You can find the right type of books by reading the short summary that most books have on their back cover and not by the title as the title may sometimes be misleading. The author’s style of writing should also be considered when you are choosing a storybook. Usually, the more humour the author expresses in the book, the more likeable it would be. The next thing is you have to find a book which has the suitable thickness and font size. It totally not good to start off by reading a great, thick book with the fonts as small as ants. It will break your determination to read, making you wary for anymore books that might be coming your way and that we don’t want.

            Having the right material is not enough to develop a liking for books. You will need to have the suitable environment to read your storybook. A quiet living room or your own private room would be nice. Make sure that your room is well lit and ventilated – you don’t want to feel stuffy and dark when you’re half-way through the book though some bookworms might continue on reading even if a bomb exploded in front of their yard. It would be better to sitting in a sofa instead of a wooden chair but it is not advisable to be reading while you are lying on your bed – it will spoil your eyes! You may, too, choose to have some tit-bits when you are reading. When you feel comfortable enough with your surroundings, you can start reading.

            There also some good ways to read but I would recommend using this – your imagination. When you are reading, you will have to imagine the whole set-up in your mind. It doesn’t have to be in details. Remember to insert the characters in before immersing yourself into the world of fantasy and adventure. This would be harder for people who lack imagination but this step is essential to enable to feel the core of the story and not just the words. Some books may have pictures to help you imagine but it is best if you could do it on your own as this skill will be useful when you advance to more difficult books. You may try to imagine the story with three ways – you may become the hero or heroin yourself, become the hero’s faithful companion or just become a viewer or the narrator of the story.

            If you are used to being read to, I would suggest that you read out loud in your head when you are reading. This would help you to get accustomed to the fact that there is no reader who is reading this story to you.

            Besides this, you can also try role-playing. This skill, too, require sufficient amount of imagination. You can start role-playing by asking ‘what if’ questions to yourself. For example, what if Henry decides to confess his crimes earlier or what if Jack decides to kill the traitor? After asking, you will have to answer them yourself with your imagination. This is much more fun than simply imagining something as you have the free of will to think but, of course; you should try to think as logically, in the context of the story, as you can.

            By just following these simple steps, you will obtain satisfaction from the book that you are reading. However, if you want to actually learn something from the book, it is better that you read it the second time 3 to 4 months later.

            When you are reading for the second time, I would suggest that you prepare a notebook and name it as your Vocabulary Notebook. This notebook is for you to jot down the difficult words that you may have encountered when you are reading. Instead of skipping over the difficult words or guessing the meaning of the difficult words when you are reading it for the first time, you should be jotting it down into your notebook. Then, you can look up these words in the dictionary.

            After reading a lot of storybooks, you will eventually develop a ‘feeling’, a sixth sense or an intuition on English grammar if, of course, you are reading English storybooks . When you are writing or reading, you will have a feeling as though a sentence doesn’t ‘sound’ right. Even though this ‘sixth sense’ is usually correct, but it is better if you do not depend on it much. If possible, you should read books that are checked through by a panel of editors so you will develop a more accurate intuition.

            If you follow these steps, I’m sure that, soon, you will develop a hunger for storybooks – a thirst for storybooks that is very difficult to quench (The power of reading is very strong, indeed). This is what I call the bookworm syndrome (or, to some, addiction to storybooks) and it is not, exactly, a good thing, if you cannot control it. Some people with this syndrome would read without stopping. They just have to finish the book before they could do anything else and this includes eating and sleeping. You have to find a way to control your new-found need to read – each person has to find their own way to control it, so, no short-cuts for you, it seems.

            If you are able to do all the above, I would like to congratulate you – you have achieve the status of a true reader and the road leading there is not without sweat, tears, suffering and will-power (Okay, okay, I’ve exaggerated, so what?). Now, you can try non-fiction books instead or higher level of books and by saying this, I mean those books which are thick and the much more difficult words have small font size. If you are feeling a bit adventurous, you may try out those more dusty storybooks - the ones that people mostly pass over. Don’t be fooled by the sight of their old, musty covers! They may contain a story that will be able to inspire you to greater heights.

            But, of course, we should keep in mind that we are living in the modern era. So, we should make use of what technology has to offer. If you are easily accessed to the internet, you can check out some websites which allow you to download free online storybooks. This type of books are better than paperbacks as they can be easily stored, but most people would still prefer paperbacks so they could smell the nice forest-y scent that new books have and listen to the rustling of the papers as they flip the page.

"Wrote this for my school's graduation book but it didn't made it... sigh. I knew I should have written a story instead~ silly me~ but that time I have no idea what I want to write lol~" S.Y.

WARNING

Oh and as usual, no plagiarism allowed. Ask me first if you want to use my essays or quote me. A link to the original blog post in the reference would be great too.