Hello my Socratica Friends!! We’re here to help you be a GREAT STUDENT. Today we’re
going to talk about something that is very dear to my heart. A true passion of mine:
READING! To be more specific: creating the habit of reading - reading for pleasure.
We read a LOT here at Socratica. It’s the first thing we do in the morning, and the
last thing we do at night before we go to sleep. Our small team reads literally HUNDREDS
of books each year.
Why do we read so much? Stories have always helped us make sense of the world. Storytellers
have played an essential role in human life since we were cavemen huddled together around
a firepit, listening to myths and legends. Thank goodness, at some point someone started
writing stories down. Now, the best storytellers are immortal. We can just as easily learn
from ancient Greco-Roman thinkers as from authors on the current best-seller list.
Reading makes us better humans. It allows us to travel when we feel stuck, it gives
us ideas and insights that would take us forever to grasp otherwise. It makes us understand
that there are many realities, cultures, ways of seeing and feeling ... and that it’s
always possible to turn the next page. Be it literally or metaphorically.
Reading is the essential ingredient for lifelong learning. Sadly, many people feel like their
learning stopped when they left school. Reading is the antidote to this situation. Reading
is also a great social leveler. Books are not reserved for super-intellectuals. Reading
is open to EVERYONE. This is the message we want you to take home today.
I’ve honestly lost count of how many times someone has said to me: “Gosh, I wish I
could read like you do. I would love to get into reading... But I can’t. I’m too busy.
It’s too expensive.” Well, I’ve got news for you: you CAN! Reading is like any
habit, it grows and grows. The more we do it, the more it becomes second nature.
But how do we create this habit? How do we remove that weird feeling that reading is
something we HAVE to do instead of WANT to do? It shouldn’t feel like taking your medicine.
It should feel like a beautiful gift - which IT IS. Let’s explore some of the ways you
can cultivate a healthy reading habit. I promise - your life will be the better for it.
Now, there’s no need to go all out and start reading a whole stack of books at the same
time (guilty as charged). You can begin with just one. The trick is to make friends with
your book. Take your new friend with you everywhere you go. You can sneak in a few pages a day
this way: while you wait for your coffee, while you commute on the metro, while you
sit outside for 5 minutes taking a break. You can also listen to a book, if that better
fits your life. It doesn’t matter if you read a lot or a little, as long as you read.
How do you pick your first book to read, with this new attitude of appreciation? Don’t
start with a book you’ve always felt you were SUPPOSED to read. There are so many genres
to choose from. Start with the ones that spark your fancy. Do you like historical dramas?
Cozy mysteries? Science fiction? No need to begin with a very long book, either. It’s
not a race here, people! Start out small, and as you pick up the habit, soon no book
(or saga) will be long enough! Trust me on that one.
What if you read a couple chapters, and the book just isn’t doing it for you? You can
stop reading it. Seriously. Don’t feel guilty. You have permission from us to quit. There
are SO many books out there, you’ll never read them all - so please don’t waste your
precious time on a book that just doesn’t speak your language. Put it aside, and try
something different. When a book really clicks with you, you don’t have to force it.
On the other hand, if you really enjoyed a book, you might want to dig into other titles
by the same author. I sometimes go on a reading binge and read every book by an author I like.
{All the Harry Potter books in less than two months… been there, done that! } You can
learn a lot about the author’s point of view by doing this. It’s like taking a long
journey with a friend - quite the adventure.
Soon, you’ll find yourself confronted with a new problem. You might read yourself right
into a rut. If you read enough of one genre - for instance, high fantasy, like Lord of
the Rings - it might start to feel like you’re reading the same story over and over. How
do you branch out? What genre should I try next?
Make it an exploratory process - maybe you enjoy a book by a certain author and not the
next one. Ask yourself, why is that? What did I like and what did I dislike? How did
it resonate or not resonate for me? These kinds of questions make you understand your
own “reader profile.” Start a reading journal, so you keep tabs on your likes and
dislikes.
You may also want to try apps or websites that keep track of your reading habit, and
suggest new authors you might not have known about before. These will give you a hint on
what literary paths to tread next. We’ll include links below to some of our favourites.
Once you have the reading habit, it’s fun to connect with fellow readers. Reading CAN
be a social activity! Talk to your friends who love reading. Pick someone who knows you
well and ask them to suggest a book. Make sure you do the same for them! This is one
of the most fun things to do: to share books that moved you. When you share a book you
really enjoyed with someone and you see them not be able to put the book down, there are
very few feelings that compare to that.
You can also join a book club! This is a great way to get exposed to books and authors you
may not have chosen for yourself. And reading at the same time as others can help develop
your habit. It’s like having reading accountability buddies. You can share your ideas about what
you’re reading, and it’s always interesting to see a book through someone else’s eyes.
If there isn’t a good book club where you live - create your own!
At the rate we’re going, this is starting to sound like an expensive hobby. It doesn’t
have to be! There are many, many used book stores out there. What a beautiful way to
go green - giving books a new life. Try a thrift store - did you know they have books
too? Even more affordable - become a member of your local library. You can read so many
amazing books for free! And if you’re traveling, or far away from any physical library, you
can always get loans on ebooks! Even if you don’t have a special e-reader, there are
apps to read these books on your phone or computer. Yes, you heard that right. No excuses!
I know your life is busy. Maybe you’re thinking - WHEN are you going to get all this reading
done? Remember, don’t think of it as a chore. Think of it as a better choice than some other
ways you could spend your time. Rather than idly flipping through TV channels, or endlessly
scrolling on your phone, pick up a book. When you’re bored, when you have time to kill,
when you’re waiting for something. Reading never feels like a waste of time.
On the other hand, setting some specific time aside to read can really help to create a
consistent reading habit. It doesn’t have to be a daily thing to begin with. Look at
your schedule, and see where your time might be better spent reading. It could be when
you go to bed at night, or when you wake up. Both of those work really well for me. Believe
me, depending on the book you read, you might not want to do anything else but read it until
the very end… no matter how long it takes you!
Soon enough you’ll get so involved in reading that you’ll start making excuses to not
go out and just stay in, curled up with your book in your reading nook. OK - let’s talk
reading nooks. It helps a great deal to designate an area for reading in your home. Be it a
favorite chair, or a corner in your room where you build a little pillow fort...Choose a
quiet spot and make it your own. No matter where it is, make it cozy.
I also like to keep a notebook and a pencil near me when I read, in case I feel like jotting
down a quote that especially spoke to me, or I find something I want to look into when
I put the book down. This is great for building your vocabulary, too. Keep a list of the words
you’re not sure about, and look them up later. Taking a few notes is a great way to
ensure you get the most out of your reading.
This is all to say - we hope you can experience the great joy that reading has brought us.
Books are good for the mind, the heart, and the soul. So shut off the Internet, get off
your phone, get away from your TV or computer for a while, and go grab a book. You’ll
see that there is more time than you think to dedicate yourself to reading. So do me
a favor, as soon as this video is over - go find a book to read and tell us your thoughts
about it in the comments. How are you getting creative with developing your reading habit?
Reading for pleasure, growing your vocabulary, and expanding your views of the world - these
are all part of being a great student!
One more thing, my Socratica Friends. We make all of our content free for everyone to enjoy.
That doesn’t mean these videos are free to make. We spend quite a lot of our time
and money on each video, because we feel it’s important to get the message of lifelong learning
out there to the world. If you feel this is a worthy effort, please support what you love.
Become our Patron on Patreon! Every single gift is a huge help. Thank you.