You're either a reader, or your not!

[Clear_Sky]

As-salaamu 'alaikum wa rahmat-Allahee wa barakaat-Uhu,

My mother once said, " . . . You're either a reader, or your not!" Although I enjoy digesting a good book (seriously, I feel like I ate a good meal after reading a good book), I've always wanted my passion to read to be greater; any advice?

JAK

[Clear_Sky]

LOL, typo in the title -> "your" should be "you're"

Perhaps mother was right all along . . .

[Dawn]

walikum assalam wa wb

have you read "charity even with a trifle" ? am reading it and it's overwhelmingly refreshing to the soul.

[Abu Hafsa]

I used to get through alot of books or pdfs at work. But havnt got through one since i been doing jack all for 1.5 years. So no, im not a reader, just a browser :P

[Umm Ahmed]

I used to get through alot of books or pdfs at work. But havnt got through one since i been doing jack all for 1.5 years. So no, im not a reader, just a browser :P

Then you need to set a time in the day just to read, then you will remember how much you enjoyed reading and get back into it inshaAllaah.

[Yasir]

I’ve gotten into a habit of not being able to sleep without reading a book. The downside is that I’m often still holding the creased pages when I wake up!

[Magoo]

I’ve gotten into a habit of not being able to sleep without reading a book. The downside is that I’m often still holding the creased pages when I wake up!

i had that habit until marriage came along, now its reading while at work, i still cannot enjoy reading from a pdf, for example the pdf on the life of zaynab ghazali, i had to print the whole thing off and read it

with regards to being a reader or not, it depends how you have been bought up, we were bought up to read books, starting with roald dahl and enid blyton and moving onto the "of mice and men" and "to kill a mockingbird" and eventually finding a genre that we enjoyed

parents need to encourage reading for their children rather than letting them sit on a gaming console all day, unfortunately i have friends who have never read books and find it difficult to read quran aswell!

[juwairiyah]

bismillahir rahmanir raheem

assalamu'alaykum waahmatullahi wabarakatuh

few days before I spent my night reading "When The Moon Split" ..I slept after fajr subhanallah

[Yasir]

i had that habit until marriage came along, now its reading while at work, i still cannot enjoy reading from a pdf, for example the pdf on the life of zaynab ghazali, i had to print the whole thing off and read it

with regards to being a reader or not, it depends how you have been bought up, we were bought up to read books, starting with roald dahl and enid blyton and moving onto the "of mice and men" and "to kill a mockingbird" and eventually finding a genre that we enjoyed

parents need to encourage reading for their children rather than letting them sit on a gaming console all day, unfortunately i have friends who have never read books and find it difficult to read quran aswell!

Yes, it’s definitely not easy to read a lot of text online. Even with all the resources online and an abundance of software with Islamic texts, it’s just not the same as holding the book in your hands!

You raise a very good point about reading – it is vital. Unfortunately children don’t seem to read as much nowadays (and this quite astonishingly doesn’t seem to trouble many parents)! It is very important to instil the love of reading early on and make children accustomed to reading. I remember at even the early age of 4/5 our parents would regularly read to us a whole range of stories about tremendous people like Ibrahim ‘alaihis-salaam to tales of historical characters like Harun ar-Rashid and Tippu Sultan! Of course at that age you can’t appreciate all the details but it certainly gives you a glimmer of a rich history and so many invaluable personalities!

[Mansoor Ali]

Here are some benefits of reading:

1. Bigger Vocabulary. A larger arsenal of words enables you to express yourself more eloquently. You’ll be able to communicate with precision and create a perception of higher intelligence that will give you an advantage in work and social situations.

2. Improved Writing Ability. Reading the classics is the easiest way to improve your writing. While reading you unconsciously absorb the grammar and style of the author.

3. Improved Speaking Ability. Becoming a better speaker accompanies becoming a better writer because both are caused by becoming a better thinker. By improving your command of the English language, you’ll become more persuasive, sound more intelligent, and enjoy an advantage over less articulate people.

--- John Wesley.

When you read a new book every week, you condition your mind to keep taking in new knowledge. Your thinking remains fresh and sharp. Your brain is always churning on new ideas, looking for new distinctions it can make. Every day you pour in more ideas, which your brain must find a way to integrate into your existing knowledge base. Frequent reading fires up your neural activity, even during the periods when you aren’t reading.

--- Steve Pavlina.

[Hibiscus]

I read a lot until A'level English lit. Super-analysing every sentence killed it for me

[UmmAbdulMalikStorm]

That's so true! I didn't feel like reading for ages. And after uni I thought i'd never pleasure-read again.

[rambant]

have you read "charity even with a trifle" ?
More info?

i still cannot enjoy reading from a pdf
Same, text on a screen cannot compare with a book in the hand

parents need to encourage reading for their children rather than letting them sit on a gaming console all day
It bothers me that I know people who's children don't own books. The five year olds can find their favourite games websites without any help but they don't own a single book...

I read a lot until A'level English lit. Super-analysing every sentence killed it for me
Opposite- surely the analysis makes the experience more exciting? I really enjoyed unearthing meaning, it made the read more interesting.

[jzcasejz]

Opposite- surely the analysis makes the experience more exciting? I really enjoyed unearthing meaning, it made the read more interesting.

Yeah, I'd agree. English literature was probably my favourite subject at college, it's what made Shakespeare interesting.

[Hibiscus]

For me the over-analysing made reading a chore. It prevented me from entering into the imaginative world and instead focus on the author and their intentions and motives.