The three most important rules of reading

Well, it’ll depend on what you’re reading, of course, but just to make things complicated, because otherwise where would the fun be, let’s just say that these are the tree most important rules of reading *anything*… Yes? Shall we do that? Ok, then, here goes:

1. Make sure you agree with the reason you’re reading what you’re reading. Not someone else’s reason, not your teacher’s, not your parents’ not your siblings’ or your friends’… Not even Peter Jackson’s or George R. R. Martin’s… Your reasons; those are the important ones! Say you have to read something for school: do you *have* to, or do you *want* to? If you want to, then you’ve got no problem at all, but if you have to, then, oy, haven’t we got a problem? That feeling of dread as the due date for the paper or the debate or the exam approaches… that anguish when you know that others in your class know the story from top to bottom or understand the theories or have even got the facts or processes right, but you still know naught… that blankness of brain that overcomes you when you sit down with the material in your hands, and either you stare at it for two or three hours, or you downright fall asleep because the intensity of trying to figure the pages out is too deflating…

We’ve all been there! Yes, all of us, don’t even try to deny it… This could happen for so many reasons: the theories we’ve got to learn are just beyond our comprehension; the number of accounts and names and dates could just be too darned long; it’s a book from the acclaimed author everybody’s talking about but for some reason it just doesn’t grab our attention; it’s a book by our favourite author but it just doesn’t compare to their last one that grabbed our attention in such a magical way… or maybe it could be a book that a dear friend recommended, or worse, they wrote it, but it still falls short to what we were expecting; or perhaps it’s too much of a wordy article or essay (or novel) and we just can’t cope with it… it could also be that we’re just not in the mood for it right then, and that tends to change our perception about the material we’re sliding our eyes upon… those and many other reasons are applicable, but let’s concentrate now on how to make sure you’re reading for the right reason.

Here goes: if you’re doing it to make you seem like you’re someone you’re not, then stop. Not because it’s in fashion does it mean that everyone has to get into it, and if you’re not, then there are many other things to choose from! All within the same genre or area of knowledge, or even other things by the same author if you still want to check out some of their work… If you want to become more learned and literary, on the other hand, and you know that reading a particular piece will make you feel better about yourself because it’ll mean that you’ll succeed in something that was initially hard for you, that’s pretty good. You should be proud of yourself for overcoming something that meant a challenge worthy of your time and effort. If you want to stop, no one will judge you, so if you want to leave it aside, then do so. All right, not true, a lot of people will judge you, but pay no attention to them! Your time is very valuable indeed: if you feel proud for overcoming that challenge you’ve put upon yourself, be brave and happy; but if you know that dragging on will only make you regret all the other things you could have read instead during that time, then just leave that book or magazine or newspaper or whatever it is that’s weighing you down and turn to something you know you actually want to read…

Oh, but what happens when you’re reading something because a dear person recommended it, or wrote it, and you are not enjoying it very much? Well, you still have to comply with your own reason: the fact that you’re doing it because you care for that person is big enough, so finishing it would the best

2. Make sure you’re happy and content… preferably not having just eaten, but then again everybody is different…

Being in the right state of mind, in a relaxed environment, where you can sit comfortably or lay down, or even hang on for dear life as you stand in the tube or train or bus, will make every difference. If you’re too preoccupied with other issues, or utterly tired from a long day’s work, or maybe upset because of a situation that’s out of your control, life will get in the way of what you’re reading… your mind shuts down, your eyes see the lines but the brain does not compute them; even the funniest passages would fail to lift us up because there is not enough brain capacity for us to process them; the simplest theories would be an assortment of lines and curves forming symbols on the page. Well, that’s true with math and chemistry and physics, but, does anybody ever read those? I mean, read read, as in open a book and go through the pages and reading. Wait, is there any other way of reading? Anyway, I was just merely wondering. If anybody actually reads them (because they can certainly be used to tell stories!), then forgive my ignorance.

The way to get into this state of mind, especially once you’ve already ascertained that you will actually open up the book for the right reason, is to view reading as a REWARD. Yes, be sure that the material in front of you will deliver the best results for your reason for reading. Now sit back, or lay down, or hang on for dear life, and start reading that beautiful reward of yours!

(Oh, the “not having just eaten part” comes from the fact that many people can’t actually stay awake after eating if they so much as look at a page, no matter how much they actually love reading. If this is your case, avoid it. If it’s not, lucky you.)

3. Pass on the knowledge. Yes, if you learned something amazing and wondrous and new, do tell everyone. If you fell in love with a character or a depiction of a scene, do share with your family and friends! If you cried or lamented the loss of someone or because of a situation, try not to spoil it for everyone else, but do share why that person of situation was so important to you, and the rest of the world might be your shoulder to lean on. Remember, even if you recommend a lovely book, it doesn’t always mean that everyone you pass it on to will feel the same way (because it does go both ways, you know?), but it’s beautiful when we give someone the chance to choose. And try not to be smug about it. But you don’t have to try very hard. All right, go on, feel proud of what you’ve read and be all superior every once in a while, you’ve earned it! I mean, try not to make anyone else feel inferior and downhearted, because then we might lose potential followers to our cause (and because it’s not very kind, of course), but there is nothing wrong with flying that banner high: Yes, I read!

This is it for now, thank you very much indeed, for reading!