Cole1

FalonCole
English11
Volpi
ResearchPaper

ReadtoMakeABetterYou

Thesmellofpaper,whetheroldandwornorfresh,fillstheair.Thereisadistinct
shmmp
soundashandsrundowntheyellowingsilkensurfacetoturnthepage.Whetheryoungorold,
tallorshort,thereissomethingextremelycalmingaboutreading.Thebookcouldstartwiththe
heroinebeingapartofawildwestshooting,ameanandconcentratedlookonherfaceand
tumbleweedscrossingherpath.Ormaybeshesonanadventuretoaforeignland,filledwith
aliensandcoolinventions.Nomatterthetopicnothingcanbreaktheholdabookhasonmeonce
Istartreading.Therearesomanybenefitstoreading,thatitsawondermorepeopledontread..
ApolldonebyHuffingtonPostshowedthatoutof1,000adults28%havenotreadabook,
fictionornonfiction,inthepast12months.Readingisincrediblyimportantandthefactthatso
manyadultsdontreadonatleastayearlybasisfrightensme.Takingthesestartlingstatistics,I
decidedtotestit.Asurveyadministeredbymeshowedthatsevenoutoftwelvepeoplemore
than50%foundreadingtoberelaxingandbeneficial.Throughmorequestioning,Ifoundthat
thereasonsfornotreadingoftenbroughtstatementlikenotenoughtime[toincorporateinto
schedule]ortoobusy.Thesekindofexcusesdontsatisfymebecausethereissomuchtogain
whenreadingbecomesapartofyourroutine.Weshouldincorporatereadingintoourdaily
lifestylebecausereadingisanimportantoutletformanyinsomecases,itcanprovidealinkto
otherpeopleinacommunity,itimprovescognitiveability,anditisgoodformentalhealth.

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Bookclubs.Itmayseemlikeawasteoftimetothepeopleinmydemographic,butmoms
everywhereswearbyit.Infact,56%ofwomenovertheageof25areinvolvedinsomeformof
bookclub(BookClubsByTheNumbers).Eightyninepercentofthosewomeninvolvedinbook
clubsmeetinperson(BookClubsByTheNumbers).Formany,bookclubsareawaytocatchup
withfriendsandtalkaboutaninterestingbook.Theyalsohelpkeepaconversationgoing.For
instance,haveyoueverhadaconversationwithsomeoneunlikely,allbecauseyoureadthesame
book?Booksprovidealinktoanotherperson,aconnection,aguidinglighttoshowthatmaybe
youdohavesomethingincommonwiththatperson.Iliketothinkofbookclubsasawayto
makethemostunlikelyoffriends.
Whatbetterwaytogettruehandleofthewaybooksclubshasspread,thantoseefirst
handexperience.Ananalysisdonebyablogger,Mikaiya,showedherreadingjourneythrough
fiveyears.

Asyoucansee,althoughaftershegraduatedfromschoolthenumberofbookssheread
decreased,asshegotolderandstartedjoiningbooksclubsforfacetofaceinteraction,shestarted

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readingmore.Thisisanexampleoftheinfluencetheeffectofbookclubscanhaveonsociety
andcommunication.
Whatsagreatwaytointeractwithotherpeopleandreadatthesametime?Wattpad.
Wattpadoffersbooks(writtenbyyou!)toover35millionpeopleinover50languages(Smith).
Thiswebsitewasmadesothatwriterscangetfeedbackfortheirownworkandreaderscanenjoy
freeandunpublishedbooksyoucanalsotalktotheauthor.AnanalysisbyCraigSmith,the
founderofDigitalMarketingStatsResourceCenter,orDMR,asitethatdoesstatisticalanalysis,
statesintheyear2013therewereover105millionmessagessentthroughWattpadalone.This
datashowsthatmakingreadingeasilyaccessible,likethroughyourphone,isagreatwayto
createacloseknitandmoreinteractivecommunity.
Doyourememberwhenyouwerelittleandyourparentsusedtoreadyouabookbefore
youwenttobed?Oryourmotherwouldsetyouinherlapandyouwouldread
TheCatinthe
Hat
together?Thesefuntimeswouldsetthefoundationforyourreadingcomprehension.Ithas
beensaidthatwiththeemergenceofliteracyprograms,learningtoreadwellyoungisntas
important,butstatisticsbegtodiffer.Althoughthoseprogramsareamazing,itsjustnotthe
sameasstartingwhenyoureyoungyourbrainismoremalleable.Astatisticpostedbythe
AnnieE.Caseyfoundation,aprogramwhichhelpsfamilieswithlowincomescreateabetter
future,statesstudentsthatdontreadwellinthethirdgradearemorelikelytodropoutorfailto
finishschool.Itisobviousthatthemoreyouread,themoreyoucanunderstandfromasubject,
howevertherearemoreimportantthingsthatreadingcandoforyou.Itdevelopstheabilityto
buildknowledgeandyourownpointofview.Astwoauthorswhoaretryingtomakereading
morepopularthroughouttheirschoolsayverypoignantly,
Theaimisnotsimplytoteach

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studentstoreadforthesakeofhavingreadingproficiencyandrememberingcontentfaithfully,
butalsoreadingtoacquireandexpanduponideas.(Cervetti,Hiebert).Irefusetobelievethat
itsjustacoincidencethatofpeoplewhocantreadwellbyfourthgradewillendupinjailor
onwelfare(WriteExpressCorporation).Learningtoreadatanearlyageisincrediblyimportant
tobeabletodohigherlevelthinkingskillstooimportanttoignore.
Afterastressfuldayatschoolorwork,thereisnothingbetterormorerelaxingthanto
comehomeandreadagoodbook.Onethatwilltakeyourmindoffallthestuffthatsgoingon
inyourlifeorallthepapersthataredueittransportsyouintoanotherworld,whereproblems
existonlytohumorizeandtodramatize.ArecenttestbyDr.DavidLewis,the
founderand
Directorattheindependentresearchconsultancy,MindlabInternational,basedattheSussex
InnovationCentreinBrighton
,showedthatreadingreducesstresslevelsbetterthananyother
pasttimeby68percent,sevenpercentmorethanlisteningtomusic(ReadingCanHelpReduce
Stress).Althoughtheyhavefoundnocorrelationtomakethisthestopofadebilitatingdisease,
theProceedingoftheNationalAcademyofSciencesin2001foundthatpeoplewhoreadwere
lesslikelytohaveAlzheimersdisease(Schocker).Selfhelpbooksareonewaytoease
depressionandreading(ifinpaperbackform)isknowntohelpyousleep(Schocker).Allof
these,leadmetoconcludethatreading,whetherselfhelporromance,hasapowerthatevenpills
cantcure.
Asyoucantell,therearemanyupsidestomakingreadingapartofyourdailylife.It
helpsmanyaspectswhetheritbeyourcommunicationwiththecommunityorrelaxing,orifits
beingabletoreadandunderstandverywell.Ithinkreadinghastransformedmylifebybeing
abletotakeawaymystress.Somepeoplemayhangoutwithfriends,orgoonawalk,butI

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personallylovecuddlinginmypurplecomforterwithagoodbook.Ihatethestereotypethat
readingisseenasdorkyandforlonerswiththeirheadstuckinabook.Peoplethatdontlike
readingaremissingtheonethingthatbooksgiveusindefinitely:
perspective.Insightintoanotherpersonshome,awayforyouto
empathizewithsomeone,and,tome,thatismoreimportantthananything
else.WatchthisTedxTalkfeaturingpassionatereaderandwriterKelly
Corrigan,whichtalksabouttheimportanceofreadinginsocietyandthe
wayittransformedherlifeinparticular.