The Importance of Reading

1122 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The obstacles of reading habits

The Importance of Reading

“Why do you read all the time?” A frequently asked question of my past and I still find it repeated even now as I have entered a higher class of the educated. Whenever posed with this blatant criticism of my preferred free time activity, I simply answer with “Why don’t you read all the time?” Of course I might sound like the biggest geek that ever walked the face of the earth, but the fact of the matter is that no matter what negative stereotype is attached to those who read, it has never stopped me from continuing to pursue my joy of literature. I am a firm believer in the power of a book and that the fact that the more well read you are the better chance you have of relating to entirely different groups of people.

Ever since I can remember, my father has encouraged me to read. I suppose that it is due to his poor background that he is so inspired by books. As a result, I was reading Shakespeare before most could even pronounce his name. Captured by the amazing usage of words in the old Elizabethan era, I was spurred to read more by past British writers and they remain to this day my preferred choice of books. This is not to say that I am not a fan of the more modern author on the contrary, I read all genres and believe that each have their own additions to the literary world.

However, none of them can compare to my all time favourite author, Jane Austen. First introduced to her when I was about twelve years old, I was instantly captured by her style of writing and her personal background. She is the most famous feminist writer of her time but was only truly celebrated after her death, to my own sentimental twelve-year-old heart that seemed so tragic and was automatically my reason to sympa...

... middle of paper ...

... read finding great pleasure in a book. After knowing what I know about what books have brought to my life I feel sorry for those who cannot simply enjoy a novel instead of watching a movie.

Even though I too have grown up in a society that is primarily film oriented and it has definitely been a part of shaping me, I am proud to say that I am more well rounded than that and have many levels and other things that have shaped who I am. My view on the world and its issues is broader and I have a better way of thinking of the world being better aware of the social differences within groups of people and the impoverished people that are scattered across our globe. I owe this all to my father who introduced me to literature and the greatness that it can hold for someone who is ready to accept it and step into the many lives and worlds created by ink and paper.

Show More
Related

  • Junie B. Jones And The Magic Tree House

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    My parents have always stressed the importance of reading. Throughout my whole life, they have motivated me to read and they have encouraged me to find books that I find interesting to read. Because of their encouragement, I am an avid reader today. When I was a child, just starting to enjoy reading I liked to read books that were fiction. Some of my favorite books to read as a child are series that I still love today and I think I still have every book in each series stored in my attic. They are The Boxcar Children, Junie B. Jones, and The Magic Tree House.

    Read More

  • The Essay 'Staying Awake’' by Ursula Le Guin

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    Reading is on the decline and our reading skills are declining right along with the amount of reading we do. This is happening right across the board through both genders, all age groups and education levels, people are busy and they just do not have time to read books that they are not required to read for school or work. There are serious consequences to this neglect of reading that will continue to worsen if ignored. We need to take notice of what is happening to our culture and stop this situation from continuing, we must act to correct these issues that we are faced with. These things are discussed in the essay “Staying Awake’’ by Ursula K. Le Guin who uses the NEA essays “To Read or Not to Read’’ and “Reading at Risk’’ to support her argument that there is a decline in the amount of time that we are spending on reading and our ability to understand what it is that we are reading.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Reading and Writing

    626 Words  | 2 Pages

    Living in the Southern United States during eighteenth century was a difficult time for African-Americans. Majority of them were slaves who received manipulation, sexual abuse and brutally whips to the spin. They were treated this way in order to stop them from gaining hope, knowledge and understanding of the world. Some African Americans managed to obtain these qualities from books and use them to escape from slavery. Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist who wrote an autobiography, from which the excerpt "Learning to Read and Write" explains how he developed literacy. In the excerpt, an African American slave banned from learning to read and write, breaks the law in an attempt to free his mind from the restricted beliefs of his master. One significant idea portrayed from Douglass's ordeal is that reading and writing is a vital skill that benefits humanity.

    Read More

  • College Admissions Essay: The Value Of Picture Books

    475 Words  | 1 Pages

    I began to read not out of entertainment but out of curiosity, for in each new book I discovered an element of real life. It is possible that I will learn more about society through literature than I ever will through personal experience. Having lived a safe, relatively sheltered life for only seventeen years, I don’t have much to offer in regards to worldly wisdom. Reading has opened doors to situations I will never encounter myself, giving me a better understanding of others and their situations. Through books, I’ve escaped from slavery, been tried for murder, and lived through the Cambodian genocide. I’ve been an immigrant, permanently disabled, and faced World War II death camps. Without books, I would be a significantly more close-minded person. My perception of the world has been more significantly impacted by the experiences I've gained through literature than those I've gained

    Read More

  • Examples Of Repression In Dracula

    2232 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Victorian England setting and culture of “Dracula” by: Bram Stoker attributes to many stylistic components and character behaviours in the novel. One of which is the behaviour and actions characters express that are a result of sexual repression. In Dracula, sexual repression is best expressed by the character’s desire to create. This desire is exemplified by the way Dracula creates other vampires, Lucy’s sexual desires, and the men’s expression of aggression. The creation of other Vampires is evident through events including Dracula’s aggressive encounters with Lucy and Mina, and the fact the Dracula is building up a Vampire army. Lucy’s sexual desires are exemplified through her longing to have sex with multiple men and how she compares

    Read More

  • Victorian Women's Roles In Dracula By Bram Stoker

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    The purpose is to examine the women social norms and differentiate them in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. During the Victorian era, the gender roles between men and women were defined by culture and society; it also was reflected by the literature throughout that period of time. In Dracula, the author reinforces and challenges those social norms through his characters and storyline. Throughout the novel, the characters distinguish many references related to masculinity and femininity. The characters demonstrate stereotypical interpretations of those gender norms, and the men are portrayed to play the more dominant roles versus the women upheld the more domesticated roles. In the story, Dracula defies those norms by

    Read More

  • Sacrifice In Bram Stoker's Dracula

    2045 Words  | 5 Pages

    Bram Stoker's Dracula is a staple of the Gothic Horror genre. It is a novel that has been scrutinized by countless readers over the years. It has spawned an absolutely massive following that still persists to this day, more than a hundred years after it was initially published in 1897. While Stoker's novel is certainly not the first example of a piece of gothic horror, or even the first example of a gothic horror story focusing specifically on vampires, it still managed to fully capture the attention of the public. But not only did Dracula enthrall the readers of its time, but it continued to be a mainstay of the gothic horror genre, and was continually discussed over the following years. The myriad of ways this novel has been interpreted over

    Read More

  • Stoker's Treatment Of Women In Dracula

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1897 Bram Stoker published a book titled Dracula, meaning “dragon” in Romanian. The book astonished many, and to this day continues to. Though having endured over a century of thought the book still shows an intriguing look on female sexuality in the time period of which it was written. The book follows a group of people involved in the wraths of Count Dracula. Throughout the book marriage and relationships are encountered, and are the binding cause in the book, essentially provoking many of the problems encountered. Dracula reveals society’s belief of the two sides of women, the societal “axiom” of behavior in men and women, as well as the obligations to obtain marital status and find security in it.

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes In Dracula

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Victorian era was a very conservative time when Western society was entirely patriarchal and gender roles where extremely strict. Dracula challenges this normative society by operating under the fear of “the queer” or unnatural. Bram Stoker’s queer, alien characters pervert gender roles in horrific ways and are punished with dire consequences. There are two main sources of these gender role perversions: the Count and every female character. It is striking that the two sources of the horror-creating “queer” are a blood-sucking undead monster, and women. By thus placing women who defy gender norms in a similar category with a monstrous antagonist, Dracula supports the return to traditional gender roles through the extermination

    Read More

  • Gender And Inversion In Christopher Craft's 'Kiss Me With Those Red Lips'

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Kiss Me with Those Red Lips” written by Christopher Craft is an article about the Gender and Inversion in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. His main argument about Dracula is that the novel is intertwined with homosexual desires and gender inversion that goes against the typical Victorian Era’s social norms. He uses several examples to develop a well-organized, logical article that encompasses the outlook on the novels homoeroticism and gender inversion.

    Read More

  • Reconfiguration of Social Relation: The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...lways be inferior to men. In their everyday immersion, they are constantly reminded by this fact, and so they constantly subject to men and follow the daily routines prepared for them. They beautify themselves the way man would perceive them to be attractive. And so, even if some women are now displacing men in their own game and in their own world, as long as they wear powders and plastics, they will remain as others. As long as we look at ourselves in context of the eyes of men we will always be treated as mere objects.

    Read More

  • Essay About My Love of Reading and Learning

    197 Words  | 1 Pages

    I read because it brings me pleasure and because I never want to stop learning. Recently I have been reading a lot of multicultural women's literature and Victorian medical textbooks.

    Read More

  • My Reading History

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    If one were to look at my varied reading habits, they would be struck by the diversity and over all unusualness of my mind’s library. I hardly remember the plot of the first book I read, but it was called Lonesome Dove. It wasn’t the actual first book I read, but I don’t really count the McGregor Readers from kindergarten. I read it in first grade because of my Grandmother’s fascination in the T.V. mini-series that was playing during the time. I wanted to be able to talk to her about it so I went to the public library that weekend and picked up a copy. Well, I actually didn’t pick it up, it was too heavy. It took me over two and a half months to read, but with the help of a dictionary and my grandma, I finally read it from cover to cover. I can’t really say that I understood it, because I don’t recall what it was about. But I do remember that it was quite an ordeal. Since then I have read many books. I enjoy fiction the best, especially those that are based on society, but have a small twist that leads to an interesting story. Some of the stories that I remember best from that early time in my life are Tales from Wayside Elementary School, Hatchet, The Godfather, and The Giver. I think that Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen, is the only book that I’ve read more than once. I liked the situation that Brian was put into, lost in the wilderness, with nothing more to fend for himself with than his mind and a trusty hatchet. The adversity he faces and his undying drive are what fascinated me most. Since that time my reading habits have grown into a different style. I have usually only read what was assigned to me during the school year because that was all I had time to do, but I have always strived to put forth extra effort. For example: last year for English 3 AP we had to read an excerpt from Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography. Although that we only had to read a small bit, I checked the entire book from the college library and read it all. Although the way that Franklin rambled on and on about his “Franklin Planner” was somewhat boring, the way he describe his life was pure poetry.

    Read More

  • Differences And Similarities Between Dracula And Carmilla

    1252 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gothic stories often provide differentiated frameworks for the appearance of many characters within the stories. We find a multitude of characters ranging from the hunter, to the prey, from damsel in distress to women appearing as sexualized monsters. Bram Stroker’s Dracula, John William Polidori’s Vampyre and J. Sheridan LeFanu’s Carmilla provide a keen insight on the culture, norms, societal values and the writing of early gothic literature. It is imperative to note that in the Victorian era, sexuality as a gender role was assigned to men and the placement of women as vampires in the gothic stories either challenge or reaffirm these expectations of sexuality of the women. Stephen D. Arata in his article, “The Occidental tourist: Dracula

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Reading Books And Watching Movies

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    People have to be determined and focused in order to complete a whole book. Everyone has, at some point of their life tried to read a book and some have even given up after battling to read through the first page. On the other hand, watching movies is easy and can save a lot of time. Usually a movie takes about two hours, while reading a book could take more than a week or even months for some readers. Individuals think perusing books and watching movies are the same, so they will watch the movie for their time 's sake. Also, watching movies provide superior picture about the story since it is visual and is within a short timeframe so, the audience can remember the story easier. To add more, you can complete a movie in one sitting while to complete a book, you have to work hard and give a lot time for it. Furthermore, you can do anything while watching movies. For instance, you can do your assignment while watching movies or cook food and watch movies. On the other hand, while reading a book, you need to be fully focused on it else you don’t understand what’s happening in the story. Besides, movies continue renewing each week, whereas for a book to be composed and distributed takes a lot of time (Lee, wordpress.com). Before movies were made, most of the population read books to engage and improve themselves. Since movies came out, people are pulled in by the delightful and bright representation in the motion

    Read More

More about The Importance of Reading

Open Document