Let's All Read!!!

I am a huge reader, and I try to complete a new book each week. As a student and learner, it is imperative that you develop a love of reading now. Reading will help improve your vocabulary, and depending on the content your read, it will teach you a lot of useful information.

How Do I Find Time To Read?

Reading sounds great and all, but how do I find time to read when I have tons of homework, church activities, friends, and extracurriculars? There is no easy answer, but I suggest you read at the edges of the day. Carry a book with you always, and instead of clicking through your phone on IG or Snapchat, how about use those bored moments to read a few pages. Read on the car rides to and from school. Read while waiting in line at the grocery store. Read at the dentist office. Read when you wake up in the middle of the night and can't easily go back to sleep. Find time to squeeze at least 15 minutes a day of leisure reading time. Your vocabulary will thank you later.

What Should I Read?

Sometimes the question is not whether there is a desire to read, but more so the question is how do I find books that speak to my interests. There is no solid answer, as everyone's interests are different. However, with today's technological advances, you will always have easy access to almost any book you want. Still, here are some suggestions of where to start to find the genre that meets your reading palette.

• Start with the classics. Whether reading Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne, or The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the classics are always a good place to start, if only to see what all the fuss is about.

• Join Goodreads and look for suggestions. Goodreads is the social media platform for readers, and operates similar to Facebook, except all people post is information related to the books you read. I use Goodreads all the time and it has led me to find some great selections.

• Ask your teacher for recommendations. I know this sounds lame, but your teacher knows a lot about you. Ask them to recommend a book that they think you will enjoy. They have probably encountered hundreds of books and can probably find one or two that really will inspire you.

Below are some of my favorite books. I do not know if they are content appropriate for your grade level, but they are some of my favorites and I just have to pay them some homage here.

Use Reading to Increase Your Social Media Presence

So, this is a little far out, but reading can actually make you a YouTube or IG star. There are many book readers who have taken to social media to blog and vlog about their reading experiences, and have gained a sizeable following because of it. I am not suggesting that you read only for popularity, but I am suggesting that reading could open the door to other opportunities. It is someone's actual paid job to read books and review them, why can't that one day be you?