Why People Should Read for Pleasure

http://www.eslbee.com/why_people_should_read_for_pleasure.htm

"In the past years the use of the television and the internet has
increased; this situation has caused many people to change their likes
and the way that they enjoy their free time. Because of television
and the internet, many people spend less time reading, so the purpose
for this essay is to present reasons why people should read just for
pleasure. The reasons that I give you are quite simple: to improve
your knowledge, to expand your general culture, to have more fun, to
make your imagination fly, to find new ways to express your ideas, and
finally to expand your vocabulary.

The first reason that I give you to enjoy reading is that when you
read, you can expand your knowledge and also your culture. There are a
lot of good books in which you can find history, novels, tragedies,
comedies and a variety of other themes. You can see that people who
read more often frequently have a bigger knowledge of life and also a
bigger perspective of their environment. I think that fact gives them
an advantage over all others who do not read frequently.

The second reason to read more often is that through books you can
have fun and even travel in your imagination. Children have not yet
lost the ability of getting into their dreams, and because of this,
in their first years the parents read a lot of tales in which they
use their imagination. Adults should try to keep this ability, so we
do not forget the importance of the use of the imagination. The
imagination also represents a tool that could help you to develop your
professional career in a creative way.

Finally, the third and the most important feature that reading offers
you is that it does not matter the age that you have, you always could
expand your vocabulary and the ways to express your ideas to the
others in a simple and correct form. By the time you can improve the
kind of books that you read, there are a lot of categories, so you
will never stop learning from the pleasure of reading. People who know
how to choose a book generally have the capability of choosing a
formal book in which they can find formal grammatical structures and
obviously a formal vocabulary. All these things allow them to gain
greater fluency in their communication."

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Arizona State Universtity College
http://www.asu.edu/xed/reading/

Reading Skills Programs for Children and Adults

"and also helps to stimulate a lifelong interest in reading for pleasure.

Jf all the things parents do for their children, there are very few as
important as helping them to develop a love of books and the habit of
reading independently for pleasure.

The benefits of enjoying reading last a lifetime. Reading well
profoundly affects your child's academic and professional success, and
it also shapes your child's character. No matter what your child's
age, level of reading skill, and current attitude toward books, it's
never too late to develop a love of reading".

i dadair,

Thank you for an interesting question. Ahhh... the joys of reading
just because I love to read. :)

Cornell University 2005 New Student Reading Project
http://reading.cornell.edu/welcome.html

"According to a recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts,
the amount of reading done for pleasure is down in this country,
especially reading of literature such as fiction, poetry and drama. It
is happening across all age groups, all genders and races, regardless
of income, education, or region. Perhaps most disturbing, the steepest
decline has come among young adults, ages 18 to 24, over the past two
decades."

edit,

"Reading is the best thing we can do, for ourselves and each other.
Not only does it enrich our lives, but it can enrich the world around
us. As the NEA survey also indicates, people who read for pleasure are
many more times more likely than those who don't to visit museums and
attend concerts, and almost three times as likely to perform volunteer
and charity work. Readers are active participants in the world around
them, and that is the best kind of person to be."

=========

owtoAdvice.com
http://www.howtoadvice.com/Preview/Jaqfbx/

7 Benefits of Reading Fiction

"Is your life so busy you're wondering how you are going to find time
to read more, especially when it's just for 'pleasure'. aving trouble
justifying it, even to yourself. Leisure activities like reading are
often the things that slide when life goes into overdrive. And that's
sad because it's an activity that can make life richer and more
enjoyable.

A lot has been written about the benefits of reading for and to
children. owever, there is very little about the benefits to adults
in engaging in regular reading. Let me assure you that the benefits
for adults do exist and are many and varied.

Some of these include:

1. Providing an escape from the day-to-day Fiction is a great way to
take a quick immediate break, to be instantly transported into another
world. Today you could be in America, in the deep south with Alice
Walker's 'The Colour Purple', tomorrow in the Australian bush with Tim
Winton's 'Dirt Music', next week in downtown London with elen
Fielding's 'Bridget Jones Diary' and next month in Ireland with Jim
J'Neill's 'At Swim, Two Boys'. There is no limit to the places fiction
can take you.

2. Relaxation There is something about stopping to focus on words
arranged for our reading pleasure that is instantly relaxing. Maybe
it's staying still, something that doesn't seem to happen often
enough. Maybe it's knowing that we are stepping into a secret world
that we have to relax enough to enter. Then there is the words
themselves. The beauty and rhythm of language has the ability to calm
and relax us.

3. Stress relief Taking your mind off your own problems, even for a
few minutes, can have a therapeutic effect and be a timely circuit
breaker. This is so effective that the National ealth System in the
United Kingdom has introduced a 'Reading and You Scheme'. The scheme
encourages mental health patients to read more as part of their
therapy for reducing stress and overcoming anxiety, depression and
social isolation.

4. Stimulates the right side of your brain Reading opens your mind to
new possibilities. It stretches your imagination in new and wonderful
directions and takes your mind on a wonderful journey through others'
lives.

Children Should Read Ior Pleasure in Summer, Literacy

Expert Says
#00,80/ 7/18/2005 4:20 PM EDT
$4:7.0 Purdue University
NeWsW|se A Purdue ur|vers|ly ||leracy experl ras a s|rp|e p|ece ol adv|ce lor cr||drer |oo||rg lor Ways lo sl|ru|ale lre|r ora|rs
|r lre surrer |r preparal|or lor go|rg oac| lo scroo|.
lave lur, re|ax, erjoy yourse|l, read a ooo| or lWo, ard dor'l Worry aooul lre upcor|rg lesls rexl scroo| year, says J||| Vay, a
Purdue prolessor ol ||leracy educal|or.
Vay, Wro spec|a||zes |r cr||drer's ||leralure, says v|rlua||y ary ooo| car oe oerel|c|a|, as |org as |l ro|ds lre cr||d's |rleresl.
Cr||drer srou|d l|rd ooo|s lrey erjoy ard read lrer, Vay says. 8oo|s g|ve lrer a crarce lo escape |rlo a reW Wor|d. Tral's
Wry larry Poller |s so popu|ar.
Vay says leacrers car see a o|g d|llererce oelWeer cr||drer Wro read dur|rg lre surrer ard cr||drer Wro dor'l oecause read|rg
re|ps deve|op a W|de rarge ol s||||s.
K|ds Wro read car Wr|le, sre says. K|ds Wro dor'l read as rucr car'l Wr|le as We||.
Vucr ol lral ras lo do W|lr lre Way ooo|s leacr aooul craracler|zal|or - lre rol|val|or ol craraclers ard roW lrey re|ale lo ore
arolrer, Vay says. Tr|s leacres yourg Wr|lers |og|ca| slory deve|oprerl ard roW var|ous craraclers l|l |r as a slory progresses.
A|so, sre sa|d, read|rg leacres lulure Wr|lers roW lo deve|op lre|r vo|ce.
Every Wr|ler Wr|les W|lr a lore, ard lral's roW you |earr |l, oy read|rg olrer peop|e's Wr|l|rg, Vay says. we suocorsc|ous|y gel a
vo|ce oy Wral We read.
Read|rg ras arolrer |rporlarl oerel|l. Vay says av|d readers usua||y are slrorg spe||ers.
Cr||drer |earr spe|||rg oy read|rg ard Wr|l|rg. 3ee|rg lre sare Words over ard over ra|es lor good spe||ers.
Ard a|| lre s||||s read|rg leacres cr||drer car re|p Wrer |l does core l|re lo la|e a lesl, oecause lesl la||rg ard scroo|Wor|
|rvo|ve rore lrar sludy|rg ard |roW|rg lre arsWers lo a parl|cu|ar suojecl. urderslard|rg lre Word|rg or prras|rg ol quesl|ors |s
oller lre |ey lo g|v|rg lre r|grl arsWers, sre says.
Vay says a|| parerls car re|p lre|r cr||drer deve|op ar |rleresl |r read|rg oy lurr|rg oll lre le|ev|s|or lror l|re lo l|re ard ra||rg
a lr|p lo lre ||orary lo crec| oul ooo|s or gel |rvo|ved |r surrer read|rg progrars.
Cr||drer succeed Wrer lrey rave oeer g|ver lre |eys lo success, sre says. Cr||drer are producls ol lre|r erv|rorrerl. wral a
parerl leacres lrer al rore ard Wral lrey |earr al scroo| creale a lorru|a lor success.
Re|aled weo s|le:
Purdue ur|vers|ly Co||ege ol Educal|or:http://www.education.purdue.edu

Reuding Ior Pleusore or Ior oty?

Posted by Daniel Doleys under Books, Culture, Literature
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n 2006 the NLT published a Research Overview on 'Reading for Pleasure The report
defined `reading for pleasure as reading that we to do of our own free will anticipating
the satisfaction that we will get from the act of reading t also refers to reading that
having begun at someone elses request we continue because we are interested in it t
typically involves materials that reflect our own choice, at a time and place that suits us
The report cites two authorities, Philip Pullman;

onsider the nature of what happens when we read a book.. It isnt like a lecture: its
like a conversation. Theres a back-and-forthness about it. The book proposes, the reader
questions, the book responds, the reader considers. And we are active about the
process. We can skim or we can read it slowly; we can read every word, or we can skip
long passages; we can read it in the order it presents itself, or we can read it in any
order we please; we can look at the last page first, or decide to wait for it; we can put
the book down and . we can assent or we can disagree.

According to Stephen Krashen who is a major proponent of the value of reading for
pleasure:

'When children read for pleasure, when they get hooked on books, they acquire,
involuntarily and without conscious effort, nearly all of the so-called language skills
many people are so concerned about: they will become adequate readers, acquire a large
vocabulary, develop the ability to understand and use complex grammatical constructions,
develop a good writing style, and become good (but not necessarily perfect) spellers.
Although free voluntary reading alone will not ensure attainment of the highest levels of
literacy, it will at least ensure an acceptable level. Without it,
I suspect that children simply do not have a chance.
The report also identifies the important role of parents in ensuring that intergenerational
`reading for pleasure is sustained t concludes that overall research has shown that:
O hildren who know adults who read for pleasure take it for granted that reading is
a valuable and worthwhile activity
O hildren whose home experiences promote the view that reading is a source
of entertainment are likely to become intrinsically motivated to read
O The beliefs held by childrens parents about the purposes of reading and
how children learn to read relate to childrens motivations for reading.
More specifically, parents who believe that reading is a source of entertainment
have children with more positive views about reading than parents who only
emphasise the skills aspect of reading

O hildren of parents who believed that reading is a source of pleasure had greater
reading motivation scores in primary school and
O hildren are more likely to continue to be readers in homes where books and
reading are valued.
The implications from the research for were that schools need to:
O spend more money on books.
O implement a reading promotion programme that will make reading an experience
that is actively sought out by students.
O adopt broad-ranging approaches to consult with students in order to learn of their
interests and to ensure that the range of reading materials available in school
reflects those interests.
O recognize that a diverse range of reading materials will encourage students to
read,
O engage children in the planning and delivery of reading and library
activities, offering them the opportunity to select and purchase reading materials
for their use.
(NLT, Reading for Pleasure, 2006)