reading for pleasure essay summary

Pleasure of Reading Essay

The human mind is rational and does not take things for guaranteed. Man is constantly trying to run after knowledge and answers to the various questions that arise in his mind. His areas of interest are wide and he remains inquisitive all his life.

To satisfy his thirst for knowledge and information he can always turn to books for help. It is important to be selective about the kind of books that one decided to read. If we read books that are trash, we are liable to be corrupted by them.

Reading substandard material is simply a waste of time. Education cannot be measured by degrees and qualifications. It is in fact measured by the culture and manners that one imbibes. A person can enrich himself with good qualities and a commendable culture if he comes across books that have a message to convey.

Good books sow the seeds of curiosity in man and he wishes to read more and more. He cannot acquire the desired knowledge by reading a single book. He must, therefore, read a number of them depending on his speed. Books that don’t sharpen our sensibility are rather futile to read.

Books also give pleasure to us. Apart from giving knowledge, they provide us with lasting pleasure. They mould our ideas, outlook and character and are like good and reliable friends. Man can never feel lonely if he has the company of good book.

Our friends may not have time for us at times, but a book can never desert us. We must select books of some particular purpose before we start reading. Sometimes we read aimlessly and once we finish the book we tend to develop a very negative attitude towards reading.

We may then lose interest in further reading. The habit of reading should be cultivated right from an early stage in life. Children must be encouraged by their parents and teachers to read novels, dramas, poetry, etc.

One can read even while travelling. It has often been said that “ an idle mind is a devil’s workshop” . In order to protect oneself from the devil, one can always resort to reading and thus find pleasure in one’s life.

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Why Should People Read for Pleasure? Essay

Introduction, why people should read for pleasure, works cited.

We all have different methods to enjoy our free time. The current use of the internet explains why many people will not spend their time reading books or novels. The number of people reading various books and documents for pleasure is decreasing. Some scholars and theorists explain why people should make reading part of their culture. Reading is a good practice that presents numerous universal benefits. According to Waxer (28), “reading for pleasure becomes one of the best practices towards a successful life”. This essay seeks to outline the benefits of reading for pleasure. The discussion explains why reading is beneficial to every person who embraces the practice for pleasure.

The benefits of reading for pleasure are inexhaustible. Reading is a good practice that improves people’s ideas. The practice can also expand a person’s cultural understanding. Many books and novels can inform the reader about tragedies, comedies, and history. These themes are relevant in every social group. Individuals who read widely tend to have a bigger understanding of life. Such individuals are also aware of the issues or events affecting their lives. This practice explains why such individuals will achieve their goals faster than those who do not read for pleasure. Reading for pleasure is a healthy practice. The practice “makes it easier for readers to gain new ideas” (Court 48).

Imagination is the best method to widen our understanding. This practice creates much fun in our minds. Every child enjoys new stories and fairy tales from his or her parents. These tales help children create the best images of their surrounding world. These stories help these children create new imaginations. Every person can also benefit from the power of imagination. Readings give a person the ability to create imaginary pictures and scenes. The reader can use “such imaginations to address every challenge affecting him or her” (Court 48). Many readers can create new ideas and make appropriate decisions based on their imaginations. Reading for pleasure becomes the best practice towards achieving most of our goals.

Every person wants to have the best vocabulary and command of English. Every person can increase his or her vocabulary at any particular age. A person who reads many books and articles will make quick decisions (Bloom 18). Reading is helpful because it helps a person express his or her ideas to the other people in a better manner (Court 53). This explains why every person should read widely in order to expand his or her vocabulary. The individual will make better decisions and communicate the best ideas to his or her friends. Many books are grammatically formal. These books will help more people expand their vocabularies in order to express themselves much better.

Communication is a critical aspect of human interaction. A person who communicates fluently will interact with others easily. A person who reads widely will find it easier to get assistance from others. This fact explains why “every individual should read widely in order to improve his or her communication skills” (Bender 62). Reading can help a person increase his or her knowledge. Such a person will read widely and interact with other people efficiently. Books can help a person improve his or her interactional skills. This practice will create the best reading culture. This will be the beginning of knowledge.

According to Waxer (48), “reading helps a person improve his mathematical skills”. Most of the students who study for pleasure will always get better grades in mathematics. Studies have also found that every student who spends a lot of time reading for pleasure will be sharp. This practice should be embraced because will help more people make decisions faster. The reader becomes aware of every issue in the world. The person becomes alert because he or she wants to gain more ideas and solve every challenge affecting him or her. Reading for pleasure helps people establish new ideas in order to improve their lives.

Reading is a positive culture that facilitates a person’s emotional maturity, growth, and healing. Many books present some of the best ideas towards a better life. These books will educate people to make appropriate choices and decisions in life. The person experiences a new form of therapy thus becoming mature and confident in life. This confidence helps a person overcome most of the trivial problems encountered in life. The practice also improves a person’s empathy. The reader experiences a simulation of the problems and challenges encountered in the universe (Bender 75). The experience creates a new impression thus helping the reader find new solutions to these problems.

According to Bender (59), “reading is one of the best practices towards improving our creativity and rationality”. The practice also lessens the rate of idleness. The person begins to analyze and identify new opportunities in his or her mind. This explains why a constant reader will always be a critical thinker. The reader will reduce every stress encountered in life and eventually realize his or her goals. Reading becomes one of the best strategies to relax and reexamine our opportunities. Every person should be ready to read widely for pleasure in order to achieve his or her goals.

Reading can also help a person improve his or her writing skills. Every best writer is always a reader. These two practices are closely connected. The reader gains new ideas and concepts. A person will replicate such skills whenever he or she is writing. Reading for pleasure becomes something intrinsic (Gray 64). The person remains motivated thus becoming a good writer. Reading for pleasure also boosts a person’s morale. Many people who read many books not encounter major disorders associated with depression (Waxer 67). These people will read more books and articles in order to improve their skills. The reader will also increase his presence in the public sphere. The person will establish better engagements and achieve the greatest goals in life.

The above discussion explains why every person should read for pleasure because the benefits are endless. This fact explains why every person should enjoy reading and make the practice part of his or her culture. Reading for pleasure helps people expand their knowledge and imagination. The people will also boost their vocabularies. People should not ignore the power of books because it can make a difference in their lives. A good reader will also use the internet to read many books and articles. This will create a new habit and make the person successful. The first approach towards achieving this goal is to choose the best books. The person should also create more time to read these books for pleasure. This is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge.

Bender, Tisha. Discussion-based Online Teaching to Enhance Student Learning: Theory, Practice, and Assessment. New York: Sterling, 2012. Print.

Bloom, Harold. How to read and why. New York: Scribner, 2000. Print.

Court, Joy. Read to Succeed: Strategies to Engage Children and Young People in Reading for Pleasure. London: Facet Publishers, 2011. Print.

Gray, John. Children are from heaven: positive parenting skills for raising cooperative, confident, and compassionate children. New York: HarperCollins, 2004. Print.

Waxer, Frankenstein. Reading Together: Everything You Need to Know to Raise a Child Who Loves to Read. New York: Penguin Book, 2009. Print.

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1. IvyPanda . "Why Should People Read for Pleasure?" May 19, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/why-should-people-read-for-pleasure/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Why Should People Read for Pleasure?" May 19, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/why-should-people-read-for-pleasure/.

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Reading for Pleasure: A Review of Current Research

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• Published: 22 March 2024

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• Ana Vogrinčič Čepič   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2352-4934 1 ,
• Tiziana Mascia   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3047-5002 2 &
• Juli-Anna Aerila   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1109-8803 3  

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The narrative review examines the current state of research on reading for pleasure and its relevance in education and personal development. By analysing 22 studies published over the past several years (2014–2022), the authors have sought to identify the key trends and areas of focus within this field. The selected articles have been coded and analysed, and the results have been used to, among others, examine the type of research on reading for pleasure, the subject areas covered, the research methods used, the variables analysed, and the target groups involved. A particular attention has been paid to possible conceptualisations of reading for pleasure and reading for pleasure pedagogy, to the type of reading and the texts reading for pleasure may predominantly be associated with, as well as to its social dimension and relationship to the digital literary environment. The literature review shows that the studies on reading for pleasure highlight the importance of personalisation in reading for pleasure pedagogy and acknowledge the role of the material and social dimension of reading. Further, there are signs of a broader definition of reading materials, like comics, also in the educational context. The findings of the present review indicate the gaps in the research of reading for pleasure and highlight the need for a more profound understanding of the title concept and its benefits, thus contributing to the development of its future research and promotion.

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Introduction

Broadly speaking, reading for pleasure refers to any kind of reading the reader gets pleasure from. It is not limited to any genre (there is no universally defined literature for pleasure that reading for pleasure would refer to) and is usually associated with non-obligatory reading of self-chosen texts and characterized by high level of reader’s engagement and enjoyable experience of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1991 ).

Two large-scale ongoing surveys, PISA (2000–2018) and PIRLS (2001–2016), routinely demonstrate that students who like reading are better and stronger readers, which means that reading motivation and the pleasure associated with reading are among the key conditions for high reading achievement and should therefore be properly addressed and acknowledged. Footnote 1 While a direct comparison on reading for pleasure between PISA and PIRLS data is not possible due to different response categories and target groups, the results of both of the surveys urge us to think about new ways of luring students into reading. Especially older students’ reading habits as presented in PISA are cause for concern. The parameters in the cycles that looked in detail at reading performance, that is, in 2000, 2009 and 2018, show that in the majority of countries the number of students reading for enjoyment is decreasing. In all countries and economies, girls reported much greater enjoyment of reading than boys, and the fact that girls on average in every assessment clearly outperform boys in reading, suggests there is indeed a strong association between reading achievement and enjoyment of reading, as confirmed not only by PISA and PIRLS but also by many other researches (Guthrie et al., 2010 ; Mol & Jolles, 2014 ; Nurmi et al., 2003 ; Petscher, 2009 ).

What’s more, enjoying reading seems to be the decisive indicator of successful reading performance and academic attainment in general. Students who enjoy reading, and make it a regular part of their lives, are able to improve their reading skills through practice. Better readers tend to read more because they are more motivated to read, which, in turn, leads to improved vocabulary and comprehension skills ( PISA 2018 Results , vol. II. ch. 8, OECD, 2020 ). In fact, gaps in reading scores attributable to different levels of reading engagement (of which enjoyment is a key component) are far greater than the reading performances gaps attributable to gender. In other words: reading engagement is an important factor that distinguishes between high-performing and low-performing students, regardless of their gender. Boys who are more engaged in reading tend to outperform female students who are less engaged in reading ( Literacy Skills for the World of Tomorrow , OECD/UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2003 ). Footnote 2

This article presents a narrative literature review based on recent academic articles on the topic of reading for pleasure. The study systematically reviews peer-reviewed articles published between 2014 and 2022 with the aim of investigating how reading for pleasure figures in academic articles and identifying the most current themes of the research on reading for pleasure as well as the areas that still need to be researched. One of the focuses of the study is the idea of reading for pleasure pedagogy and it aims to highlight the ways in which reading for pleasure could be implemented in educational environment and in practice, since this is where policymakers could have a positive influence.

In the section “ The Concept of Reading for Pleasure ” we first try to present the title phenomenon and its related notions by drawing on the many existent definitions, taken from mainly older (book) studies (not articles) that were not included in the review, with the intention to see how the 22 articles under examination relate, differ or elaborate on the existing idea of reading for pleasure.

After explaining the methodology of our review and the data analysis procedure, we present the results divided in several topics.

The initial general research questions of the study were: What kind of peer-reviewed articles have been published on reading for pleasure between 2014 and 2022? How is reading for pleasure understood in peer-reviewed articles between 2014 and 2022? And, what is the relationship between reading for pleasure and pedagogy in peer-reviewed articles? These were our broad issues of interest, that guided us through the review, which provided us with some more or less specific answers.

The Concept of Reading for Pleasure

Literature on reading for pleasure uses a variety of definitions and interpretations of the concept as well as different denominations. Often, reading for pleasure is used interchangeably with ‘reading for enjoyment’ (Clark & Rumbold, 2006 ), ‘leisure reading’ (Greaney, 1980 ), ‘free voluntary reading’ (Krashen, 2004 ), ‘independent reading’ (Cullinan, 2000 ), or ‘recreational’ (Manzo & Manzo, 1995 ; Ross et al., 2018 ) and ‘self-selected reading’ (Martin, 2003 ), but also ‘engaged’ (Garces-Bascal et al., 2018 ; Paris & McNaughton, 2010 ), even ‘aesthetic’ (Jennifer & Ponniah, 2015 ) and ‘ludic reading’ (Nell, 1988 ). It is variably described as: “reading that we do of our own free will, anticipating the satisfaction we will derive from the act of reading” (Clark & Rumbold, 2006 , p. 6), “a purposeful volitional act with a large measure of choice and free will” (Powell, 2014 , p. 129), and “non goal-oriented transactions with texts as a way to spend time and for entertainment” (The Reading Agency, 2015 , p. 6).

In contrast, reading for academic purposes typically involves texts that are assigned as part of a curriculum, and then evaluated or tested on. It has a more structured and goal-oriented focus, whereas reading for pleasure tends to be open-ended and driven by the reader’s own interests and preferences (Wilhelm & Smith, 2014 ). It typically involves materials that reflect our own choice, at a time and place that suit us. Instrumental views on reading do not necessarily preclude pleasure as one can certainly experience pleasure when reading assigned literature, and many situations fall in-between work and leisure, but the primary context for reading for pleasure is undoubtedly linked to a relaxed and obligation-free atmosphere.

For struggling and/or reluctant readers, reading for pleasure is harder to experience when reading individually and is almost an achievement in itself. There is a proven correlation between skill and enjoyment which is why good readers tend to enjoy reading much more: If the student does not read fluently, it means that the effort and energy the student has to put into reading is greater than the pleasure (s)he gets from reading. Therefore, (s)he prefers to avoid reading, if possible. Consequently, bad readers become worse, and vice versa (see Stanovich, 1986 for Matthew effect, and also Möller & Schiefele, 2004 ). It is thus important that the chosen texts (their content, composition, stylistic features and their level of complexity) match the reader’s reading ability, level of pre-existing knowledge and reader’s interests (Sherry, 2004 ). All this plays a vital role in ensuring reading motivation, another concept reading for pleasure is closely connected to.

Reading motivation is a complex notion, which is usually divided into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation to read comes from personal interest or enjoyment of reading and is related to positive experiences with reading itself. Studies have shown that intrinsic incentives, such as personal interest in the material, curiosity, involvement in the text, and a preference for challenge (e.g., McGeown et al., 2012 ) are better predictors of reading frequency and comprehension than extrinsic incentives, such as rewards or grades, parental pressure etc. (Becker et al., 2010 ; Lau, 2009 ; Schaffner et al., 2013 ; Schiefele et al., 2012 ; Wang & Guthrie, 2004 ). Even so, extrinsic motivation can gradually change into intrinsic (see also the notion of emergent motivation, Csikszentmihalyi et al., 2005 ). Intrinsic motivation refers to being motivated and curious to perform an activity for its own sake. It is the prototype of fully autonomous or self-determined behaviour and therefore represents the most optimal form of motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000 ). In the case of reading, this means that children read because they enjoy it and become fully engaged in reading. Many studies report that intrinsic reading motivation generally declines over the school years (Kirby et al., 2011 ; McKenna et al., 1995 ; Wigfield et al., 2015 ), while further findings suggest that extrinsic motivation decreases over time as well (Paris & McNaughton, 2010 ; Schiefele et al., 2012 ).

In an educational system, where there is a focus on reading for assessment purposes, offering students opportunities for reading for pleasure can help them develop a lifelong love of reading. By showing them that reading can be enjoyable and introducing them to different reading materials and reading-related activities, everyone can find something to their liking (Collins et al., 2022 ; Merga, 2016 ). For conquering reading for pleasure, it is equally crucial to master the skills of reading as to reach the state of fully engaging and immersive reading, that is, feel a sustained impulse to read characterized by intense curiosity and a search for understanding (Baker & Wigfield, 1999 ; Wang et al., 2020 ). It is much easier to achieve it if one is a ‘good-enough’ reader.

Several studies have by now clearly demonstrated that the benefits of reading for pleasure far surpass the direct literacy-related aspects. Apart from improved reading comprehension, critical thinking skills and increased vocabulary, reading for pleasure can provide cognitive benefits, encourage social interactions, as people often discuss and share their reading experiences with others (Boyask et al., 2021 , 2023 ), improve emotional and psychological well-being (Mak & Fancourt, 2020a ), healthy behaviours (ibid., 2020b ) and a sense of personal enjoyment (Department for Education, 2012 ; The Reading Agency, 2015 ). Reading for pleasure is seen as a crucial foundation for lifelong learning and social and cultural participation, and can contribute to improved relationships with others, as well as to a better understanding of personal identity (The Reading Agency, 2015 ).

After providing this basic outline of reading for pleasure we will now present our review strategy.

Methodology

This study utilizes a narrative literature review, an approach suited for examining topics that have been studied from various perspectives across different research fields. A narrative literature review provides a thorough examination of a subject, facilitating the development of theoretical frameworks or laying the groundwork for further research (Snyder, 2019 ). This methodology is effective in mapping out a research area, summarizing existing knowledge, and identifying future research directions. Additionally, it can offer a historical perspective or timeline of a topic.

To conduct this review, the authors undertook a series of methodical steps: initially, they established a focus for their research before refining their research question as necessary. Subsequent steps involved identifying key search terms and establishing inclusion and exclusion criteria for the literature search. Upon retrieving relevant literature, the quality and pertinence of the identified studies were rigorously assessed. The data from these studies was then synthesized. Finally, in alignment with the procedures and findings the authors critically reviewed and presented the accumulated evidence, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the research topic.

Data and Data Collection

The material for this research was gathered through a two-phase process. In the first phase, an extensive search based on the key words ‘reading’ and ‘pleasure’ was conducted using the search machine Volter which implements searches of the 502 databases of the University of Turku. The search returned articles from the following databases: EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost Education, EBSCOhost SocINDEX, Taylor and Francis Social Science and Humanities with Science and Technology, SAGE Journals Premier 2022, Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals Complete, JSTOR Arts and Sciences II and III, Literature Online (LION), ProQuest Central and Cambridge Journals Current Subscription Content. However, the key words returned articles outside our focus area (in total 1473 hits) regarding the content and the field of sciences. Therefore, we decided to limit the search and tested several key word combinations: (1) education, reading for pleasure pedagogy, (2) reading for pleasure pedagogy and children, (3) reading, pleasure, motivation and (4) reading, pleasure and children. As these searches returned almost the same articles and did not limit the data enough (all the searches with more than 1000 hits), we decided to stay with the original search code “reading” AND “pleasure” but limit the data with following limitations: the field of science (excluding medical studies and natural science), the type of the publication (articles in academic journals), and open access. The publication year was restricted to articles published between 2014 and 2022, and only peer-reviewed articles written in English were included. The search resulted in 101 articles (originally 143 but as the duplicates were removed 101 remained) on a variety of topics, including foreign language learning and literary criticism. These articles were saved in a secure Google Drive folder and were only accessible to the researchers using a specific keyword.

During the second phase of the research process, all three researchers carefully read through the articles obtained in the first search and excluded those that only marginally dealt with reading for pleasure. Among others, we eliminated review articles and those that mainly belonged to the field of literary studies. Any duplicate versions were also removed. At last, we investigated the articles of the previous searches, and decided to add three of them to our final list. The second phase thus ended up with 22 articles which formed the data of this study. The list of the articles included in the review is presented in Table  1 together with the name of the journal, the author(s) and the title of the article.

Data Analysis

After defining the data, the data-analysis began. The data was analysed according to multi-phased, regulated and controlled coding (see Thorne, 2008 ), using mainly qualitative analysis supported with quantifications. The preliminary analysis started with reading the articles individually multiple times to acquire an overall picture of the content and to identify the categories on the basis of which we would then code the articles. This phase was mainly data-driven, but theory-driven analysis was used to support the researchers in defining the coding categories.

Apart from the basic information on each article, which included the title and the author(s), the name of the journal and publication year, we also took note of authors’ institutional and national affiliations. We then defined 12 categories for coding the articles, which are: the type of the article (theoretical and/or research); the target group of the study (according to age, type of readers and profession, if applicable); the methodology that was used (qualitative and/or quantitative); whether and how reading for pleasure was defined in the article, whether the article addressed reading for pleasure in an educational-context or not; whether reading for pleasure was understood as a means for better (school-related) achievement or rather in connection with other benefits; the focus of the article; whether the article was based on traditional view of reading (i.e., printed books only) or not; whether there was any consideration of the digital dimension; did the article talk about reading for pleasure pedagogy; did it consider the social aspects of reading; and did it define the meaning of pleasure itself. When possible, we also marked whether certain aspects (such as, e.g., traditional understanding of reading) were explicit or just implied. Finally, each article was equipped with a short summary of the content. This helped us to better grasp how reading for pleasure is understood and contextualized.

Each researcher independently analysed the 22 articles according to the above categories, and the results were then compared and discussed within the group. In most categories, the researchers reached a consensus, only in some instances there were slight differences in how individual categorisation was interpreted or described (as in question when a definition of a certain concept is explicit or implied). These discrepancies were addressed and resolved through discussion. On the basis of the above-described article categorisation the articles were coded to allow for quantification of the data.

The analysis took a two-folded approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods. In the qualitative analysis, the researchers carefully read through the analysis of the articles and identified the prevalent categories and themes. The goal was to gain a descriptive understanding of the current research on reading for pleasure. Coded categories were then used in the quantitative analysis yielding a basic overview on the prevailing topics, approaches and aims of the articles included. Both analyses were first carried out independently by each individual researcher and then confirmed by all. The results of the qualitative and quantitative analyses are presented separately and then synthesised in the conclusion.

As already implied, the reliability of the analysis was supported by researcher triangulation, meaning that several researchers study the same phenomena, using the same methods, techniques and theoretical framework of departure. If the researchers come to the same conclusions, the research process can be considered valid.

Publication Year, Represented Disciplines, National Affiliations

The results of the literature review show that the journals the articles were published in belong to various fields of knowledge: educational sciences, literacy, reading and language research, as well as library and information science and psychology. Half of the articles (n = 11) were published in journals concentrating on education and school context, and one third of them (n = 7) in journals on literacy, reading and language research, including also the research on second and foreign language learning. The rest of the disciplines mentioned above are represented by two journals each. In three cases, the same journal contributed two articles to our literary review data; these journals were Literacy , Cambridge Journal of Education and Reading in a Foreign Language . All the other journals in our selection are represented by one article each, which suggests that the topic of reading for pleasure is quite evenly handled in various disciplines.

The analysis shows that the articles on reading for pleasure were published relatively evenly throughout the years 2014 and 2022. However, over half of the articles were published after 2017 which might indicate a growing interest in the topic (Table  2 ).

Then again, if we take into consideration the advance online publication date (DOI number links), the numbers change (most notably for the year 2020), and the increase after 2017 seems less noticeable (Table  3 ).

According to the analysis, reading for pleasure is being researched on almost all the continents—Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. About one third of the articles derives from Europe, with United Kingdom having the highest number of published articles on the topic (n = 5). These are articles written by Burnett and Merchant ( 2018 ), Kucirkova and Cremin ( 2018 ), Kucirkova et al. ( 2017 ), Reedy and De Carvalho ( 2021 ), Sullivan and Brown ( 2015 ). Almost all the authors come from academic institutions, such as institutes and universities. However, there is also one primary school teacher (Reedy in Reedy & De Carvalho, 2021 ), a high school professor (Arai, 2022 ) and a librarian (Shabi in Abimbola et al., 2021 ). The origin countries of authors’ institutions are presented in more detail in Table  4 .

Even though the articles of our data come from several continents and have publication forums of different disciplines, they seem to concentrate on similar themes and have in most cases practical aims. The most common topics were the benefits and effects of reading for pleasure, the perceptions and attitudes of children/students on reading for pleasure, and the relation of reading for pleasure to digital reading. The articles apparently aimed at understanding the nature and meaning of reading for pleasure. The requirement for a broader definition of reading was pronounced as well as a role of pedagogy in ensuring reading for pleasure.

Type of the Articles, Research Methods and Target Group Contexts

Most of the articles in the data are traditional research articles (n = 15). One third of the articles (n = 7) have a more theoretical focus and may reference previous interventions or other empirical data sources. The methods used in the research vary: nearly half of the studies (n = 10) use qualitative methods, about one third (n = 6) use quantitative methods, and a few (n = 4) combine qualitative and quantitative methods. Two of the articles do not employ any methodology.

The target groups of the studies presented in the articles vary from minors to adults. Nevertheless, it appears that reading for pleasure research focuses mainly on children and the young, as half of the articles investigate this target group, and one fifth (n = 4) deal with both minors and adults. This means that only one third of the articles (n = 7) discuss reading for pleasure in relation to non-minor population: two of them specifically address librarians and library professionals (Merga and Ferguson, 2021 ; Ramírez-Leyva, 2016 ), while the other five are about university students. Some of the studies used existing data sets or data originally collected for other purposes (e.g., Sullivan & Brown, 2015 ). The size of the data varies depending on the characteristics of the data, ranging from under twenty to thousands of participants.

There is a wide range in the age of the groups studied, with some studies focusing on specific age groups, such as children or teenagers (e.g., Retali et al., 2018 ; Wilhelm, 2016 ), while others include a more diversely aged population (e.g., Kavi et al., 2015 ; Kucirkova et al., 2017 ). In most cases, the data concerned participants that were over 15 years old: secondary or high school students and second language learners at a university. Accordingly, a wide majority of articles (n = 15) relate to the educational context: primary and secondary schools and universities.

The analysis shows that very few studies identified reading groups according to their reading attitudes. One of the studies explicitly concentrated on investigating good readers (Thissen et al., 2021 ), and another (Wilhelm, 2016 ) focused on readers who were marginalised in a sense that they did not read the materials approved or used in school. It is somewhat surprising that weak or reluctant readers were not targeted as an object of study, as the articles seem to concentrate on using good or average readers as models for reading for pleasure. The only article that calls for pedagogy as well as for materials adjusted for the diverse readers (Kucirkova & Cremin, 2018 ) does not refer to any specific target group. Other than that, the only target group with challenges in reading were the second language readers (e.g., Arai, 2022 ; Ro & Chen, 2014 ).

Understanding of Reading, the Digital Dimension and the Social Aspect of Reading

Over half of the articles (n = 13) define reading in a sense that exceeds the traditional idea of reading the verbal printed books. They talk about ‘multimodal approaches to reading’ (e.g., Kavi et al., 2015 ; Ramírez-Leyva, 2016 ; Vanden Dool & Simpson, 2021 ), and ‘wide reading’ (McKnight, 2018 ), and use a more inclusive repertoire of genres, not habitually read in schools, such as comics, graphic novels and song lyrics (Reedy & De Carvalho, 2021 ; Retali et al., 2018 ; Wilhelm, 2016 ), as well as various (literary and non-literary) digital formats, which blur the lines between texts and films, text and games, and text and music, thus offering the reader more choice and potentially a more personal and pleasurable reading experience (Kucirkova & Cremin, 2018 ). Except for underlining the importance of self-chosen nature of the texts, most articles do not limit the type of literature appropriate for reading for pleasure. However, there is a noticeable albeit implied emphasis on narrative and fiction, that is, texts which tell stories of lived experience (Barkhuizen & Wette, 2008 in Kucirkova & Cremin, 2018 ).

The digital dimension is mentioned in half of the articles (n = 11), mostly when referring to reading material. One research examines the interaction the readers experience with media texts (Burnett & Merchant, 2018 ), another deals with how gamified reading might improve the reading interests and feelings of pleasure (Li & Wah Chu, 2021 ), Chireac et al. ( 2022 ) investigate the effects of creating videos on reading for pleasure, and Kucirkova and Cremin ( 2018 ) emphasise how the digital libraries, applications and digital storybooks allow for a more personalised reading experience.

The social aspect of reading in terms of its collective and shared experience is addressed in half of all the reviewed articles (n = 11), mainly published after 2018. This can partly be attributed to the digitalisation of the reading experience they refer to, which has a more pronounced social dimension. However, reading aloud, collective reading and discussion with others on what was read may all form part of pleasure experience with the printed text as well. According to Kucirkova et al. ( 2017 ), reading for pleasure is a social practice in a sense that the reader’s pleasure from engaging with a narrative is increased through the possibility of sharing this experience with others. With digital books, this engagement can be even expanded and intensified as readers can share their insights with others both remotely and/or immediately. Kucirkova and Cremin ( 2018 ) consider participation, defined as shared and sustained reading for pleasure engagement, as one of the six facets of children’s reading for pleasure engagement, which are particularly brought to the fore by digital books (together with affective, creative, interactive, shared and sustained engagement).

Despite being referred to in half of the articles, the social dimension in reading is more thoroughly examined only in a few of them: see McKnight ( 2018 ) for ‘new and participatory media forms’; Mahasneh et al. ( 2021 ) for ‘community-based reading intervention’, Kucirkova and Cremin ( 2018 ) for ‘community-oriented interactive space’, and Burnett and Merchant ( 2018 ) for ‘affective encounters’.

The Meaning of Reading for Pleasure

More than half of the articles (n = 14) include definitions of reading for pleasure, while eight of them do not. In four cases reading for pleasure is explained only via synonyms (Ghalebandi & Noorhidawati, 2019 ; Li & Wah Chu, 2021 ; Ro & Chen, 2014 ; Sullivan & Brown, 2015 ), which we did not count as a definition, in the other four articles, that do not define reading for pleasure, its meaning is either implied (e.g., as in contrast to reading from textbooks in Willard & Buddie, 2019 ), or the term is used without further explanation (Sénéchal et al., 2018 ; Willard & Buddie, 2019 ). The concept is addressed evenly in research and theoretical articles.

The articles can be divided in two groups according to the level on which they try to grasp the notion of reading for pleasure. The first can be labelled as descriptive, loose and instrumental, and as such closer to the already discussed Clark and Rumbold’s broad understanding of reading for pleasure ( 2006 ), emphasizing free choice and free will, experience of engagement, availability of various materials, and the context of leisure, entertainment and engagement. There are seven articles that can be categorized as such (among others: Mahasneh et al., 2021 ; Merga & Ferguson, 2021 ; Vanden Dool & Simpson, 2021 ). The other seven articles employ a more analytical approach, taking the above outlined idea of reading for pleasure as a basis, but opening it up to a more complex scrutiny, trying to detect different types of reading for pleasure, as well as various dimensions of pleasure and components of the reading experience that may affect it (e.g., Arai, 2022 ; Thissen et al., 2021 ; Wilhelm, 2016 ). The potential of environmental and material aspects of pleasure-reading is addressed, especially in relation to the digitization (Burnett & Merchant, 2018 ; Chireac et al., 2022 ; Reedy & De Carvalho, 2021 ). Rather than settling for one monolithic idea of reading for pleasure, these authors talk about the personalized pleasure-reading experience and emphasize the role of children’s agency and choice (Arai, 2022 ; Kucirkova & Cremin, 2018 ; Reedy & De Carvalho, 2021 ; Wilhelm, 2016 ).

Three of the reviewed articles offer a comparatively more in-depth approach to reading for pleasure. Thissen et al. ( 2021 ) discuss how different experiential dimensions of fiction reading—a sense of presence, identification, feeling of suspense and cognitive involvement—relate to pleasure, and suggest that flow is what integrates them all together, making it the strongest predictor for reading pleasure. “Flow is not only a key predictor of the pleasures of reading narratives but also modulates other important dimensions of the fiction reading experience, such as a sense of being present in the story world, identification with protagonists, feelings of suspense, cognitive involvement with the story, and text comprehension” ( 2021 , p. 710). Similarly, Arai ( 2022 ) defines pleasure as flow experience and relates it to the perceived book difficulty. Burnett and Merchant ( 2018 ) discuss the notion of the affect and enchantment in reading for pleasure in the context of digital reading and everyday literacy. They present reading as inextricably entangled not just with the text but also with other people, places and things, and describe the enchantment as an affect generated in the relations between these various elements. Their examples show the complex and diverse ways in which reading and pleasure are entwined, and that can range from immersive to ephemeral, individual to collective, and encompass anything from momentary hilarity to deep engagement.

All these (7) articles that delve deeper into the understanding of contemporary reading for pleasure tend to apply it to new media. The new media affect the nature of pleasure, especially when it comes to the young, which is why methods of reading motivation have to be adjusted to digital media environments. Being new and relevant they are more likely to engender feelings of pleasure in young people. Chireac et al. ( 2022 ) for example suggest creating videos (in which readers explain why they have chosen to read a certain book) as a support reading-related activity in order to boost pleasure and enhance reading comprehension.

Another aspect that characterizes the more in-depth discussions on reading for pleasure in the reviewed articles is the pronounced attention on the reader and on the pursuit of a personalized version of pleasure reading. Reedy and De Carvalho ( 2021 ) state that children’s agency must be fostered in order to create a pathway towards reading for pleasure; they present a number of case-study examples illustrating this practice with a special emphasis on the children’s co-creation of the reading setting. Kucirkova and Cremin ( 2018 ) talk about fostering reading for pleasure with personalized library managements systems, which can recommend book titles through algorithmic analysis of available titles and users’ past engagement with texts. They see huge potential in both—personalized books (print and digital) and in personalized response to text. Wilhelm ( 2016 ) also focuses on the perspective of the reader and analyses where s/he gets the pleasure from when reading voluntarily. In responses of avid adolescent readers, he detects five distinct types of pleasure: the immersive pleasure of play, intellectual pleasure, social pleasure, the pleasure of functional work, and the pleasure of inner work, underlining the pleasure of play, that is, the pleasure of living through a story, as the most important one.

These analytical articles reveal that reading for pleasure is a complex concept that should be explored in depth, in order for its various layers to be understood and translated into practically useful pedagogical approaches in the contemporary contexts.

The Need for Reading for Pleasure Pedagogy

Reading for pleasure pedagogy is addressed in nine out of 22 articles. It is usually not specifically defined and mainly refers to different practices and approaches of implementing reading for pleasure in the school curricula. The concept is more or less equally present in research as well as in more theoretically inclined articles. While the majority of research and intervention-based articles in our review describe various tools and techniques on how to incite reading for pleasure in the educational context, there are also a few that offer a more in-depth insight on the topic and build up on professional knowledge, developing a specific type of pedagogy, that is, reading for pleasure pedagogy (Kucirkova & Cremin, 2018 ; McKnight, 2018 ; Vanden Dool & Simpson, 2021 ; Wilhelm, 2016 ).

A common finding of the articles regarding reading for pleasure in general and reading for pleasure pedagogy in particular is that more opportunities should be afforded to include reading for pleasure in the school curricula (e.g., McKnight, 2018 ; Reedy & de Carvalho, 2021 ), or—as Wilhelm puts it: “the power and potential of pleasure suffers from a degree of neglect in schools, teaching practices and in research base” ( 2016 , p. 31). If nothing else, students should be able to choose the texts themselves or at least have more frequent possibilities to do so. Next, there is an evident consensus that too much focus is placed on reading as a technical and functional skill, framing it as a measurable result rather than a lived experience and process. In contrast to reading competence, reading for pleasure is not assessed and is frequently side-lined by high-profile focus on reading instruction, decoding and comprehension. This is reflected in the fact that more articles (n = 10) view reading for pleasure primarily as a means to achieve better literacy and literacy-related benefits, rather than as a goal that brings other, unmeasurable positive outcomes (n = 7). Four articles refer to both sides, and one article refers to neither option. Even so, the authors generally agree there should be a balance between the ‘skill to read and the will to read’.

Another common thread of discussion regarding reading for pleasure pedagogy is a call for working on a better understanding of pleasure and on what brings pleasure in the context of reading, since this is a base for a successful transaction between the reader and the text. In order to achieve this, several components should be acknowledged: a broad understanding of reading; personalized approach, adapted to the individual reader; attention to contextual elements (the setting, time and place of reading, atmosphere), and social dimension, that is, potential for interaction. An effective reading for pleasure pedagogy should therefore take into account new and participatory media forms, that would correspond to twenty-first century reading practices, and acknowledge a reader’s individualized interest (reflections, attitudes and lived experience) and his/her own perception of pleasure. It should involve an active role of the teacher as a reader and create an authentic teacher–child dialogue (Kucirkova & Cremin, 2018 ; McKnight, 2018 ). However, in practice, curriculum constraints and time limitations very much impede the effective reading for pleasure pedagogy, making it heavily dependent on individual teacher’s endeavours and beliefs (Chireac et al., 2022 ; Vanden Dool & Simpson, 2021 ), rather than on explicit knowledge of a reading for pleasure pedagogical framework, which is why a greater professional understanding of reading for pleasure pedagogy should be ensured.

Apart from confirming the reputation of reading for pleasure as “a fuzzy concept” (Burnett & Merchant, 2018 , p. 62), being loosely rather than exactly defined, this study also shows the concept has been expanding to include a wider range of reading materials, such as e-books and comics (e.g., Kavi et al., 2015 ; Kucirkova & Cremin, 2018 ; McKnight, 2018 ; Ramírez-Leyva, 2016 ; Retali et al., 2018 ; Reedy & De Carvalho, 2021 ; Vanden Dool & Simpson, 2021 ; Wilhelm, 2016 ). As more children are exposed to digital media, it is important to understand how these materials can be used to motivate children to read and encourage a love of reading (Kucirkova & Cremin, 2020 ). Studies also highlight reading in a second language, traditionally observed merely as a language learning activity, as a possible pathway towards reading for pleasure.

The loose definition of reading for pleasure makes it difficult to compare and fully understand the results of different studies. It is important to gain further knowledge on the nature of pleasure and on where the pleasure may come from, in order to be able to evoke it in the context of reading and develop effective reading for pleasure approaches. As observed, some of the examined articles address these very issues and try to detect the different components or criteria contributing to pleasure reading. The two most underlined notions in this regard refer to the importance of personalisation and to the acknowledgment of material and social dimension of reading. As already implied, by personalisation we think of approaches that encourage reading by taking in consideration the specifics of an individual reader, his or her interests, needs, wishes and choices. This does not exclude the foregrounding of the social dimension of reading as the latter is exactly what many readers need, and besides, personalized approach often results in grouping readers with similar agenda, which in itself could incite motivation.

The experience of pleasure may vary with individuals, and it is important to study and try to understand where the pleasure for different individuals comes from and then try to link it to reading. The personalised reading approach addresses intrinsic motivation and may as such also help encourage the reluctant readers, who have been rather side-lined in the examined selection of texts, as well as narrow the gender gap, a challenge that—despite being very foregrounded in the PISA and PIRLS results—is surprisingly not very explicit in the reviewed articles.

Reading for pleasure pedagogy plays a crucial role here. It refers to teaching methods and approaches that aim to promote reading for pleasure among students and typically involves a wide range of reading materials to choose from, encouraging students to read for enjoyment and personal fulfilment. Reading for pleasure pedagogy can take many forms and practices, including social reading environments, reading aloud, independent reading and informal book talks (Safford, 2014 ). It implies studying the specific characteristics of texts and materials that are most likely to be engaging and enjoyable for students, and provides guidelines on how teachers can use these materials to encourage reading for pleasure. However, there is a need to further investigate reading for pleasure pedagogy in order to better understand the specific strategies and approaches that are effective in promoting pleasure-reading among students.

We need new ways of contextualizing reading for pleasure that would fit with the range of practices emerging in an increasingly digital age. We have to pay attention to the environmental and interactive dimension of reading encounters. In short, we need to grasp reading for pleasure as personalised, embedded and situated phenomenon and ensure the conditions for practicing it. On the basis of the above observations a solid standardised methodology for ‘measuring’ reading for pleasure, or rather for measuring the efficacy of reading for pleasure pedagogy, can and should be created. What we need is an integration of a more detailed knowledge and practice, which would help educators and policy makers gain a deeper understanding of how to promote a love of reading.

The real actor in the pedagogy of reading for pleasure, however, is the teacher. Teachers’ knowledge of children’s and young adult literature and other texts, of their reading practices, of reading for pleasure itself and of pedagogical approaches with concrete tools and equipment is the key factor in promoting reading for pleasure. In line with the need to develop personalized methods and relational approaches, we need to equip teachers with professional knowledge and also with enough time to get to know the readers and develop appropriate and tailored strategies to integrate reading for pleasure into the curricula. This requires systematic support and cannot depend on individual teachers.

One of the ways in which it would be possible to help the teachers and other reading mentors getting to know the readers is creating the methodology for profiling the readers according to their skills, practices and attitudes, on the basis of which a more thorough personalisation could be made. This is even more important since there is a pronounced need for a more targeted research on poor and reluctant readers, which are the least represented in the research, the hardest to reach, and for whom reading for pleasure is more difficult to experience.

Apart from that and in order to provide support for the often over-burdened teachers we believe schools could benefit from cooperation with the external ‘reading motivators’, properly educated and school-unrelated librarians, that would take over a set of reading for pleasure-related workshops, tailor-made on the basis of the profiles and the related reading pathways, as well as on individual interaction. Also, bringing somebody from ‘the outside’ could help create a more relaxed, less ‘schoolish’ atmosphere and contribute to a more effective pursuit of reading for pleasure.

So far, what seems to have been achieved through research on reading for pleasure is a recognition of the importance of reading for pleasure; now we need to ensure it finds its regular place in everyday contexts. Despite the obvious emphasis on children and the young in school context, we have to keep in mind that reading for pleasure needs to be fostered also in relation to other populations, not necessarily linked to educational institutions.

In this study, we conducted a narrative review of a selection of articles published between 2014 and 2022 that focused on reading for pleasure. The review analysed articles on reading for pleasure published in various disciplines, mainly in education and in literacy, reading and language research, but including also library and information science, and psychology. Most of them are traditional research articles using qualitative methodology. Research on reading for pleasure has been conducted in various countries and continents, indicating that there is a widespread interest in understanding the benefits and promoting this activity. As the majority of the articles were published after 2017, the trend might be indicating a growing interest in the topic. The target groups of the articles varied, with a majority focusing on minor readers (e.g., Ghalebandi & Noorhidawati, 2019 ; Kucirkova et al., 2017 ; Vanden Dool & Simpson, 2021 ), although there was a wide range in the ages and sizes of the populations studied. Participants in the research were mostly fluent readers, that is, good and average high or secondary school and university students (Sullivan & Brown, 2015 ; Thissen et al., 2021 ; Willard & Buddies, 2019 ), which indicates the centrality of educational context in the discourse on reading for pleasure. This is also reflected in the fact that more articles consider reading for pleasure primarily as means to achieve better reading skills and literacy-related benefits, rather than in connection to other positive outcomes (e.g., Arai, 2022 ; Kavi et al., 2015 ; Li & Wah Chu, 2021 ). A good half of the reviewed texts considers a broad understanding of reading, including digital media forms, and acknowledges the importance of the social dimension in reading for pleasure (e.g., Burnett & Merchant, 2018 ; Kucirkova & Cremin, 2018 ; McKnight, 2018 ).

Referring to our initial research questions, we could summarize that the articles focus on the benefits of reading for pleasure, present practical examples of reading for pleasure promotion, especially in relation to the digital environment, analyse perceptions and attitudes towards reading for pleasure, discuss the nature of pleasure, and the role of schools and libraries in ensuring reading for pleasure. The findings suggest that reading for pleasure has a positive impact on various aspects of education and personal development (e.g., Sullivan & Brown, 2015 ; Willard & Buddie, 2019 ), and that it is important to promote and encourage this activity. Almost two thirds of the articles in some way or another define reading for pleasure, almost one third analyse it in more detail and over one third specifically address reading for pleasure pedagogy. What stands out is a noticeable endeavour for a better, in-depth understanding of what brings pleasure in reading, the focus on the reader and a personalized approach of reading for pleasure, as well as the articulated need of developing reading for pleasure pedagogy.

Limitations

A relatively small number of the articles under examination limits the representability of our review results, however, we believe that we have nevertheless identified the current trends and challenges, as well as signalled potential solutions and thus in a small way contributed to the empowerment of reading for pleasure.

For the PISA and PIRLS results documentation see https://www.oecd.org/pisa/data/ and https://www.iea.nl/studies/iea/pirls .

According to PISA definition, reading engagement refers to time spent reading for pleasure, time spent reading a diversity of material, high motivation and interest in reading (Kirsch et al.: Reading for change, results from PISA 2000). In 2019 PISA survey, the definition of reader engagement was complemented in line with OECD 2016 broader conception of reading, which recognizes the existence of motivational and behavioural characteristics of reading, in addition to cognitive ones, stating that engaged readers find satisfaction in reflecting on the meaning of the text and are likely to want to discuss the texts with others.

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Vogrinčič Čepič, A., Mascia, T. & Aerila, JA. Reading for Pleasure: A Review of Current Research. NZ J Educ Stud (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-024-00313-x

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Reading For Pleasure: A research overview

Added 01 Nov 2006 | Updated 21 Sep 17

Read our review of the existing literature that explores reading for pleasure, its importance and its impact on literacy attainment and other outcomes. Although the Rose Review placed phonics firmly within a language-rich framework that fosters positive attitudes towards reading and a love of books, this context was lost in the subsequent press coverage.

It therefore seemed important to collect evidence that furthers our understanding of the value of reading for pleasure and to provide information that will enable parents, teachers and policymakers to promote reading motivation and wider reading. As part of the discussion, this paper also delves into different types of motivation and the impact they have on literacy behaviour and learning.

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The Benefits of Reading for Fun

There’s a powerful academic impact, new research reveals, when students are voracious, voluntary readers.

Mrs. Mason was “the perfect reading ambassador,” said Sandra Martin-Chang, recalling an early reading role model, her high school English and drama teacher. “She encouraged me to read excellent books with great storylines. We read The Handmaid’s Tale , and it was fabulous.… We’d envision it first and then think about how to enact it and bring it to life.”

Now a professor of education at Concordia University, Martin-Chang studies how reading storybooks and novels influences cognitive development.

In a new study published in Reading and Writing , she and her colleagues found significant differences between students who read for pleasure outside of class—immersing themselves in fantasy novels or spy thrillers, for example—and those who primarily read books to satisfy school assignments. Not only was there a powerful link between reading for fun and stronger language skills, but students who disliked reading frequently attributed their negative outlook to experiences they had in classrooms. Too much emphasis on analyzing the compositional nuts and bolts of texts and reading merely to absorb information came at a psychological cost, the researchers found, as students disengaged from voluntary reading.

In the study, Martin-Chang and her colleagues surveyed 200 university undergraduates, asking them about their reading interests, how often they read for pleasure, what motivated them, and what experiences helped shape their attitudes toward reading. They were also asked to identify authors they had read in the past—a proxy for measuring how many books they had read. The young adults then took a series of tests to gauge their reading ability.

“We found that often children’s experience in elementary school is far more positive, and then it drops in high school,” said Martin-Chang. While children in kindergarten and early elementary school tend to read storybooks as they develop their reading skills—often sharing the experience with an adult—by high school, the nature of reading changes as students are expected to read a steady diet of more challenging, information-rich texts. Somewhere during that transition, a love of reading seems to fade.

In the study, 35 percent of students pinpointed a specific reason: They didn’t enjoy reading because “being asked to analyze books in high school made it less pleasurable.”

But analyzing the elements of good writing—how persuasion works, how figurative language can elevate texts—is essential to teaching kids the full range of their expressive potential, and Martin-Chang isn’t suggesting that we read only for fun. “Competence is very, very important. We can’t skip straight to books children love without teaching them how to do it right,” she said. She likens reading to eating a well-balanced diet: “The people who say chocolate is good for you don’t recommend eating it to the exclusion of all other things.” Focusing primarily on analyzing texts and gathering information—a shift that tends to occur in middle and high school—can send the signal that reading is merely a utilitarian undertaking, robbing it of its powerful connection to human imagination, passion, and creativity, making it a lot less desirable.

We need to take reading for fun as seriously as we take academic reading, if we’re going to sustain voluntary reading through middle school and high school, and into adulthood.

Expand Their Options

For Martin-Chang, reading for pleasure isn’t a diversion from rigorous academics—it’s a gratifying form of cognitive exercise, one that is both enjoyable and intellectually beneficial.

“We don’t just want kids exercising in gym class, we want them to continue to exercise when they get home,” said Martin-Chang. “So it’s the same with reading. In school, we want to show them a range of things that hopefully they’ll pick up, go home, and continue to do on their own time.”

Even light reading provides a host of benefits, increasing verbal and creative skills, nourishing our capacity for empathy, and even reducing prejudice against stigmatized groups—all skills that are developed as readers become accustomed to inhabiting unfamiliar worlds, seeing things from new perspectives, and contemplating how a chain of events can lead to unforeseen outcomes.

Yet reading for fun—particularly the kinds of books that aren’t part of classical literature or that don’t carry literary prestige—is often considered less useful. “It’s a false dichotomy,” said Martin-Chang. “People feel like we either let the kids be creative, do what they want, and we give them choice, or we get serious about things and they excel and they’re a good student. It’s serious or it’s fun. And that dichotomy is completely misguided.”

That’s why providing students with a rich and varied reading diet can make a difference. “Offer more choice,” said Martin-Chang. Introduce students to Romeo and Juliet , but give them the option to read The Fault in Our Stars as well; let them read comic books and manga, sports writing and plays, sci-fi and horror novels. In other words, it seems clear that if we want students to build literacy skills, it’s better for them to consume dozens of texts that they love, connect with, or feel inspired by, instead of grudgingly reading one because it’s assigned.

While children’s literacy skill development begins at home, teachers play a profoundly important part in encouraging students to love reading, a point that Martin-Chang makes clear when she’s training preservice teachers.

“People will either talk about teachers that loved reading, encouraged them as readers and really lit a fire, or they’ll talk about teachers who did the exact opposite,” said Martin-Chang. “They'll talk about teachers that took something that was once pleasurable and diminished it, or they’ll talk about teachers that didn’t seem to like reading themselves, or made them feel like less of a reader.”

In the study, Martin-Chang points to research on preservice teachers showing that “over half reported receiving little to no enjoyment from reading.” The teachers often attributed their disinterest to experiences they had in school, a finding that Martin-Chang and her colleagues called “especially concerning,” alluding to the cyclical nature of reading habits. “Teachers carry immense power in influencing students’ attitudes toward reading,” the researchers concluded.

So part of Martin-Chang’s mission is to convince teachers—and everyone else—that there’s tremendous value in giving students more choice in what they read, including books that may appear to be self-indulgent or have little intellectual merit.

In the classroom, said Martin-Chang, model a love of reading—go beyond grammar and meaning and inhabit the narrative worlds on the page. Emphasize choice, and give students opportunities to read and share during class time. Teachers have shared their own strategies to promote choice: Expand your classroom library beyond the traditional literary canon, and make sure it includes books that reflect students’ backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and passions . Offer plenty of ungraded ways for them to think about their reading: To ensure that they do the reading without the pressure of grades, pair kids up as reading accountability partners ; to enliven and dramatize books, let them act out scenes ; to build a thriving community of readers, set up book clubs or book tastings . Avoid rote or mechanical exercises like reading logs , which can create the impression that reading is a chore to be completed and then quickly set aside.

And if books aren’t normally a part of your curriculum, you can still show an interest in what your students are reading by making connections to a lesson. Start a science experiment by referencing Harry Potter , for example, or use dystopian novels to discuss totalitarianism, propaganda, or human rights.

“It’s important to teach children how to read,” said Martin-Chang. “And once we do that, we need to make it worthwhile. We’ve got to give them a reason. We’ve got to give them a view once they climb that mountain.”

English Compositions

Short Essay on Pleasure of Reading [100, 200, 400 Words] With PDF

Being able to read is the ultimate gift for human beings from god. This is considered one of the most pleasurable habits. In this lesson today, you will learn how to write essays on the topic of ‘Pleasure of Reading’ that you may find relevant in your exam. 

Short Essay on Pleasure of Reading in 100 Words

Reading is the biggest pleasure in this world. Books are our best companions. So reading is the best thing we can do. We read many books. We also love to read magazines and newspapers. All of these give us pleasure. We enjoy a different world through reading. Reading our favourite books gives us immense joy.

Reading is the food for thought. We become intelligent when we read. If we are sad then reading a book helps us to become light. We read several things. Our parents and school encourage us to read storybooks. It expands our imagination and helps us to think better. So we must never give up the habit of reading. It should be the regular work of wise people.

Short Essay on Pleasure of Reading in 200 Words

We learn as we read. When we are young, we are taught to read by our parents. They teach us alphabets and numbers. We get many books that have pictures and colours on them. It makes us happy. From a little age, parents tell us to read books.

Reading is a wonderful habit. It stays with us forever. When we read, we feel joy. We get into a different world as we read. Reading helps us forget all the problems of our life. When we study in school, we read books for examinations. It teaches us a lot. But at home, we also read storybooks. It is our biggest pleasure. 

We read several things like stories, comics, and magazines. Our teachers encourage us to read newspapers. Reading newspapers improves our speaking skills. It increases our knowledge of words. We get to know about much important news when we read the daily newspaper aloud. Some people read in their leisure. Some love to read when they are travelling somewhere.

We still enjoy reading a storybook when we are enjoying long distances. It kills our boredom. We do not get tired of time when we read, Our ability to speak develops as we read a different text. We learn new words. We also learn how to write better by reading. So reading books is a wonderful habit for all.

Short Essay on Pleasure of Reading in 400 Words

What separates a learned person from a stupid? The answer is simple. His ability to read. Reading makes us wise. It makes us different from others. If we cannot read, we will stay stupid forever. People will cheat us if we are not learned. So reading is a must for everyone. All of us should be able to read and understand. We go to school so that we can read, write and learn. Our parents are always encouraging us to read every day. Our teachers help us to read several books. So reading is a joy for all.

Reading is a pleasure for us. It is also a necessity. We eat food every day. We bathe daily. We sleep for eight hours. Similarly, we have to read daily. We start reading when we are in our kindergarten school. There we first learn alphabets and numbers.

Our parents and teachers teach us how to read the alphabet and how to write them. Slowly we grow up. Then we can read things on our own. We no longer need the help. As we read, it stays in our minds. In childhood, we read rhymes. We forever remember those rhymes. Reading makes us happy. 

In schools, we are taught many things. Then we have to read many books. It helps in our examination. But we do not stop there. At home, we read storybooks. We read funny stories, fairy tales, detective stories, and also comics. All of these give us pleasure. Books are our best friends. So we like to spend time with them.

We enjoy reading books. As we read, we learn several things. We learn new words. Our teachers always tell us to read. We often read the newspaper. Reading the newspaper aloud helps us in our speaking skills. We learn how to write by reading daily. So reading anything helps us in different ways.

We must take care as to what we are reading. Today many books are available in the market that is not of good quality. It destroys our time and energy. We do not learn anything good from those books. So parents should be careful while giving a book to their children.

Some of us love reading while travelling long distances. It kills the boredom of the distance. We don’t feel the time when we read. We feel happy as we finish a book. Reading always takes us to a different world. We love the story every book tells us. Reading gives us pleasure and also information. So we should always develop the habit of reading daily. 

All the essays have been written in very simple language for a better understanding of all kinds of students. If you still have any doubts regarding this lesson, kindly mention that in the comment. To read more essays on such important topics, keep browsing our website.

Join us on Telegram to get the latest updates on our upcoming sessions. Thank you. See you again, soon. 

• Child Development

The Benefits of Reading for Pleasure

The possible long-term benefits for children of reading for pleasure..

Posted September 18, 2023 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

• Understanding Child Development
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• Possible benefits include improved cognitive performance, language development, and academic achievement.
• Early reading for pleasure is also linked to fewer mental health problems, less screen time, and more sleep.
• Findings suggest that reading for pleasure for an optimal of 12 hours per week may be beneficial.

A study published in the journal Psychological Medicine in June 2023 examined the possible benefits of reading for pleasure. This topic of research is very important since reading for pleasure seems to be declining among young people. The National Assessment of Educational Progress in the U.S. found that only 42% of 9-year-olds reported reading for pleasure in 2000 (while 53% reported reading for pleasure in 2012 and 1984). Only 17% of 13-year-olds in 2000 reported reading for pleasure (versus 27% in 2012 and 35% in 1984).

This large study included over 10,000 children aged 9 to 11 years in the United States. Parents were asked how many years the children had read for pleasure and how often the children read for pleasure. The researchers separated the participants into two groups: 1) children who had been reading for pleasure for at least three years and 2) participants who never read for pleasure or had been reading for pleasure for less than three years. It is important to note that children who never read for pleasure were grouped with children who may just have been later readers.

The researchers found that children who read for pleasure from a relatively younger age were more likely to show improved cognitive performance (higher IQ ), language development, and academic achievement (grades and performance in school). They found that reading for pleasure was associated with fewer mental health problems, including being less likely to have attention problems, fewer symptoms of stress , and fewer behavioral problems. Reading for pleasure was also associated with less screen time and longer sleep duration.

Additionally, researchers found that reading for pleasure was associated with increased size of brain structures including some brain structures involved in cognition , language, and visual processing, Interestingly, they found that children with ADHD were more likely to read for pleasure later. However, early reading for pleasure was not associated with mental health concerns in children with ADHD but was still associated with measures of IQ.

The researchers also found that more hours spent reading for pleasure was associated with greater benefits (that is, higher IQ scores and larger brain structures) up until 12 hours per week. The researchers found no additional benefit for participants who read for pleasure beyond 12 hours per week, which may be because more than 12 hours per week would result in time away from other important activities such as social interaction, sleep, or physical activity. In other words, this finding suggests that 12 hours per week is the optimal number of hours spent reading for pleasure in order to enhance performance on IQ tests.

Limitations of the Study

The most important limitation to mention is that this study is a correlational study, meaning it only found an association between early reading for pleasure and positive outcomes as a teenager . Although the researchers attempted to control for variables such as socio-economic status, age, sex , and race/ ethnicity , there could be many other factors that caused the positive outcomes. For example, parents who encourage reading for pleasure likely encourage other positive habits (such as less screen time and more sleep which were also found to be associated with reading for pleasure in this study) and it could be these general positive habits that cause the positive outcomes rather than reading for pleasure specifically.

The reading for pleasure measure was based on two questions of a parent report. Different parents may define “reading for pleasure” differently and may over- or under-estimate when and how frequently their child reads for pleasure.

The researchers combined children who never read for pleasure with children who had started reading for pleasure at a later age in one group so it is unclear whether it is early reading for pleasure or reading for pleasure at all that drove this association. In other words, we cannot conclude from this study that children who are later readers but end up reading for pleasure just as frequently as early readers don’t experience the same benefits. It is also important to mention that this study does not provide evidence for the advantages of learning to read at an earlier age.

Pleasure of Reading Essay

500+ words pleasure of reading essay.

Reading is an important gateway to personal development and access to social, economic and civic life. It allows us to learn about other people, history and different cultures. By reading, we can gather knowledge in different areas like social studies, language subjects, arts, science, mathematics, and other topics. Reading for pleasure is much more than just going through a text. It is also a way of connecting with the text we are reading. In this pleasure of reading the essay, we will discuss how one can enjoy reading and make it a habit. Also, we have provided the list of CBSE Essays on different topics, which will help students practise essays on various topics.

Reading can change our life. It increases our knowledge, motivates and inspires us and elevates our doubts on a topic. The reading that we do by ourselves in our own way at our pace gives us the pleasure of reading. Such reading generates our interests, inculcates values in us and inspires us. On the other hand, the reading that is forced on us may have the reverse effect. The purpose of reading becomes merely pleasing the teacher and passing the exams, which normally happens with students studying their academic subjects.

There has been a rapid change over the last decades in the way children read and learn. The nature and form of study have changed radically. As a consequence of rapid technological advances, multimodal texts are now readily available. It includes voices, sound and music, stance, intonation, gesture, and movement, as well as a print and image. These exist in different media such as computers, laptops, mobiles, films, radios and books.

Today’s children like to read by viewing and visualising the topic. Many surveys confirm that children choose to read a very diverse range of texts. The most preferred reading materials reported upon by primary children in this study were: jokes, magazines, comics, fiction, signs, poetry and websites. In a survey, it was found that seven in ten young people said they would rather watch TV/DVD/video than read a book. It also depicts that many people took preference using the Internet over reading books.

In the 21st century, do children choose to read for pleasure, enjoyment and leisure? Are they reading willingly, for they are being forced to read by teachers to pass the exams? Does the desire to read independently come into students’ minds? Do they want to explore things with their reading and would like to become young readers of today and tomorrow? Finding answers to all these questions is not tough, as students are now showing very less interest in reading. They are getting conserved and limited to academic studies only.

When children read for pleasure, they get “hooked on books”. They gather a lot of information and also learn language skills. Many people are so concerned about reading that they become adequate readers. They learn the vocabulary and develop the ability to understand and use complex grammatical constructions. This develops good writing skills in them, and they become good writers.

Reading for pleasure is oriented towards finding personal meaning and purpose. It enhances the understanding of the world, the desire to understand, make things work, make connections, engage emotionally and feel deeply among people. Reading helps in finding resonances in the text. Readers can understand the meaning and execute them in their lives to become good humans. Reading a web of fiction or nonfiction inspires and motivates them. Many readers keep their first book as a child. Some of them retain the text, which connects to a significant memory. These all reflect the desire to read, indicating a degree of delight in reading itself. Readers find different reasons for reading.

Students must have found the “Pleasure of Reading” essay useful for improving their essay writing skills. They can get the study material and the latest updates on CBSE/ICSE/State Board/Competitive Exams at BYJU’S.

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Largest Compilation of Structured Essays and Exams

Essay on Pleasure of Reading (1297 Words)

January 4, 2018 by Study Mentor Leave a Comment

“Keep reading. It is one of the most marvellous adventures that anyone can have.” This quote was said by the famous American author Lloyd Alexander, who understood the true joy of reading and therefore made it his life’s mission to provide this joy to others through his writings. Then, what is reading?  

According to Oxford Dictionary to read is to, “look at and comprehend the meaning of (written or printed matter) by interpreting the characters or symbols of which it is composed.” But, it is so much more. Reading is a whole activity in itself. Reading takes the reader to a different world.

It enables the reader to vicariously experience things and moments they can’t in real life and live and know the life and experiences of a person they have never met, yet they come to understand. It enables the reader to sympathise, empathise and improve.   

We are taught how to read in schools by our teachers. We start reading there. As a child, we explore the world of fairy tales and fantasy while reading stories such as Robin Hood or Goldilocks. Through reading, we come to learn about morals and values.

Stories in the Panchatantra teach us how to be a good human being. As a young child, reading also enhances our knowledge of the world surrounding us. We learn what life is and how it is lived. Thus, this capability of reading distinguishes us from other species on this lovely blue planet.

Reading thus plays an important role in the overall development of us as capable and knowledgeable human beings.   

Reading is also an essential activity for the development of human minds. Reading become imperative when one wants to study and learn new subjects.

To master that subject, one needs to know how to read, especially in modern times. Even if you are talented in a sport and want to develop you skills in that field, if you cannot read and understand the rules and how the game is properly played, your efforts would all go to waste.  

Reading is also necessary for a young child to learn and understand about the world around her. It is through reading that she comes to understand her surroundings, the things and scenes she sees in her everyday life. She comes to understand how flowers bloom, how rain occurs, how this beautiful planet earth functions and maintains itself, etc.

She also learns about the rules and regulations that govern the society she lives in. She comes to understand that she cannot hurt other people and has a remedy if other people hurt her. She learns about traffic rules, about the government, about courts, etc.

It is through reading that she comes to appreciate all that has been provided to her. She learns about her rights and how she can fight for them if someone arbitrarily takes them away. Through reading, she becomes strong. Finally, it is through reading that she comes to understand the problems that her society faces, the country faces and this planet faces.

To understand these problems, practical experience is not always feasible. It is through reading that she comes to understand these problems and how it is affecting the people. Most importantly, it is through reading that she comes closer to finding a solution to these problems. Thus, she succeeds in making her contribution to making her society a better place.  

Reading also increases and develops the imagination and creativity of a person. Many people say that when you read a book, your mind creates a movie for you to enjoy based on your imagination.

A person’s imagination is unbound and seamless. Therefore, a movie based on the novel that the person read is often disappointing and people frequently express the opinion that the book is better than the movie.   

Reading also enhances our knowledge and helps us learn new and exciting things which we were not aware of before. The knowledge available to and acquired by human kind is expansive. To even more increase this knowledge, reading is necessary.

Through reading, we can also come to understand the views and opinions of others, compare and contrast them, and for our own independent opinion. Reading newspapers enables us to know about things and events that are physically far away from us. Yet, reading makes it near to us.

Therefore, through reading, we as humans feels connected. No matter how far apart we are in our physical distance from each other, as long as we read, we will be able to connect to each other and share our knowledge and values. This brings people closer to one another. Dr. Seuss, the famous American author rightly said, “The more you read the more things you know. The more that you learn the more places you’ll go”  

Many people rightly say that reading is to mind as exercise is to body. Reading helps us exercise our brain and develop it. This is the reason why reading is emphasized in school teaching. But, the culture of reading is slowly deteriorating. In our busy lives, we don’t have the time to stop, relax and take some time off just to read.

This can lead to adverse effects. And, these days, even if we do read, we end up reading meaningless things that make no contribution to our knowledge. We need to make time to read and read selectively so that we don’t end up wasting our time on reading things that don’t matter. Thus, there is a need to reignite the reading culture in our schools, homes, etc.  

Reading brings us joy that in incomparable to other activities. Reading takes us to a world different from our own, created by words that paint a beautiful scenery for us to enjoy. We immerse ourselves into another world, that for a few precious moments we forget our own.

We forget our problems, worries and troubles and are able to relax and be free and unbound from worldly attachments for a few moments. This brings immense pleasure to the readers. Therefore, in a way, reading takes us away from reality, yet brings us closer to understanding our reality. After all, it is only through reading that we can understand and comprehend the realities of life.   

Reading also satisfies our emotional needs. When we are sad, we can read something light and funny to make ourselves happy. When we are feeling curious, or want to go on an adventure, we can delve into the life of detective through novels and grow and develop with the characters.   

Reading also helps us understand the experiences of others, whether good or bad. There is a zen proverb that says that ‘It takes a wise man to learn from his mistakes, but even a wiser man to learn from others’ Reading enables us to learn from the experiences of others through their writings. Thus, reading sharpens our decision making skills. We learn to better differentiate between right and wrong and form opinions about matters that are important to us.   

Reading also helps us escape our loneliness at times. Books are our best friends and best teachers. They accompany us throughout our lives and we always depend on them to help us escape and lighten our negative emotions. This makes us feel better and brings us pleasure  

Thus, reading is an activity full of pleasure and joy. It is for this very reason that no person should be denied the right to read and explore her horizons.

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Essay on “Pleasures of Reading” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Pleasures of reading.

Books as Friends

Essay No. 01

A book is always a source of pleasures.  It is constant companion to man in weal or woe.  It is a source of knowledge as  well as entertainment.  Books contain the best of the thoughts of their authors. Robert Southey, a well- known lover of books, wrote:

                “My never-failing friends are they,                 With whom I converse day by day.                 With them I take delight in weal,                 And seek relief in woe.”

                Everybody wants recreation after hard work.  It is a biological necessity.  Books are a ‘great source of entertainment and recreation.’  They share the readers’ joys and sorrows.  A lover of books comes back home a very relaxed man after a visit to the library.  For him, the library is a temple of learning and a source of pleasures.  With its excellent academic, peaceful and educative atmosphere, a library is a place of peace, quiet and serenity.  J.B. Macaulay once said,” I would rather be a poor man in a place garret with plenty of books than a king who did not love reading.” Henry David Thoreau rightly remarked, “Books are the treasured wealth of the world, the fit inheritance of generations and nations.

                Reading books can introduce a new charm in life.  A book is the precious life blood of a master mind.  Books bring us in contact with the greatest scholars of the past and the present. As we get into the spirit of a book our entire attitude is changed.  Books share our joys and sorrows.  When we are in a happy mood, we share our pleasures in the company of books.  In our sadder moments, books act as our nurses or guardians and provide us with words of encouragement and consolation.  Books are, therefore, the best of friends.  Our human friends may desert us, but books do not desert us in any circumstances.  They stand by us through thick and thin.

                Books entertain and delight their readers.  Reading is a thrilling and an enchanting experience.  Books are the pearls of wisdom.  The best of human knowledge and thought is condensed in them.  They act as beacon lights to illumine our path on the dark and vast ocean of life.  Just as they relieve the boredom of journey in trains or buses, they also act as a stay and a support in the long journey of our life in his world.

                Bacon felt: “Reading maketh a full man.”  In fact, reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.  Realising the immense value of reading.  Gibbon once asserted,” My early and invincible love of reading I would not exchange with the treasures of India.”

                As far as possible, our endeavour should  be read the well-known and famed literature only.  But falling into the habit of reading cheap and inferior books, reading can become a curse as well.  It will poison the stream of our thought and make our mind a haunt of devilish ideas.  Choice of books is of first and foremost importance.  It is again, more useful to read wisely than to read carelessly and hurriedly.

                The great masterpieces, famous novels, biographies, books of philosophy and history have their own importance in human life.  A proper and health pleasure comes from understanding properly what we read.  No doubt, it requires a hard training and disciplining of our mind.  But once this art is learnt, there is no end to the satisfaction and deep contentment which we can derive from this art.  Milton has rightly said: “A good books is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose for a life beyond.”

Essay No. 02

Reading for Pleasure

Reading gives unique pleasure. The pleasures of reading are many. They differ from reader to reader. Sober and intellectual people prefer reading history books, philosophical treatises or books of serious nature. To an emotional reader, books of drama, poetry, travel, fiction and essays give great delight. While many others like to read stories, jokes, comics, detective material and such other books. But there cannot be any doubt that the pleasure of reading is the best. One can spend ones leisure in other pleasure pursuits as well, but reading has no equal. Reading has so many additional advantages which no other hobby or leisure time pursuit can give. The ability to read and relish books is really a boon. Reading provides delight, experience, entertainment and skills in various fields of life.

According to Francis Bacon, “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested, that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with deligence and attention. Some books also may be read by depth and extract made of them by others”. Again he says, “Reading makes a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man”. Bacon has write on all aspects of study and reading of various subjects. He further says, “Histories make men wise; poetry witty; the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend”

To get pleasure out of reading, one has to cultivate the habit of reading. Reading requires intelligence, quick comprehension, patience, love of solitude and certain language skills. One might be well educated, but it does not mean that one can surely drive pleasure from. reading or that one can engage himself in reading. It needs a special aptitude, but it can be easily acquired and developed. Unfortunately most of the students read for getting through the examination only. They read neither for pleasure, nor for culture and knowledge. It is really a matter of pity that modern young men and women waste their time in playing-cards, viewing films, television programmes or in gossiping for relaxation and pleasure. Books are really a treasure-house of pleasure, knowledge, experience, intellectual food and refreshment. They are the best friends, which would never leave you in the lurch. You can read a book at your pleasure and convenience, in a corner of your room, in bed, while travelling, while taking tea and breakfast. One can read in the libraries, classrooms, waiting halls at airports, railway and bus stations. The relief, relaxation, refreshment and mental food provided by reading is matchless. The experience gained through reading ever stands in good stead with the reader.

Modern age is the age of information. We can keep our-selves well informed about various topics and things by reading books, magazines, newspapers, bulletins, etc. There are books of fiction, stories, biographies, travels, adventures, philosophies, histories, phantasm, poetry, drama, one act plays, humor, etc. There is no end to the variety reading and books offer us. You can choose any topic and subject to suit your aptitude, leisure, duration, pocket and occasion. While travelling you can enjoy a fiction, a collection of short stories, poems, a magazine or a newspaper. Before going to bed one can again enjoy some light and instructive reading. Most of the light type of reading does not demand any appreciable mental application and exercise on the part of a reader.

Most of the novels, short stories, magazines come under this category. Besides giving pleasure, they enrich our experience, knowledge, broaden our outlook and stimulate thinking. Moreover, it is not a costly hobby. You can borrow books from friends and libraries. You can buy books according to your pocket. Cheap and second hand books can also be bought to our great advantage. The money spent on books is really a sound investment. For reading you do not depend on others, as you would do if you play cards, chess, football, etc.

Books are called the life-blood of master spirits. We can become intimate with Shakespeare, Kalidas, Tulsidas, Prem Chand and Rabindra Nath Tagore by reading their works. Thus, we can share their experiences, joys, sorrows, emotion, thoughts and feelings. Books can move us to tears both of delight and sorrow. There is a complete identity between a reader and the characters of a novel, story or a play. The magic and charm of reading defies description. Through reading we establish bonds of close relationship with various authors. Their creations, etc., which is far more intimate and last in a then that of an intimate friend. The pleasures of reading can be recreated time and again. It can be imparted to others. Reading is a sure protection against boredom, loneliness, pain, suffering, frustration and various complexes. In the words of Thomas Carlyle, “All that mankind has done, thought, gained, or been; it is Lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books. They are the chosen possession of men.” To a cultivated and educated person, books provide the finest of pleasures. But we must choose our reading material with care and caution. There are many cheap and substandard books which can poison young minds and mislead them on paths undesirable. In the selection of books you can consult your teachers, elders, librarians, etc. Then there are book-reviews to guide you to better reading materials. Avoid cheap, sensational, sexy, obscene and trash reading material. We must be judicious in our reading. We should gradually make our own small library of choicest books. Books which can encourage, inspire, guide and entertain should be treasured.

Essay No. 03

Rightly did Francis Bacon say, “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man, and writing an exact man.” Reading is the first step to attaining richness of personality and full development. Happy is the person who acquires the habit of reading when he is young. He has secured a lifelong source of pleasure, instruction and inspiration. So long as he is in the company of his beloved books, he need never feel lonely. He always has a pleasant occupation in his moments of leisure. He can never fell bored or frustrated. Ruskin called books “Kings’ Treasures”—treasures filled, not with gold and silver and precious stones, but with riches more valuable than these—knowledge, noble thoughts and high ideals. Poor, indeed is the man who does not read, and empty is his life.

Reading is of different kinds. First, there is light reading, which means the reading of newspapers, periodicals, journals, etc., Newspapers and journals are storehouses of information about current events. Through them we come to know about all that is happening in every part of the world. The modern age is such that we can ill-afford to miss at least this type of light reading. We will be like a frog in a well without newspapers. Therefore, such reading, as is both delightful and instructive, cannot be ignored.

 Next we come to the books on travel and adventure. Man wants to escape from the dull realities of everyday life, the spirit of adventure is in the very blood of man. Books of travel and adventure infuse into us the same spirit of adventure and fearlessness as was displayed by the travelers themselves. The reading of novels is a pleasant pastime and nothing is more entertaining than to spend some time reading a novel in the afternoon or in a train. The reader forgets his own personality and existence. For a short time, he identifies himself with one of the characters. This identification of the reader with the hero or heroine, though unconscious, is a source of endless pleasure to him.

Then there are books of serious reading. They include works of literature, history, philosophy, etc., which may be called books of all times. Such books are intended for sober and thoughtful minds. A student of literature comes in contact with the master minds of all ages and finds a good deal of food for his thought. They give him an insight into the spiritual values of life. He can thus make his life noble and sublime. His outlook is widened and the field of human sympathy broadened.

Now we come to the most important question, viz., how to read books ? Bacon has said, “Some books are to be tasted, others are to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested”. To treat a book as a textbook has the sense of compulsion. This compulsion may be useful, but it kills all interest. Nobody can appreciate such a temporary love of books. A real lover of books enjoys their company all the time.

We should be very careful in the choice of books. If bad books come into the hands of the young, their minds are infected with their evil influence. Many promising youths have been ruined because of the taste for bad books. Good books, on the other hand, are purifying. They enlarge and enrich the mind and mould our character. Therefore, it is necessary that the youth should seek advice from those who are competent to give it.

The habit of reading is a sign of culture. It is a great source of enjoyment and the best means of utilising leisure. Books are a treasure richer than any king’s treasure. They are the gold mines of art, literature, science and information. They are our constant companions. We must value them.

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