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sonytheoao t1_j0stkl1 wrote

Yes. Reading as a child and now as an adult vastly improves my reading comprehension, vocabulary and writing skills. My job requires me to read vast amounts of material all the time, edit documents, and develop written materials. Having a strong foundation in reading helped me develop strong writing skills.

But the key I learned from my 7th grade teacher was read primarily for pleasure to benefit when you have to read for work.

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marisolm9 t1_j0vuss9 wrote

Could you elaborate more on your last point? Academia & research have burned my desire to read for pleasure. I read articles and reddit in my free time, but cannot seem to actually open a book anymore...

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sonytheoao t1_j0wtfbw wrote

What she emphasized to us was read what you want so that you enjoy reading - read anything. Books? Great! Comics? Great! Fashion or travel magazines? Great! Newspapers? Blogs? Short Stories? Doesn't matter. Just. Read.

As you continue, you may find that you want to read a book that others are talking about or that you've heard about. If the topic interests you, then you can probably shut off your brain and immerse yourself in the story. What might be helpful is to think about the kind of movies or TV shows you like to watch and then find books in that genre or that further your understanding of something that piqued your interest. I usually don't read non-fiction but occasionally go down a rabbit hole. I love NBC's Dateline and ended up reading In Cold Blood to better understand the Clutter Family murders. I stumbled on a historical topic that mentioned the Carthagenians and Hannibal. Had no idea who he was and I ended up listening to an audio book about The Punic Wars and reading another about the fall of Rome.

You may be more of an aural person and prefer audio books which you can consume while on your commute or exercising. Or reading e-books on your phone (Libby, Hoopla, Kindle, etc) might be a preferable way to read in bite-sized chunks.

There's no shame in what you choose to read or how you read. JUST READ.

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