Start Your Reading Journey Now!

My English professor told me every time that if you want to be smart, you need to read a lot, well that’s true, even though there are many resources to gain a piece of new knowledge in life. But reading is something else. Reading a book can open your mind to something new, that’s because you are reading someone’s else thoughts or opinion on a certain issue. That’s the case for non-fiction books, but what about fiction books? And by that, I mean novels, a poetry book and many more! Reading fiction is also as helpful as reading non-fiction. Some fiction has huge moral values to adapt to in your life and some can be read as a therapeutic experience.

If you are new to the reading community, then you have come to the right article! It will help you slowly to start your reading journey, as you dwell into those papers smells or perhaps no paper smells if you choose to read with a Kindle.

First, don’t set your bar too high. This is a common mistake for newcomers. You set your expectations high, that you need to finish 100 pages a day and finish 4 books each month. Please, don’t do this. As a beginner, you need to start slow at your pace. Even those who love to read books, often find themselves at a slow pace to maintain the imagination of the book, or perhaps to enjoy the beautiful words from the writer.

Second, read what you like! Don’t come to those books that your friends read, or your professor recommends during your class. Even if they say, ‘oh this book is amazing’. If you like rom-com then buy books with rom-com genre. Don’t listen to people who mock or look down at your favorite genre. Since at the end of the day, you are the one who will read the book that you choose.

Third and final guide for you is to borrow a book. If your friends have it, then ask them to borrow it. Some books, especially imported books are expensive for student’s pockets. They usually start from Rp160.000,00 and higher, depends on their edition. Some people use this ‘expensive’ reason to never read any books. Borrow it or go to your local library in your town (if there is any), rather than not read at all.

I hope those three guides and this article can help to motivate you to start the reading journey that always stays on the new year resolution list, but never getting the checkmark that it needs. Reading a book should feel like enjoyment and a window that easy to be open to brand new knowledge, rather than being a burden to do. Start slow and find your own pace, thus you will find the peace of reading a book.

Editor: Nadia Salsabila & Pieter Bagaskara Astadiningrat