Editing A Pinch of Thought 4-27-18 (section)

=== Reader Hater ===
So, you don’t like to read. In fact, the only thing that is causing you to READ this article about READING is the fact that is was titled Reader Hater. Catchy title, ey? =D

Are you someone who only reads when you are forced to…by either a parent or a teacher? Do you only read the description for movies, or the ratings of video games? Have you not stepped into a library for months? Do you roll your eyes when somebody enthusiastically says, “I LOVE READING!!”? If so…keep reading.   I am going to put it rather simple…nothing I can say can cause you to LOVE reading. I can’t make you jump at the chance to join a book club. However, I can help you stop punching the nearest thing to you when you have to do a book report or getting mad at your mom when she tells you to put down your basketball or your phone, and take up a book. 

Here’s how. When you have to pick and read a book (it doesn’t matter the circumstance!) do these things:


1) Pick The Book: Ask yourself: What interests me? Are you someone who knows all the scores for every match in every single sport? Are you someone who dies when your crush says Hi? Do you spend hours planning or thinking about how you are going to take over the world? After thinking through what interests you, pick a book on those thoughts. For example, if you love sports, read a biography about Babe Ruth or a fictional story about a baseball team in small town America. If all you talk about is boys, then pick up a romance like Papa’s Wife or Ella Enchanted. Ask your local librarian (they don’t bite u_u) what books there are for teenagers on adventure, or mystery, or romance! 


2) Start The Book: So now you have the book…and it is sitting very comfortably at the bottom of your desk drawer in your room. Dig it out and don’t open it yet. Instead, read the back, look at the cover, examine it. If you read the back and decide that it would make a good movie plot, then that’s a good sign. If not, go back to the library and choose another. The book must interest you if you are to read it. Now, once examining it, open it and read the first sentence. Breathe. Now go and get a drink- water, coke, tea, whatever works. Retrieve the book and sit on the most comfortable chair in the house. Read the first page. Pause again, breath, and take a drink. You may be completely bored- that’s ok. Read another page, dramatically emphasizing anything awesome in your mind. Pause again, take a sip. If it is still a bit boring, that’s still ok. Try reading the next page out loud to yourself. Try using different voices for each character. Get through the first chapter this way. Pausing after each page and using different techniques. 


3) Persevering Through The Book: You have read the first chapter. The book has probably stirred a bit of interest in you by now. You must now set a schedule/goal to make sure you read the book-the WHOLE thing. Decide on reading the book for a certain amount of time- if it is a chapter a day, set a time each day where you will sit down and not stand up again until you are done with that chapter. If you must read for 30 minutes each day, sit in an isolated room in a comfortable chair, set a timer, and give your full attention to that book till the timer goes off. If by the 5th chapter the book is as boring as it seemed in the beginning…you may want to choose another book. 


4) Ending The Book: When you finish the book (it’s totally possible by the way!) throw yourself a party. Spend 30 minutes…an hour…a day, in what YOU like to do. Play basketball, make up a secret language, play video-games, call a friend and talk aimlessly…the list is endless. You must reward yourself for your perseverance! You may not think that these techniques will work…that you could NEVER finish a whole book. However, you read this whole article which shows you have perseverance…and that’s all it takes. Good luck…and may the odds be ever in your favor! =)