Reading train - Improve your reading skills

How to establish a reading habit????

Hi Everyone: I feel really lazy to read anything. I just feel sleepy when I start to read. This is severely affecting on my grades, not because I don't have a brain but I just don't have a reading habit. Plus, English is not my native language. I would consider my level of English as Intermediate. How do I establish a reading habit so that I can keep on reading for hours and hours and hours and hours???? :)))))) Thank You!!!! Thank You everybody!!!! I really appreciate for your precious time that you took to answer my question. Its gonna definitely help me a lot. You all Rock!!!! Peace :)

Public Comments

1. try reading something interesting or fun first to get used to keeping your concentration that long. Practice with fiction books, don't just try to read textbooks all the time. You could try Harry Potter, I know it's for younger people but you said you are Intermediate at english so this might help you. And a lot of people think it's interesting and readable. Or if you are interested in legal stuff, you could check out John Grisham, he writes novels about lawyers... Or just go walk around a bookstore or library and see what looks interesting to you. Reading can be fun if you're reading the entertaining stuff and not just textbooks.
2. what kind of movie's are you interested in? action? mystery's? romance? books come in just the same category's. so look under the catagory you like and pick out an easy and small book (because its your first book) and then if you like that author read more of her book.. before you know it you will be staying up all night because you cant put down the book.
3. Create a reading spot that you can be comfortable in - nice chair with a good light. Don't always try to read when you are tired, i.e. right before bed. Pick smaller books (less chapters/pages) to start off with. If you're still getting used to the English language, try to find a list of books recommended for high school students or middle school students. These books are fun to read and will start you on your way. Good luck in your ventures! Reading is so valuable with whatever you do.
4. Try reading more pages gradually as your week progresses. Progressive reading has been proven to help people get into reading habits, and take a little bit of the pressure off. I would start off by reading maybe 10 pages a day for 3 or 4 days, then start reading 15 or 20 pages for the next 4 or 5 days, then gradually build up the pages as time goes on. This strategy is very useful for people who have not been strong or interested readers in the past, and is proven to help people be able to read more for longer periods of time. Also try to read things that you like. Pick out a particular author or type of book, and start reading those. Being interested in a book makes it 100 times easier to read it. Sitting with your feet flat on the floor has been proven to help you take in the information you're reading easier. I don't know all the science behind it, but it has to do with the circulation of your blood, making it easier for your body to concentrate. I find reading with my feet on the floor quite uncomfortable though, so try to find a place and position that is comfortable, and stick with it. I usually like to read while lying down on a sofa under a lamp. Before you know it, you'll be reading 40+ pages a day! I hope this helped, and good luck!
5. It depends on what you want to read. Sometimes I read more than 12 hours a day. I usually wake up at 6 and I think this really helps me. Then I watch morning news and then I read and read for about 6 hours, but every one hour, I have a break and in every break I do different things. I usually have a short sleep at 1 pm and start in 3 or 4 but with another subject. BTW reading an story before going to bed is a good habit.
6. Start reading a few books that are below your reading level. Pretend you're reading them to quiz a younger class if you need to. That should take away at least some of the diffuculty. If that doesn't help get a copy of an audio book and the actual book and read as you listen. That should help with some of the pronunciations in context and such. Make sure you get an unabridged audiobook or you will get lost while trying to follow the text.
7. 1. Find an author or genre that you like, and read a couple chapters every once-in-a-while to keep your brain "turned on" 2. Find someone that will motivate you/keep you accountable 3.Realize that to keep your grades up this is just something you will have to do! I don't think too many people can just keep reading for hours and hours and hours, but trying these might help. Also, your reading habits as a child probably affect how you read today; I know that my family reads a whole lot and that has always made me a big reader.