TOP 10 books to start your reading career with

As our last article (see here) revealed, books have an incredible ability to manifest entire new universes in front of us while we are reading them in our bed, at the beach, on the bus – flying through the wings of our imagination literally from anywhere to everywhere. During the process, not only does our creative self develop, but also our vocabulary, language/communication skills and our understanding of the world, thereby developing our intelligence and moral value set at the very same time. However, for all this to be feasible we must find the right literature, the right book(s) at the right time to have a solid base to build on later. 

So, what does this look like in practice?

Books gateway

Image from Unsplash.com

Among others, as Griszbacher et al. (2020, p. 64) noted “What we choose to do in our free time beyond fun has a decisive role in the light of every situation, presenting a different experience and opportunity to learn and deepen one’s character”, something which is needed more than even in today’s troubling times. We can confidently say that books have a special place in one’s (character) development (Bennett, 1993; Narvaez, 2002; O’Sullivan, 2004; Helterbran, 2009; Almerico, 2014). 

I would like to read a book that has been recommended to me, but I am not used to reading…

What can I do? 

 

As we can see, before starting to read difficult and/or long ‘books’ like manuals for example as a beginner or non-readers (because sometimes life just demands it, right?) can be quite challenging. To practise a bit and get to fond of reading a bit (optimally at a young age which surely helps later as well) to begin with it helps a lot to find a “breakthrough” story which is exactly to your own taste where we are able to make connections between the storyline and own lives to “captivate young readers . . . enlighten, entertain, and move [them]” (Ryan & Bohlin, 1999, p, 102). Then after the “easer readings” of your own choice and taste it will surely feel more comfortable to move on to the compulsory literature and heavy textbooks as even in sports what do we do before running marathons? Practise, first with shorter then with longer distances (see also here)!

The reading pyramid
Books-Reading pyramid

   The image is the Author’s own compilation

Thanks to the ‘reading-pyramid’ we can acknowledge that in the process it is vital to find the right book at the right time to develop a taste (and the necessary skills) for books as “everything usually starts with just a ‘simple’ book”. Reading materials are generally grouped into two big categories: (1) material of an informational nature and (2) material of a literary nature. The first category is strongly linked to learning and education, meanwhile the second, the so-called escape literature, is more associated with recreation, pleasure, and appreciation. Typically, we start our reading career with children, then literary books like Harry Potter which makes us fall for reading and then comes the information side of the literature in the forms of compulsory readings, test- and textbooks and manuals. 

According to Almerico (2014) well-chosen literature which is rich in positive character values has the potential to develop, shape, and reinforce dispositions essential for instilling in freshman important core ethical values (see also Helterbran (2009) and O’Sullivan (2004).

I am in! But how and where to start?

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Author:

Griszbacher Norbert

Article Writer & Content Contributor

Norbert Griszbacher article writer at GiLE

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