GREAT question, Anne. I’ve never been able to accomplish this, for all my efforts. I’m afraid that love of reading has to come from an internal instinct that some people simply don’t have. But then again, I’m not the most persuasive person in the world, either. I did recently hear of a grade school teacher who was making strides in that simply because she loved her students and constantly thought about their welfare.
I try to do so often. I’ve found the simplest way is to educate them in the fact that there are all kinds of books out there. You’d be amazed how many don’t get this! Introduce them to a book about something they already like. It’s a really simple step but I think it helps.
I think @Steve makes a really good point. Another thing I have learned through personal experience is making sure to be very humble and open-minded about reading. As a lover of books and challenging myself with difficult reading I had to learn that many people simply can’t read like me. Realizing that if you recommend a really hard book to someone who can’t read super well or fast, it just turns them off the whole reading thing completely. Understanding and empathy are the best tools I, personally have found to help me inspire others to start a journey into this world I love so well.
I think if people don’t want to read they just won’t. Same as I don’t like sports and don’t do them. Just cos we have a passion and love for reading does not mean everyone can share this. Just my opinion ??
I have a friend who got her heart broken and asked me to recommend a book (maybe she thinks it could somehow divert her attention from the situation). But she didnt even touch the book I brought the next day ???
@Anne I hope she gives the book a try. It’s a light read. Fun actually. Not too cheesy. It’s both hopeless and full of hope at the same time. I hope she gets over her heartache soon. Tell her, f*ck love. And f*ck fear. We’re ladies, we run this sh*t. ?
I tried to increase people to read and it was a losing battle. They may read one book and complain-so, i do not try this anymore;but, i do get: why you are reading all the time.
Whenever you catch them out raving about how good a movie or a TV show was and you know for a fact it was adapted from a book and you know it was better /different (taking the book vs movie bias out of the equation). It has worked a couple of times. Some people are just too lazy to read though.
write on the toilet walls or somewhere else that they have no choice but to look ;). But we can always recommend very good and easy to read ones to others, especially if it is given as a gift. I think that a love of reading usually starts quite early though, and with that, is coupled early memories of being read to. My father read to us – complete with sound effects, and ‘blowing’ out the light by slowly dimming it, and it is a positive memory. I read to my children almost every night and it was a close bonding time for us. How the child feels during those early days will make a big difference, and how smoothly things went as they were learning to read themselves….
See if there are things the person is interested in and encourage them to read books about those things. Encourage them to think that reading can be done for fun, it’s not just something you have to do at school.
I’ve been trying to figure that out, my ex gf just started reading shortly before we broke up, I think it was because we would read together out of a book and then she found one she really likwd
Ever since I started bringing my book to work I’ve noticed people bringing theirs too. My mom has started reading at night by seeing me read often. I think that simply reading often is enough to inspire others .
I read to my kids all the time when they were little…then when old enough as i went to library all the time, stopped in children’s section and let them pick out their own books…they are now 37 and 30 and both are readers!
When i was 7 i taught my 5 year old cousin to read with Cinderella. He still reads to this day 30+ years. If i hadn’t, i don’t think he would be able to today, his parents weren’t into teaching him anything.
Definitely starts at home.. We had our ” DEAR ” time (Drop Everything and Read)… the kids loved this… We read all kinds, from Lassie, Julia of the Woods, to Little House on the Prairie . Remembering these times and the fun we had, makes my heart smile w joy.
Oh… My parents had a good number of older books – including the Coles funny picture books, which were hardbound compilation books of much older volumes and I think I was told the shop closed down around the time I was born. And my mother had (still does somewhere) a hardbound volume of ‘the girls own annual’… those kind of books are fascinating…………
My father used to pay for my book purchase outside my weekly allowance. I did the same with my children and my grandchildren. But they have to read the book before I pay for the next one.
I don’t know, I feel like if I tell people about how good books are, they will read them, that only has worked on 2 or 3 people. That is kind of why I wanted to be a Literature Professor, because everyone likes something, but they haven’t found the right book yet.
Tell them stories
By sharing how books teach you empathy and how escaping reality is great 🙂
GREAT question, Anne. I’ve never been able to accomplish this, for all my efforts. I’m afraid that love of reading has to come from an internal instinct that some people simply don’t have. But then again, I’m not the most persuasive person in the world, either. I did recently hear of a grade school teacher who was making strides in that simply because she loved her students and constantly thought about their welfare.
I try to do so often. I’ve found the simplest way is to educate them in the fact that there are all kinds of books out there. You’d be amazed how many don’t get this! Introduce them to a book about something they already like. It’s a really simple step but I think it helps.
I agree!
I think @Steve makes a really good point. Another thing I have learned through personal experience is making sure to be very humble and open-minded about reading. As a lover of books and challenging myself with difficult reading I had to learn that many people simply can’t read like me. Realizing that if you recommend a really hard book to someone who can’t read super well or fast, it just turns them off the whole reading thing completely. Understanding and empathy are the best tools I, personally have found to help me inspire others to start a journey into this world I love so well.
Tell them stories offer take them to get books offer them the chance to borrow books buy them books
That’s a good question. I raise my daughter reading to her everyday when she was little and she has never liked to read
I think if people don’t want to read they just won’t. Same as I don’t like sports and don’t do them. Just cos we have a passion and love for reading does not mean everyone can share this. Just my opinion ??
I have a friend who got her heart broken and asked me to recommend a book (maybe she thinks it could somehow divert her attention from the situation). But she didnt even touch the book I brought the next day ???
I think she’s afraid about what she might find out when she opens it..
I have a book recommendation: Fuck Love by Tarryn Fisher.
@Nikki I think you might be right–some people actually have a fear of reading. And some never get over it.
Haha I will tell her that
@Anne I hope she gives the book a try. It’s a light read. Fun actually. Not too cheesy. It’s both hopeless and full of hope at the same time. I hope she gets over her heartache soon. Tell her, f*ck love. And f*ck fear. We’re ladies, we run this sh*t. ?
Youre right. Thanks Nikki! I hope she listens on my next try 🙂
I tried to increase people to read and it was a losing battle. They may read one book and complain-so, i do not try this anymore;but, i do get: why you are reading all the time.
Whenever you catch them out raving about how good a movie or a TV show was and you know for a fact it was adapted from a book and you know it was better /different (taking the book vs movie bias out of the equation). It has worked a couple of times. Some people are just too lazy to read though.
write on the toilet walls or somewhere else that they have no choice but to look ;). But we can always recommend very good and easy to read ones to others, especially if it is given as a gift. I think that a love of reading usually starts quite early though, and with that, is coupled early memories of being read to. My father read to us – complete with sound effects, and ‘blowing’ out the light by slowly dimming it, and it is a positive memory. I read to my children almost every night and it was a close bonding time for us. How the child feels during those early days will make a big difference, and how smoothly things went as they were learning to read themselves….
Going by my life, you fill your house with books, the readers will follow
And, read books for your children. Books should be a prominent feature in your home
So agree
You can’t. I’ve tried ?
See if there are things the person is interested in and encourage them to read books about those things. Encourage them to think that reading can be done for fun, it’s not just something you have to do at school.
I’ve been trying to figure that out, my ex gf just started reading shortly before we broke up, I think it was because we would read together out of a book and then she found one she really likwd
Ever since I started bringing my book to work I’ve noticed people bringing theirs too. My mom has started reading at night by seeing me read often. I think that simply reading often is enough to inspire others .
By reading… being an example. If your target is young minds, play with the concept “Reading is the smartest act”
I read to my kids all the time when they were little…then when old enough as i went to library all the time, stopped in children’s section and let them pick out their own books…they are now 37 and 30 and both are readers!
Both of my parents read to me when I was little and it helped me to love reading <3 Enthusiasm for reading is contagious.
It starts at home
When i was 7 i taught my 5 year old cousin to read with Cinderella. He still reads to this day 30+ years. If i hadn’t, i don’t think he would be able to today, his parents weren’t into teaching him anything.
Example
Definitely starts at home.. We had our ” DEAR ” time (Drop Everything and Read)… the kids loved this… We read all kinds, from Lassie, Julia of the Woods, to Little House on the Prairie . Remembering these times and the fun we had, makes my heart smile w joy.
by telling them of all the far away worlds they’ll go too
Just keep reading and talking about the books you’ve read, that you loved. ?
You have to talk about the book like a salesman who convinces by teaching his costumers
Let them smell a real old book ??
Oh… My parents had a good number of older books – including the Coles funny picture books, which were hardbound compilation books of much older volumes and I think I was told the shop closed down around the time I was born. And my mother had (still does somewhere) a hardbound volume of ‘the girls own annual’… those kind of books are fascinating…………
My father used to pay for my book purchase outside my weekly allowance. I did the same with my children and my grandchildren. But they have to read the book before I pay for the next one.
Read to them when they are you young.
Read books in public.
Start a reading group
Talk about books in social media as we do here
I don’t know, I feel like if I tell people about how good books are, they will read them, that only has worked on 2 or 3 people. That is kind of why I wanted to be a Literature Professor, because everyone likes something, but they haven’t found the right book yet.