The Art of Slow Reading

Has endlessly skimming short texts on the internet made us stupider? An increasing number of experts think so - and say it's time to slow down . .

• 
• • Patrick Kingsley
  • The Guardian,  Thursday 15 July 2010
  • Article history

Is it time to slow our reading down? Photograph: Steve Caplin

If you're reading this article in print, chances are you'll only get through half of what I've written. And if you're reading this online, you might not even finish a fifth. At least, those are the two verdicts from a pair of recent research projects – respectively, the Poynter Institute's Eyetrack survey, and analysis by Jakob Nielsen – which both suggest that many of us no longer have the concentration to read articles through to their conclusion.

The problem doesn't just stop there: academics report that we are becoming less attentive book-readers, too. Bath Spa University lecturer Greg Garrard recently revealed that he has had to shorten his students' reading list, while Keith Thomas, an Oxford historian, has written that he is bemused by junior colleagues who analyse sources with a search engine, instead of reading them in their entirety.

So are we getting stupider? Is that what this is about? Sort of. According to The Shallows, a new book by technology sage Nicholas Carr, our hyperactive online habits are damaging the mental faculties we need to process and understand lengthy textual information. Round-the-clock news feeds leave us hyperlinking from one article to the next – without necessarily engaging fully with any of the content; our reading is frequently interrupted by the ping of the latest email; and we are now absorbing short bursts of words on Twitter and Facebook more regularly than longer texts.
Read the whole article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/15/slow-reading#history-link-box

8 Benefits of Reading (or Ways Reading Makes You Better at Life)

article by  http://lifedev.net/2009/06/reading-makes-you-better/ 

 

The public library is a phenomena that to this day I still can’t get over. Free knowledge, for anyone. Literally, anyone. I can’t think of an equivalent other than going to a clothing store, “checking out” an outfit, wearing the outfit and returning it in four weeks, free of charge.

Except books are so much better than clothes.

Recently I’ve been on a huge reading kick, checking out anything I can get my hands on in the library. (I’m writing a guest post onZenHabits to detail some of the best stuff I’ve found, so more on that later.)

I’ve found that no matter what I read, the act of reading every day has helped me in nearly every aspect of my life. Here are a few of my favorite ways that reading has improved my quality of life, and will definitely improve yours.

1. Enhanced Smarts

Wow, this may be the most obvious statement of the post, right? Well, it turns out that reading helps in almost every area of smarts. Those that read have higher GPA’s, higher intelligence, and general knowledge than those that don’t. In Anne E. Cunningham’s paper What Reading Does for the Mind (pdf version), she found that reading, in general, makes you smarter, and it keeps you sharp as you age.

No matter what you’re wanting to do or become, you can’t do it without more knowledge. Reading is an excellent way to get where you’re wanting to go.

2. Reading reduces stress

When I’m reading a book, my mind shifts gears. Where I might have a had a stressful day, a book can easily distract me. Fiction is fantastic for this. Reading an awesome fiction book is perfect right before bed time. Though sometimes it’s hard to put the book down if it’s really good. Still, you’ll be relaxed ;)

3. Greater tranquility

Reading can soothe like no other. Given that I’m a pretty high-energy person, reading forces me to sit and be still. This daily act of making myself be quiet and still has been nothing short of miraculous for my anxiety and my “fidgety factor”.

4. Improved analytical thinking

That’s right, ladies and germs. Cunningham’s studies have found that analytical thinking is boosted by reading. Readers improve their general knowledge, and more importantly are able to spot patterns quicker. If you can spot patterns quicker, your analytical skills receive a boost.

5. Increased vocabulary

It’s no secret that reading increases your vocabulary and improves your spelling, but did you know that reading increases your vocabulary more than talking or direct teaching? Reading forces us to look at words that we might not have seen or heard recently at the pub. In fact, language in children’s books are likely to be more sophisticated than your average conversation.

Increased vocabulary is especially crucial for bloggers or writers. All successful writers will tell you that in order to write well, you need to read. Every day. You’ll be surprised at the words you start incorporating into your writing.

A beefier vocabulary isn’t just for writers though. Knowing what other people are saying and using the perfect words to convey your feelings is a critical part of being a better human. Better listeners are more successful in life.

Read the whole article at   article by http://lifedev.net/2009/06/reading-makes-you-better/

Reading Aloud to Kids: The 12 Benefits of Reading Books Out Loud to Children of All Ages

by www.SixWise.com

Reading aloud to children is one of the most important things you can do to ensure their future success, and more and more Americans seem to be jumping on the read-aloud bandwagon. While only 78 percent of families read to their pre-kindergarten-aged children frequently (three or more times a week) in 1993, this increased to 86 percent in 2005, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

It's never too early to start reading to your kids. Experts recommend starting as soon as they're born.

Kids of all ages (and adults, too) benefit from being read to, including even babies and toddlers.
"Children are never too young to have stories read to them," says Nancy Verhoek-Miller, a specialist in early childhood education at Mississippi State University.
The benefits are so profound, and kids form so much of their intelligence potential during the early years of their life, that experts recommend reading aloud to your child as soon as he or she is born, and continuing indefinitely.
Why Read to Your Kids? Here are 12 Important Reasons
"The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children," a Commission on Reading report found.
In fact, reading is so important that a non-profit group called Read Aloud America is traveling to different schools to promote literacy, encourage a love of reading in adults and children, and increase children's prospects for success in school and life.

Not only will reading to your child help him develop language and listening skills, and a sense of curiosity, but it will help to strengthen the bond you share as well.

Their Read Aloud Program (RAP) brings together kids and families at host schools to stimulate their interest in reading, decrease television viewing, increase family time spent in reading activities, and connect the values of good books to everyday life. Although the program is currently only offered in Hawaii, you can gain the same benefits from reading to your kids at home.
Here are 12 of the key reasons to start (or continue) reading aloud to your kids today.

1. Build a lifelong interest in reading. "Getting kids actively involved in the process of reading, and having them interact with adults, is key to a lifelong interest in reading," said BeAnn Younker, principal at Battle Ground Middle School in Indiana.
   
2. Children whose parents read to them tend to become better readers and perform better in school, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
   
3. Reading to kids helps them with language and speech development.
   
4. It expands kids' vocabulary and teaches children how to pronounce new words.
   
5. Reading to toddlers prepares them for school, during which they will need to listen to what is being said to them (similar to what they do while being read to).
   
6. Reading to older kids helps them understand grammar and correct sentence structure.
   
7. Kids and parents can use reading time as bonding time. It's an excellent opportunity for one-on-one communication, and it gives kids the attention they crave.
   
8. Being read to builds children's attention spans and helps them hone their listening skills.
   
9. Curiosity, creativity and imagination are all developed while being read to.
   
10. Being read to helps kids learn how to express themselves clearly and confidently.
    
11. Kids learn appropriate behavior when they're read to, and are exposed to new situations, making them more prepared when they encounter these situations in real life.
    
12. When read to, children are able to experience the rhythm and melody of language even before they can understand the spoken or printed word.

More on reading aloud at article by http://lifedev.net/2009/06/reading-makes-you-better/

Top Recommended Read-Aloud Books Want to read aloud with your kids but not sure what to read? Here are some of the top picks out there for kids of all ages. Toddlers Treasure Hunt by Allan Ahlberg Young readers can play along as little Tilly plays treasure-hunting games with her parents. Kindergarten/1st Grade Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha A picture book that describes a child's summer day in New England. 2nd/3rd Grade Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett In the town of ChewandSwallow, breakfast, lunch and dinner rain down from the sky ... but then things start to get messy. 4th/5th Grade Stand Tall by Joan Bauer Tree is 12 years old and already 6 foot, 3 inches tall, but it's his parents' divorce, not his height, that makes his life really complicated. 6th -- 8th Grade The Tiger Rising by Kate Dicamillo Rob has just lost his mother, and moved to a new town with his father, when he discovers a caged tiger in the woods. The find ends up opening many doors for the grief-stricken boy in this emotional and symbolic story. 9th -- 12th Grade Watership Down by Richard Adams An epic tale that follows a warren of Berkshire rabbits fleeing the destruction of their home by a land developer.

Why A Book Is the Perfect Gift this Christmas

A THIRD of the UK's under-16s do not own a book, according to a new National Literacy Trust survey.
So almost four million kids are growing up without knowing the joy of reading.
Here ex-Children's Laureate Michael Rosen tells why literature is so vital to youngsters – and why books make the ideal gift.

"MANY families are pulling in their belts this year and not spending as much on presents. The wonderful thing with books is they make great gifts — you can get one for under a tenner and they can be made personal to the child.

Call ... Michael Rosen

BBC

"When I was little I had lots of books bought for me and it's been wonderful to pass some of them down through the family.

"I've still got some of my mum's original Beatrix Potter stories. The Tale Of Squirrel Nutkin has "Love, Mum" in the front of it — from hermum. This personal touch shows you've really thought about the recipient.

"To understand the world, it's vital to understand writing.

"We know that if a child has lots of books, magazines and comics, they will succeed at school and for the rest of their lives.

"The University of Nevada found that by reading to your kids regularly you are giving them the equivalent of an extra two or three years of school.

"A child should have loads of books to choose from. It is vital that kids get to browse material. By doing so they are making their own selections and forming opinions which will help them at school.

"Parents must remember it's not their job to teach kids to read, it is to encourage them to love books. Teachers will do the teaching.

"When your child wants to talk about a book, treasure that moment. Your child is talking about something that matters to them. By talking to them about it, you're helping to expand their brain even more.

And when you give a child a book at Christmas, it's a gift they can open again and again."

Read the whole article at   thesun.co.uk