What have you been reading lately? In a gathering, you can soon tell who the frequent readers are, since wide readers are often quick thinkers and good public speakers too. They quickly win the adulation, respect, and fellowship of others. After all, reading expands the mind and many people think of it as one of the most satisfying pleasures known to mankind, being a combination, as it is, of mental agility and physical relaxation well above the level offered by television or the cinema.

What have you been reading lately? In a gathering, you can soon tell who the frequent readers are, since wide readers are often quick thinkers and good public speakers too. They quickly win the adulation, respect, and fellowship of others. After all, reading expands the mind and many people think of it as one of the most satisfying pleasures known to mankind, being a combination, as it is, of mental agility and physical relaxation well above the level offered by television or the cinema.

The act of reading is mostly a mental activity, since you read with your mind and use your imagination to paint the setting of the action thriller you are reading. You use your mind to imagine the pleasure that the main characters in the story are experiencing as the plot unfolds; or you contemplate the various arguments and ideas introduced by the author in that self-help book you are reading.

Learning how to read properly helps you to develop an extensive knowledge of words by reading different kinds of books. A skillful reader recognizes a wide range of vocabulary. The reader may not understand exactly what every word means, but he/she will have a general idea of what the sentence is trying to convey.

The act of reading makes you more aware and more interested in new words. Some readers even develop 'the dictionary habit', which means that whenever they come across a new word, they try to figure out what it possibly means from the context. If they cannot do this, they refer to a dictionary.

In the same way, reading develops intellectual curiosity by exposing you to a variety of subjects. You learn to read by reading books of increasing difficulty and variety. Just as in other types of education, you are learning by actually doing and while you are reading you are automatically learning about the subject matter of the book too - like a free by-product!

Reading trains you to have an active and open mind. Merely grasping the writers idea is not really good enough, you have to have a reply to what you read. Be an active, not a passive, reader. Try to develop the habit of drawing your own conclusions, the habit of active thinking, of agreeing or disagreeing with the writer. Always keep your mind open; understand and weigh the ideas that you read. A practical part of active reading is the development of one's own opinions.

Now let me tell you to the phenomenon of speed reading. All of the above applies between three and ten times over, because speed readers can read that much faster than the average reader! Imagine that! - Being able to read, understand and remember all those books. You would certainly become well-read in your subject far more quickly than others. Just think how that could help you at work or in school or college ...

Allow me to share four basic rules for effective reading and better comprehension:

1) Try to read more and more every month. Remember the saying that practice makes perfect. 2) Develop the habit of reading for main ideas. Look for the subject and predicate. Do not waste time on details or little words. 3) Learn to read with focus and concentration. Think of what you are reading. Do not let your attention wander somewhere else. Good readers read with understanding. 4) Learn to budget your time. Experiment with your reading time. Try purposely to read faster. Give yourself a time limit for a specific piece that you are reading.

Reading is a fantastically stimulating mental activity. It expands your understanding and capability. You really have so much to gain by learning the joy of reading. So, go on and take down a book right today.