Reading a book can be a pleasurable experience for any adult. It replenishes our soul. Know more on how to improve reading skills…

We often tell young students/children that reading is a good habit but as adults, many of us have stopped reading books. We mostly give the excuse of lack of time. Though the fact is we are now more engaged with the digital world and have forgotten that old best friend, our books. When you have lost touch with reading habits, you go through a whole book but nothing gets registered in your mind. Hence, you need to improve reading skills as an adult.

Why Some Adults Struggle to Read

Every adult individual may have his or her own justification behind the struggle of poor reading skills. In general, I could identify the following 3 reasons:

• Lack of patience. Today, people consume so much micro-size online content that we no longer have the patience required to read multiple pages of a book word by word.
• Too many distractions. In an urban area, external noises from busy nearby roads will not let you concentrate and read. Then, there are abrupt disruptions due to numerous phone calls. Other distractions come in the form of smartphones and television shows. These two devices provide non-stop pleasure without much effort. So, reading a book for relaxation seems a waste of time for many.
• Too much multitasking. Being a multitasker, adult people are juggling many responsibilities. They jump from one task to another within a limited period of time. At the end of the day, it becomes difficult for them to reset the brain and read long texts from a book.

What are Good Reading Skills?

For adult readers, good reading skills include the following 3 key characteristics:

Interpret the meaning of written text. Reading is not just about pronouncing a few words from an open book. Your brain decodes what a particular paragraph says and means. If you come across a difficult or complex concept, read more than once to make a sense of it.

Active engagement with words on the page. You continue to think of the content even after closing a book. Fiction readers often try to predict the final outcome of a novel. Nonfiction readers may start imaginary conversations with the author about those sections which were relatable to their personal experiences.

Extract knowledge, ideas, and information from a book. Later, implement them in your own personal and professional life.

How Adults Can Improve Reading Skills

Here are some proven tricks which help you to concentrate, comprehend the written context and regain the habit of reading.

Develop a sustainable reading habit. Make it a part of your daily routine to read even if it is half an hour in a day to start with.

Set the right ambience for reading. Read in a quiet corner of the house. Keep your phone aside so that you do not get a chance to check e-mails and social media notifications.

Choose your reading time wisely. Select a time of the day when you can read without any interruption.

Pick a book that interests you. The definition of an interesting book varies from person to person. It depends on why you are reading. Your choice can be based on whether you are reading for knowledge, entertainment or to learn new skills.

Read at a slow pace. When you finish a book in a hurry, you miss out on several vital points. Give yourself enough time to savor the reading experience.

Create a visual story in mind. While reading, use your imagination to visualize each word. Form mental images from the content of a book. You will enjoy this process of assimilation of words into your mind. It also improves memory, power of thinking, and analytical skills.

Take a pause in between. Think about minute details of what you have just read. Let the book take you into a make-believe world. You can thus remember the content for a long time.

Keep an eye on new words. As a writer, I often note down interesting words/phrases used by other authors to enrich my vocabulary. In future, I may like to incorporate them into my writing.

Stop reading the moment you feel fagged out. The joy of reading vanishes if you push yourself into completing a specific number of pages in one day. Read again on the next day with a fresh mind.

FINAL THOUGHT: As you are trying to improve reading skills, read a printed version of a book. I believe you hardly assimilate an idea/information when there is a flashy screen of an e-book or a constant noise of audiobook. Moreover, it is difficult to build a long-term connection with digital books.