A Beginners Guide to Reading…

After two years of reading books, there are some things I wish I knew when I first started reading. In this article, I would like to discuss it, part by part. Even if you are not a beginner, bear with me! You will definitely stumble upon something useful, that’s a promise! This article may seem a tad bit long, but keep going. I’m sure it will be worth it! Further, in this post, I will recommend some books for the starters and some online sites for free ebooks.

Firstly, let’s go through some common beliefs that keep you from reading. There are numerous beliefs that you have or have been told by others that keep you from starting a book. Some of the common one’s are:

1. It’s too late to start: When you pick up your first book, there will be many people to snort at you by saying that to be an avid reader, you should’ve started reading since childhood. It’s too late now. Believe me, it’s not! I started reading when I was in 10th grade (pretty late in that sense, right?) But I’m a reader now! Just remember, it’s never too late to start!
2. No Fiction, please: Many people tend to believe that you don’t learn anything from fiction. That it’s pretty much useless. In this case, if you had decided to start with a fiction book, you get averse. Again, let me tell you, it’s not true! You learn empathy, perspective, get clarity on decision making skills and everything else that non-fiction can inculcate in you through various character development arcs. Meanwhile, keeping aside the useful part, you do need a fun book from time to time to keep yourself intrigued. So don’t be ashamed and start reading!
3. Books are dull: This is, by far, the most common one. There are many readers who started with this belief in mind (including me). Of course, many of the life-altering things tend to sound boring before you give it a try. Many first-timers try to read a book but give up because they start feeling sleepy (this is very common). Don’t give up so fast! Every book seems less fun at the start because the author has to arrange the premise of the story before the real stuff starts. You can’t just jump in, right? Keeping this in mind, just start reading a few more chapters. If you don’t get hooked up even after 40 pages, then change the book. Don’t quit books altogether! Try one of the popular books for a start.
4. Why read when you can watch: You would’ve heard a lot of your bookish friends say that ‘Books are way better than movies’. Well, we say that for a reason! When you start reading a book, the story starts taking shape in your head too. You don’t even have to think about imagining the book, it just starts flowing naturally! It’s like watching a part of the movie every time you read a part of the book. That’s the best part about reading a book. In all, it’s like watching a very big movie with extreme details and emotions which will definitely leave you very satisfied once you are done. Believe me, you don’t want to miss out on this!

These were some of the beliefs that needed to be warded off. Now that we’re done with that part, let’s move on to the reading part. As I said before, never be ashamed of the book you’re reading. It can be fictional, non-fictional, self-help, romance, crime or anything that you like.

You are reading for yourself, not to please someone else. Keep that in mind and to hell with others’ opinions!

Once you’ve started, you need to figure out if you prefer physical books or eBooks. Generally, people prefer physical books due to that typical book smell and the feel of it. I like physical books too, but I prefer eBooks due to their convenience. So, you have to figure out which type you prefer. Again, don’t think about what others’ say (people tend to shame the eBook readers). You need to find out what suits you! If you are a:

1. ‘Physical book’ type: Joining a library is the first thing you should be doing. It gets really affordable that way. You can even join online libraries, this way you get a wide range of options. Never buy from bookstores like Crossword. They price the books way too high! Rather, opt for buying online on ‘Amazon’ or ‘Barnes & Noble’. You can literally buy a Rs. 700 book at Rs. 200 online!
2. ‘E-book’ type: Generally, people opt for Kindle. ‘Kindle’ is perfect. Apart from Kindle, you can even download some mobile apps like ‘ibooks’ (for iphone), ‘Anybooks’ and ‘My books’. ‘My books’ mostly has access to only classic literature books. ‘ZLibrary’ is by far the best site I’ve ever stumbled upon for free ebooks. You can get almost every book, even the latest ones, on this site for free! Without membership, you can download up to 10 books per day for free. It has books in lot of formats like ‘EPUB’ (you can read it in ibooks after downloading), ‘PDF’ (you can read it by using mobile apps like ‘Foxit PDF’), LIT, MOBI, etc. This way, you can gain access to unlimited books for absolutely no cost!

Now, if you are confused about your first book or having second thoughts about reading… Wait! Don’t give up yet! Let’s get you started with some options which I personally enjoyed a lot!

If you’re the ‘Fiction’ type:

1. Harry Potter series. (These are the perfect books to get you started. Trust me, you are going to get hooked just after a few pages)
2. Divergent.
3. Red Queen series.
4. Hunger Games series.
5. Maze runner.

Except Red Queen, all the others have been turned into movies. So, if you loved the movies, you will definitely love the books. Just go for it!

If you’re the ‘Non-Fiction’ type:

1. Night (by Elie Wiesel).
2. The diary of a Young Girl.
3. Thinking, Fast and Slow.
4. Becoming (by Michelle Obama).
5. Into Thin Air.

If you’re a ‘Crime and Mystery’ type:

1. The Da Vinci Code.
2. Will Robie series (by David Baldacci).
3. The Lost Symbol.
4. And Then There Were None.
5. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

If you’re the ‘Horror and Thriller’ type:

1. The Shining.
2. Haunting of the hill house.
3. IT.
4. The Exorcist.
5. The Outsider (by Stephen King).

And last but not the least…

If you’re the ‘Self-help’ type:

1. Think and Grow Rich.
2. The Power of Now.
3. Loving What Is.
4. How to Win Friends and Influence People.
5. Psycho-Cybernetics.

So, there you go! I guess, this is enough to at least get you started. These are a few things that I learned in my two years of reading through trial and error basis. We readers always have that one friend whom we keep persuading to start reading books to no avail. I hope my article will help you persuade them! For all you non-readers, I have something to say:

Just start reading, don’t stress over it too much. Just let it flow. Don’t let thoughts like ‘I don’t have time for it’ become a hindrance. Just start and I promise, you’ll never regret it. Never be ashamed of the book you are reading and never shame someone else for theirs’. Remember this and you are good to go!

If you still have any doubts about this habit, refer to my previous article, where I’ve shared my personal experience about starting this habit. Thank you for your time. I hope this was helpful!

And, Happy Reading Folks!

📝 Read this story later in Journal.

🎨 Wake up every Sunday morning to the week’s most noteworthy stories in The Arts waiting in your inbox. Read the Noteworthy in The Arts newsletter.