Reading – the only way forward

“Readers are leaders”. A phrase we all have seen pasted on our soft boards back in school. As kids, we have been told that reading books is very necessary, but since we belong to a society where we don’t feel the importance of “why” hence, we don’t discuss it, very few people in Pakistan are habitual of reading, and even the people who read are not aware of the developments made in the fields of literature and others. The basic reason behind the lack of such knowledge is that we, as individuals and as a society have eradicated the culture of reading books.

I will not state my opinion on the basis of the events happened in past because let’s just face it, quoting past so that we could make our present better is too cliché. I will instead, talk about present by stating my opinion based on the events taking place in the present.

Book reading culture has been eradicated, or lets go a little easy, it has been minimized by the way we have implemented road learning. Schools, educational institutes, offices, research centers, anywhere, we see minimum number of people actually opening a book and going through the pages to learn something. I don’t blame them because who doesn’t like easy ways? When you can find it in one click, there is absolutely no need to going through titles and pages. But again, reading is not limited to academic reading. You don’t always read because you need to, you also read to broaden your perspective and explore the worlds of your creativity. By normalizing the culture of buying short notes to pass exams, reading summaries to avoid reading long chapters, watching a four min YouTube video instead of going through course books, we have destroyed reading culture and with its destruction, we have also destroyed the ability of critical thinking in this generation.

Stigmas attached to reading books have also played a major role in diminishing this culture. Reading novels and books that are not related to one’s field of study is considered as time wasting. People who like to read books are considered lifeless and boring. While in reality, people who read have great levels of tolerance, empathy, critical thinking and opinion building according to several international researches because reading isn’t just a way to learn but it also opens up your mind and trains it for diversity. They are also great with creativity because reading also effects the creative intelligence of an individual. It is said that to be a good writer, you need to be a good and observant reader so that you can learn to write. Writing is a natural talent yet reading nurtures it.

Also, the “Shaming culture” that exists in the readers’ community also demotivates people. Reading is supposed to be an open activity where one should be free to make choices, while what I have observed on majority of book reading groups is that readers shame readers for reading what they like. Yes, I know classics are amazing and one should read them, but that doesn’t mean somebody who likes to read fantasy is any less of a reader than you. I can be 50 years old and still be obsessed with Harry Potter series while someone aged 15 can like Jane Austen. It has nothing to do with one’s intellect, reading anything is beneficial and it should be a hobby free of judgements. That way, reading culture can be promoted everywhere.

On personal levels, we all should bring back this culture to our homes by building up tiny shelves for children, reading with them, motivating them to read comics and books online, talking about books more instead of family gossip and read in front of young ones so that they adopt that habit too. At community levels, tiny spaces should be created where readers can go and donate books, pick a book of their choice and leave a review too. Balochistan has already started establishing street libraries which is a great step towards normalizing reading.

Critical thinking and building opinions is one of the most important needs of our society. And without reading and digging deep into what we are building an opinion for, we cannot progress as an individual and as a society. It is time to bring this culture back and make this world a better place for all.

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