The Importance of Reading: A Personal Journey

By Gemma Louise Bull

I don’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t read. I mean, I assume I wasn’t born with a book in my hand and glasses on my face, but – for as long as I can recall – books have been a key part of my life.

According to my mum, I could recall every nursery rhyme by the time I was two and I was reading simple books before I started school. Indeed, also according to my mum, I used to register my teddy bears to check they were all present. I guess I was always destined to be a teacher!

It probably helped growing up with older siblings. With my brothers being four and six years older than me, I frequently started things before other children of my age. So, long before school, I was an avid reader and – within a few months – I had been moved into an accelerated class to be challenged.

During my primary education, I continued to read regularly, quickly falling in love with the stories created by Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis and many others. However, it was in my first year of secondary school that my literature journey really began.

My English teacher – an inspiring educator in many ways – suggested I should read ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne Du Maurier. When I read the ‘blurb’, I wasn’t convinced but, after putting my faith in Mrs M, I started the novel. After reading the famous first line, ‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again’, I was hooked. Engrossed in the characters, the plot and the setting, I couldn’t put the novel down and the memory of that experience will stay with me always.

In the last thirty years, I have continued my reading journey and, on average, I read one novel per week. Writing this piece makes me reflect on why books have been such an important part of my life and the benefits my reading journey has given me.

1. Reading has allowed me to ‘travel’

Books have allowed me the chance to ‘travel’. Some people are lucky; they get to travel and see all four corners of the world. I have been blessed to see some other countries in the world but, through reading books from different authors, from different places, I’ve had the opportunity to be ‘present’ in so many cities, countries and continents.

2. Reading has taught me about different cultures

From Khalid Hossein’s ‘The Kite Runner’, to Sam Seldon’s ‘The Lonely Londoners’, to Monica Ali’s ‘Brick Lane’, to Alice Walker’s ‘The Color Purple’, there are so many books out there which can provide us with an understanding of the experience of different people around the world. Sometimes those experiences are traumatic, sometimes they are upsetting and sometimes they are full of unadulterated joy. But, always, they bring us to the story, to the experience, to the history.

3. Reading has educated me about history

Many books provide knowledge and information about events in the past. Books such as Philippa Gregory’s novels about the wives Henry VII, or Fred D’Aguiar’s ‘Feeding the Ghosts’, which outlines what it was like to be a slave on a ship during the transatlantic slave trade. Books tell us stories about what life was like for people through history.

4. Reading has enhanced my imagination

Although books set in fictional worlds are arguably my favourite, through literature, we also have the excitement and joy of experiencing new worlds, created by the incredible minds of authors such as J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and many others. I was steadfastly determined not to enjoy the Harry Potter series when it was first published. As a twenty-plus-year-old woman, why would I want to read a book about an eleven-year-old wizard? A friend of mine – a fellow literature fan – insisted that I at least try the first book as she was convinced that I would love it. She was absolutely right!

5. Reading has taught me about people

Reading enhances our inference skills. Who is the villain? Who is the hero? What does the setting suggest about the genre? We learn so much through engaging with the beautiful language, crafted plots and detailed description of a range of settings. Likewise, reading makes us better writers as reading influences the choices we make in our own writing: how to describe a character and setting; how to use sophisticated punctuation; when to start a new paragraph; how to ‘hook’ our reader through an effective opening; and how to structure a narrative.

 

To summarise

Reading is a jewel. In a world where life can be challenging, reading provides me an opportunity to escape to new worlds, new places and be surrounded by different people with different experiences.

Reading brings me joy, entertainment, knowledge and skills. Reading has helped me in so many ways. And reading has definitely helped me succeed in life.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have 50 pages left to read of my current book.

Happy reading!