THE EUPHORIC LINK BETWEEN THE READER AND THE AUTHOR
My passion for reading started in my children’s literature years when I read “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” written by Jon Scieszka. It was the first time I realized that the wolf may not be as bad as the classic story of the three little pigs always portrayed him to be. Books that give meaning to one's life and give a different perspective of the world he lives in are those that could awaken the dormant interest to dig the treasures hidden in rows and rows of bookshelves.
Appreciation for reading is not achieved by having the skill of reading words in a sentence nor in understanding the paragraphs contained in several pages. Rather, appreciation comes when a connection is struck between the reader and the story's message, between the reader and the author. When that euphoric connection is experienced – even once – the reader’s desire to read books gets activated and goes through a snowball effect growth. He begins to read in order to quench his thirst for knowledge and wisdom. Reading becomes second nature to him, not prompted by any academic requirement.
It is true however that getting people to read for leisure can be a challenge. Oftentimes the disinterest for voluntary reading is caused by a distressing experience of a mismatch between the reader and the material read. That is the danger and the risk that school teachers face when assigning books to children without careful deliberation of choice. The mismatch may be caused by the reader's unpreparedness for the specific material. Sometimes, it may be that the book's setting is simply so far from the real world of the child that he fails to make any connection with it. Therefore, he reads simply to comply with the assignment, and simple compliance is still so far from inculcating a genuine interest for reading.
As an avid reader, enjoying the swim through the tides of flipping pages, I suggest that if we were to motivate others to read, the skill of careful and deliberate choice of book to match with the reader is of utmost importance. Developing the motivation to read beyond any academic requirement takes the patience of a gardener waiting for his rose bud to bloom. Passion for reading cannot be forced into someone. It has to be cultivated and nurtured for it to become part of one's life necessities.
