Reading never came to me easily growing up. I struggled tremendously with trying to find the meaning in the author’s words, because the books didn’t make sense to me. It always felt as if it was fight that I’d never win. I felt this way for some time till I read, ‘The Not So Lonely Good Company of Books’ by Bryce Shoemaker. Instead of searching for a meaning Shoemaker’s essay confirms how books are a learning experience and how the reader chooses to apply that knowledge to their everyday life. This furthered my idea that not everyone is able to be successful at reading, but can still have learned something that will impact their life.
Inside the student essay Bryce Shoemaker shares his opinions on literature as well as his thoughts on an essay, …show more content…
If you like reading, but are no good at it doesn’t mean you can’t take a learning experience out of it. “Reading to me is a way to learn and see things in other perspectives” (Shoemaker 349). This is impactful to me because growing up reading was an escape when I found a book that interested me (which was rarely often). At the start of my high school career I discovered a book called “Looking for Alaska”, by John Green, which was a romantic mystery, and made me have a different outlook on books. Looking for Alaska was a rather difficult book for my reading level, but the amount of relationship advice I took away from after reading the book was uncanny. I tried to find another book that spiked my interest, but nothing compared. Though I argue that just because I didn’t read a handful of books after that doesn’t mean I’m bad at reading or didn’t take a learning experience from the books I did read. Reading is something that involves a lot of attention, and I also felt as if I lacked that. I find it awfully complicated to remain engaged with reading material for approximately more than 30 minutes. However, that simply means that reading isn’t where my enjoyment …show more content…
After my freshmen year of high school, and discovering “Looking for Alaska”, I quit reading entirely. Last year, I was still in high school and I found that reading came easier to me. I wanted to read outside of school. It was a way to pass time and it always kept up with my vivid imagination, however when I got to college that all changed. I rarely found myself reading when it wasn’t pertaining to a certain class, and recently it stopped altogether. When I got into college my interest in reading declined dramatically. I was constantly assigned multiple pages of material that I had to read to gain an understanding from rather than for enjoyment. That’s where this vicious cycle repeats itself—having to read material for a required purpose rather than pure entertainment bothers me, and Shoemaker. After analyzing my background involving reading I encourage my readers to try. Try to find a book that not only sparks your interest, but it also plays as an escape to you. I hope the book you find paints a vivid picture in your mind and you can hear the character voices as if they were talking in your ear. Regardless to your reading level you can take something from any type of reading and apply it to your life, and hopefully won’t stay a reading outlaw