Human beings have various ways of relaxation. Some
prefer spending their free time listening to music, while some prefer
going out to the beach to savour the good provisions of nature; to some
others, the best way to enjoy one's free time is to be glued to the TV
set watching soap operas, home videos, musicals, etc. One very good way
of enjoying one's free time is through reading. Unfortunately, the
number of people taking advantage of this wonderful hobby is fast
declining. Most people today see reading as a burdensome endeavour that
should only be embarked upon when 'chasing' degrees, diplomas, or
certificates. To this group of people, reading outside the classroom isa
way of stressing oneself. According to the Californian Department of
Education, "Professional educators and the public at large have long
known that reading is an enabling skill that traverses academic
disciplines and translates into meaningful personal, social, and
economic outcomes for individuals."
Because of the society's growing apathy for reading, the number of 'non-academic' visitors to our libraries has, over the years, drastically reduced. This dearth of reading culture has contributed a lot to our collective stagnation as a people. We tend to see things from very myopic, sentimental and even outrightly uncivilised viewpoints. This, perhaps, explains why we no longer appreciate the good virtue of putting ourselves last and others first when such need arises. It further explains why our national aspiration of establishing a strong, virile, independent nation continues to elude us.
At the local level, inherited values of good neighbourliness, courage, honesty, and industry are grossly discarded and in their place selfishness, laziness, insincerity, and sycophancy become the order of the day. This is because it is an established fact that reading of high quality materials helps in moulding, in a positive way, the character trait of children and to some extent, redirecting that of adults. Lyon and Chhabra (1996) opine that, "It is common knowledge that reading is the fulcrum of academics, the pivotal ability that stabilizes and leverages children's opportunities to learn and to become reflective, independent learners." A child who grows up in an environment where the reading culture is alive and kicking, grows up to, in majority of cases, become a fully enlightened, broadminded, socially balanced, culturally aware, and philosophically outstanding individual. Such individuals are, of course, the assets any country needs to attain greatness.
Furthermore, reading is a good way of chasing away boredom. This is because engaging oneself in reading of a well-written book, piece, biography, play, poem, etc., could effectively divorce him from any unpleasant realities of life that may be bedeviling him at any point in time. Any person who makes reading a hobby would readily attest to the fact that when he lays his hands on an interesting story, he finds himself so carried away that he doesn't even remember that it is time for lunch! Now if reading could divorce one from a reality like hunger, the issue of boredom is certainly a minimal one.
Moreover, reading of relevant materials avails us the opportunity to fairly assess our condition, make comparisons, and come out seeing our problems as very minor and thanking God in the process. For example, a nagging wife who reads Isidore Okpewho's novel, "The Victims", would transform to a good housewife and thank God for not letting her into the shoes of Nwabunor, Ogugua, and all other such characters and their plights that combine to make the story a tragic one. In the same vein, reading George Orwell's "Animal Farm" could also make a society to tread softly, the path of instigated rebellion against constituted authorities because their supposed messiahs may turn out to be their evil predators.
Reading also has the potential of bringing out the best in us by making us to be creative. Readers have the natural tendency of seeing their favorite writers as role models thus wanting to become like them. This ignites the urge in the individual to write in the characteristic style of his/her role model. Writing is said to be one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. Thus an individual gets inspired by the works of others and makes all the sacrifices to produce a unique work of his own. This makes the society become an ocean of valuable ideas.
Another benefit of reading as a hobby is that, far more than other pastimes, it develops one's intellectual capacity and understanding of hitherto, strange things. Reading a good travelogue, for example, gives one an insight into the lifestyle of people in other countries, continents and even creatures in other planets. The knowledge of their culture, religion and climatic conditions makes one appreciate why they dress in a particular way, why they eat a particular kind of food, why they engage in a particular kind of trade among many other 'whys'. Thus unlike, the unenlightened individual, he does not bring himself to blindly copy the life style of others. Consequently, he becomes proud of his own culture and becomes ready to claim his nationality with all its peculiarities; and without any unjustifiable negative feeling of inferiority.
It also enables one to get acquainted with the meanings and usage of several words and phrases. This aids the individual's communication skills in his business and social dealings with other members of the society.
Having considered some of the benefits accruable to an individual who adopts reading as a pastime, it will be appropriate to, at this juncture, examine some of the ways through which reading culture can be revived among our people. In the first place, it is said that 'charity begins at home', thus it is the humble opinion of this writer that the inculcation of reading culture in our people should start from the home. This is because, any hobby good or bad adopted from childhood automatically becomes part and parcel of the individual and will be very difficult to discard. Therefore while it is recommended that parents should try and arouse the interest of their children towards reading, it is also necessary to add that they should, at the same time, regulate the kinds of materials accessible to them. Secondly, government should also set in motion, a pragmatic programme for the resuscitation of the reading culture in our society. This could be done through resuscitation of our library system, creation of reading centres in our various relaxation spots, setting up of internet cafes where people can have access to the net at affordable rates, subsidizing reading materials, recognition and encouragement of writers through sponsorship of writing competitions, publication of materials, and funding of literary activities. Many people allow themselves to ditch this great pastime relying on the not-so-plausible excuse of "I don't have time for reading" and thus allow even incisive and analytic newspaper features to pass them. Thus, at the individual level, we should make conscious effort to "create time for reading", knowing fully well that it is not only a good way of keeping ourselves abreast of happenings around us and beyond, but also an effective means of spending our free time - a way of using one stone to kill two birds, if you like.
Because of the society's growing apathy for reading, the number of 'non-academic' visitors to our libraries has, over the years, drastically reduced. This dearth of reading culture has contributed a lot to our collective stagnation as a people. We tend to see things from very myopic, sentimental and even outrightly uncivilised viewpoints. This, perhaps, explains why we no longer appreciate the good virtue of putting ourselves last and others first when such need arises. It further explains why our national aspiration of establishing a strong, virile, independent nation continues to elude us.
At the local level, inherited values of good neighbourliness, courage, honesty, and industry are grossly discarded and in their place selfishness, laziness, insincerity, and sycophancy become the order of the day. This is because it is an established fact that reading of high quality materials helps in moulding, in a positive way, the character trait of children and to some extent, redirecting that of adults. Lyon and Chhabra (1996) opine that, "It is common knowledge that reading is the fulcrum of academics, the pivotal ability that stabilizes and leverages children's opportunities to learn and to become reflective, independent learners." A child who grows up in an environment where the reading culture is alive and kicking, grows up to, in majority of cases, become a fully enlightened, broadminded, socially balanced, culturally aware, and philosophically outstanding individual. Such individuals are, of course, the assets any country needs to attain greatness.
Furthermore, reading is a good way of chasing away boredom. This is because engaging oneself in reading of a well-written book, piece, biography, play, poem, etc., could effectively divorce him from any unpleasant realities of life that may be bedeviling him at any point in time. Any person who makes reading a hobby would readily attest to the fact that when he lays his hands on an interesting story, he finds himself so carried away that he doesn't even remember that it is time for lunch! Now if reading could divorce one from a reality like hunger, the issue of boredom is certainly a minimal one.
Moreover, reading of relevant materials avails us the opportunity to fairly assess our condition, make comparisons, and come out seeing our problems as very minor and thanking God in the process. For example, a nagging wife who reads Isidore Okpewho's novel, "The Victims", would transform to a good housewife and thank God for not letting her into the shoes of Nwabunor, Ogugua, and all other such characters and their plights that combine to make the story a tragic one. In the same vein, reading George Orwell's "Animal Farm" could also make a society to tread softly, the path of instigated rebellion against constituted authorities because their supposed messiahs may turn out to be their evil predators.
Reading also has the potential of bringing out the best in us by making us to be creative. Readers have the natural tendency of seeing their favorite writers as role models thus wanting to become like them. This ignites the urge in the individual to write in the characteristic style of his/her role model. Writing is said to be one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. Thus an individual gets inspired by the works of others and makes all the sacrifices to produce a unique work of his own. This makes the society become an ocean of valuable ideas.
Another benefit of reading as a hobby is that, far more than other pastimes, it develops one's intellectual capacity and understanding of hitherto, strange things. Reading a good travelogue, for example, gives one an insight into the lifestyle of people in other countries, continents and even creatures in other planets. The knowledge of their culture, religion and climatic conditions makes one appreciate why they dress in a particular way, why they eat a particular kind of food, why they engage in a particular kind of trade among many other 'whys'. Thus unlike, the unenlightened individual, he does not bring himself to blindly copy the life style of others. Consequently, he becomes proud of his own culture and becomes ready to claim his nationality with all its peculiarities; and without any unjustifiable negative feeling of inferiority.
It also enables one to get acquainted with the meanings and usage of several words and phrases. This aids the individual's communication skills in his business and social dealings with other members of the society.
Having considered some of the benefits accruable to an individual who adopts reading as a pastime, it will be appropriate to, at this juncture, examine some of the ways through which reading culture can be revived among our people. In the first place, it is said that 'charity begins at home', thus it is the humble opinion of this writer that the inculcation of reading culture in our people should start from the home. This is because, any hobby good or bad adopted from childhood automatically becomes part and parcel of the individual and will be very difficult to discard. Therefore while it is recommended that parents should try and arouse the interest of their children towards reading, it is also necessary to add that they should, at the same time, regulate the kinds of materials accessible to them. Secondly, government should also set in motion, a pragmatic programme for the resuscitation of the reading culture in our society. This could be done through resuscitation of our library system, creation of reading centres in our various relaxation spots, setting up of internet cafes where people can have access to the net at affordable rates, subsidizing reading materials, recognition and encouragement of writers through sponsorship of writing competitions, publication of materials, and funding of literary activities. Many people allow themselves to ditch this great pastime relying on the not-so-plausible excuse of "I don't have time for reading" and thus allow even incisive and analytic newspaper features to pass them. Thus, at the individual level, we should make conscious effort to "create time for reading", knowing fully well that it is not only a good way of keeping ourselves abreast of happenings around us and beyond, but also an effective means of spending our free time - a way of using one stone to kill two birds, if you like.
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