With summer in full swing, there is nothing better (at least in my opinion) than finding a nice area with equal parts shade and sun--preferably by some water (but if that doesn't float your boat, then don't worry about it)-- lounging back in a comfortable chair, and reading a book. For people who either work full time jobs in the summer, or even part time jobs, finding time to sit back and relax can be difficult; if you are a student who is still in high school or some other program that assigns summer homework, lounging around with a book probably isn't your idea of fun, but I strongly urge everyone to try to find a little bit of time everyday to read.
Being both a Secondary English Education major and an English major, I spend most of my time at school reading books, but a large majority of the time I have zero interest in the books that I'm reading because they are dreadfully boring and I don't find them remotely engaging or relatable. I'm not going to go into how I think assigned reading in schools is destroying the students' joy of reading because that is a rant that I could write for days, but I do think that it is important to recognize that the lack of reading among young people comes from the fact that they have been told what to read versus being allowed to choose what they read.
Picking out the right book can be difficult, especially if you don't really know who you are as a reader. The first decision you should make is whether or not you want to read fiction or nonfiction; those are the two biggest categories when it comes to finding a book. Once you have decided on what you want to read (I usually lean towards fiction, but there are some nonfiction books that have recently grabbed my attention), you have to pick a genre: fantasy, science fiction, mystery, romance, comedy, horror, adventure, verse, young adult--all of these and many more make up the different genre classifications of books and the blending and combining of your favorite genres is a great way to ensure that you will find a book that you love.
I would recommend trying a book or two from a genre that you think you might be interested in, just to get your toes wet, so to speak, and see if you like what that genre has to offer. If you do like that particular genre, you can dig deeper into the subgenres until you find a book, author, or writing style that really speaks to you, and then you can settle in for a good read.
Testing different genres and mixing and matching is what makes reading so fun. Reading allows you to imagine a world and characters, and to follow a story of adventure and mystery that might have a love triangle that results in an attack from a supernatural entity that brings you to a parallel universe (I'm totally just making that up, but there is probably a book about that somewhere out there). Reading allows you to use your imagination and that is what connects you to a story--that is what makes a good book impossible to put down.
A great teacher and mentor of mine, Clarissa Thompson, has always had an amazing ability to suggest the perfect book. Her office is filled with books and she can pull four or five off of her shelf with that look that says, "Trust me, you'll love it." She'll hand them to you with a smile and you know that it's going to be good. Clarissa has taught me a lot about reading and about choosing a book, but one of the most important things she has taught me is that reading is about having fun, and if you are not having fun, it is okay to put the book down; choosing a book isn't a binding legal contract--if you don't like it, you don't have to finish.
Finishing a book is what is important, enjoying the book is what truly matters.
