Hello everyone!
Let’s Talk Bookish a weekly book discussion meme hosted by Rukki @Eternity Books and Dani @Literary Lion. Check out this link for September 2020 Topics.
Today’s topic is “How to Encourage Others to Read?”
I am someone who loves to talk about everything – books I’ve read, movies I’ve watched, memes I liked… so it sometimes frustrates me that there’s a book I want to talk about but there’s no one to talk to. My friends and family aren’t really readers. So, once in a while, I try out my powers of persuasion to convert someone into a reader. Here are my tips if you want to try too.
Start them with something simple
A lot of people I’ve asked why they don’t enjoy reading, they answer that it’s that they were “forced” to and a lot of books they’ve read are too complicated to enjoy. It turns out that the only books they have been reading are the assigned books in school. Most of the time, they were not able to enjoy the book because they were busy minding the small details and analyzing themes to fully immerse themselves into the book. There’s also the pressure of “doing it for the grades”. So, short and simple might be enough to make them realize that there is joy in reading.
The book that I suggested to my non-reader sister was The Little Prince. The book was short but very meaningful. She liked it very much so that was that.
Tell them why you love books
Of course, they have to hear the advantages of reading from your perspective. Maybe seeing you passionate about reading will entice them. Tell them how reading is different from watching movies or tv shows.
Don’t look down on their hobbies
This is probably important to be reminded of. To each their own. If you are encouraging your friends to read, don’t look down on what they usually enjoy. For example, don’t ever say “You should read books instead of playing video games”. You shouldn’t do this because both can be stimulating for different people. Your friend will just feel off if you make them feel bad for not reading.
So… these are my suggestions on how to encourage others to read. How about you? What are your methods in recruiting a new reader? Chat with me through the comments below!