The role of books in our life

importance of book reading in a student’s life, essays on the importance of reading books, quotes and more!
One of the great reasons that signify the importance of book reading in our life is that books act as our best friends. Friends are one of the most important parts of our life. We can’t imagine our life without the companionship of a good friend. Similarly, a book is like a best friend that constantly inspires us to become the best versions of ourselves. Books enrich our minds with knowledge just like a good friend. We can learn a lot from books and they can help us in overcoming our failures as well as shape our minds.
We can't imagine our life without books. They play a very important part in our life.
Books are our friends. We meet them when we are very small and can't read, but we remember our mother read them for us. We learn very much from books.
Books educate people in different spheres of life. They develop our imagination, make us think and analyse. They help to form our character and the world outlook. Books help us in self education and in deciding problems of life. They make our life more interesting.
People read both for knowledge and for pleasure. Different people read different books. They help us with our lessons and work. We read serious books which help us understand the life, give us answers to questions which worry us, they make us think.
Many people enjoy so-called "easy reading"- detectives, amusing, humorous stories, fantastic. But so many people, so many tastes.
As for me, I prefer to read adventure stories, full of interesting real fact and pictures, and detectives. My favourite author is Arthur Conan Doyle with his Holmes' adventures.
The objectives of this research were: (1) to investigate the achievement in reading by attending the World Peace Ethics Contest, (2) to study the benefits of reading the book named “Family Day by Day”, and (3) to explore other prospects the winners of the World Peace Ethics Contest would receive apart from scholarships and certificates. The sample for this research consisted of 160 students, 20 winners, and 3 coordinators of the organizers. They were obtained by purposive sampling technique. The instruments used were: (1) pre-test and post-test, (2) evaluation form for the oral presentation of the group work, (3) a semi-structured interview form on the benefits of reading the book named “Family Day by Day”, (4) a semi-structured interview form on the prospects of the winners after having participated in the World Peace Ethics Contest. The statistics used for data analysis were: (1) percentage (%), (2) means ( ), (3) standard deviation (S.D.), and (4) t-test (dependent). The research results indicated that attending the World Peace Ethics Contest help to improve the English reading achievement of the students. The achievement in reading is statistically significant at the level of .05. The contestants won 20 prizes. They have benefited from reading the book named “Family Day by Day” on a number of issues., and the winners were likely to have other prospects other than the awards and certificates. However, the participants found difficulty in understanding Pali and Sanskirit terms that are scattered in the reading material or book.
This study investigated parents’ knowledge and opinions about the picture books that are on the market for the children. Interviews and surveys were used. Then, surveys and interviews done with 20 parents were coded and analyzed, discussed, and implications were made by describing (a) parents’ knowledge about the picture books, (b) different views of parents regarding picture books, (c) how educators should inform parents about picture books. Subcategories of each component were identified and are illustrated by narrative data. Conclusions recommendations for education research and practice are addressed.
Books play an important role of a teacher, guide, and friend in our life. Why is it important to read books? Why do students need books? This is the great research question we have raised, according to the chairman of the Publishers Association, Petrit Ymeri, which was invited to the UET Forum, in a conversation with students and lecturers at the end of of the 20th edition of the book in Tirana: where he showed the problems facing the book, from VAT to bad translations. One of the concerns raised by UET students in their questions, was the battle of paper book with the digital book and the world of social networks that has involved young people. Concretely, he argued that, “the book is always fashionable, it’s a paper or a digital book, we get it online, download it or not, we read, as Umberto Eco said that we need to flip our eyes when we read on the phone or ipad. The book of paper, continues to be the winner everywhere, because the book of the paper can be re-read. We all know, besides the pleasure we have in our hands, but even when you make a note, you go back to read it again”. (Mapo, 2018). A study published in Social Science & Health shows that reading books has a significant relationship to increase lifespan. A team of public health researchers from Yale University looked at data for 3,635 Americans over age 50 collected from 1992 to 2012. Adjusting for age, sex, race, education, wealth, marital status, and depression they found, that those who read books were more likely to live longer. (Flood, 2016). In this study, we want to measure book readership of students. How many students are currently reading and how to encourage readers of the future? POLIS No. 18, ISSUE 2/ 2019 55 We have compiled a self – questionnaire that measures student involvement with the genre of reading, engagement in fairs, the participation in city libraries, etc. About 80 questionnaires were distributed to see the current situation of students in a Private University (European University of Tirana). Key words: Books, Students, Genre of reading, City libraries, Book Fairs, Digital books. Introduction Why is it important to read books? In the digital world reading books, is placed face to face with digital book and the traditional book. The study we are going to present does not intend to identify the losers or winners of each category of reading. The concern that arises is whether we will have readers in the future in a world that is fragmented by the rapid evolution of technology? Is the level of readership of books reduced by students? How many students are currently reading according the tool they choose to read, why they choose one of these tools, the way they read, their membership in a book club, their favorite book genre, the form of reading (for example, alone, accompanied, loudly), the time they spend to read, attendance in city libraries, book fairs, their favorite author and books, etc. According to a study, which is published in the September issue of the Journal Social Science & Medicine, by three autors from Yale University, on average, book readers were found to live for almost two years longer than non-readers, the paper also specifically links the reading of books, rather than periodicals, to a longer life. “We found that reading books provided a greater benefit than reading newspapers or magazines. We uncovered that this effect is likely because books engage the reader’s mind more – providing more cognitive benefit, and therefore increasing the lifespan”. (Bavishi, Slade, Levy, 2016). There are two cognitive processes involved in reading books that could create a “survival advantage”. First, reading books promote the “slow, immersive process” of “deep reading”, a cognitive engagement that “occurs as the reader draws connections to other parts of the material, finds applications to the outside world, and asks questions about the content presented”. “Cognitive engagement may explain why vocabulary, reasoning, concentration, and critical thinking skills are improved by exposure to books,” they write. Second, books “can promote empathy, social perception, and emotional intelligence, which are cognitive processes that can lead to greater survival”.(Bavishi, Slade, Levy, 2016). 56 POLIS No. 18, ISSUE 2/ 2019 Enjoy Reading As teachers, as parents, as educators, we all want the best for our students. We’re probably all aware that it’s important to make sure they are confident, fluent readers who enjoy reading, but often it’s hard to know where to start. What can we do as teacher to help our students get familiar reading with books? And how do we help them progress at school when the teaching is different nowadays? The big challenge for teachers is not simply getting students to read – it’s getting them to enjoy it too. It’s one thing for students to trudge through set texts in a lesson, but will they open another book when they got home at the end of the day? But reading for pleasure is so much more than just a form of play or escapism – it is also a way of connecting with text. According to Pullman (2004), writing on the features that make reading pleasurable: “Consider the nature of what happens when we read a book…. It isn’t like a lecture: it’s like a conversation. There’s a back-and-forthness about it. The book proposes, the reader questions, the book responds, the reader considers”. And we are active about the process… We can skim or we can read it slowly; we can read every word, or we can skip long passages; we can read it in the order it presents itself, or we can read it in any order we please; we can look at the last page first, or decide to wait for it; we can put the book down and … we can assent or we can disagree. (Clark & Rumbold, 2006, p.6). According to Krashen(1993), who is a major proponent of the value of reading for pleasure he found when children read for pleasure, when they get “hooked on books”, they acquire, involuntarily and without conscious effort, nearly all of the so-called “language skills” many people are so concerned about: they will become adequate readers, acquire a large vocabulary, develop the ability to understand and use complex grammatical constructions, develop a good writing style, and become good (but not necessarily perfect) spellers. Although free voluntary reading alone will not ensure attainment of the highest levels of literacy, it will at least ensure an acceptable level. Without it, I suspect that children simply do not have a chance. (Ibid.). For Ames (1992), students with learning goals seek to understand content, master skills, and gain competence. In contrast, students with performance goals attempt to maximize their grades, test scores, or public recognition for achievement (Guthrie et. al, 2000). The benefits of reading books • According Clark and Rumbold (2006), research has shown that reading for pleasure is positively linked with the following literacy-related benefits: POLIS No. 18, ISSUE 2/ 2019 57 • reading attainment and writing ability (OECD, 2000) for reading that is done both in school and out of school (Krashen, 1993; Anderson et al, 1988; but also see Taylor et al., 1990); • text comprehension and grammar (Cipielewski and Stanovich, 1992; Cox and Guthrie, 2001), even after a variety of health, wealth and school factors were statistically controlled for (Elley, 1994); • breadth of vocabulary (Angelos and McGriff, 2002), even after other relevant abilities such as IQ or text-decoding skills are controlled for (Cunningham and Stanovich, 1998); • positive reading attitudes (Guthrie and Alvermann, 1999), which are linked to achievement in reading (McKenna and Kear, 1990); • greater self-confidence as a reader (Guthrie and Alvermann, 1999); • pleasure reading in later life (Aarnoutse and van Leeuwe, 1998). (p.9) Similar findings PISA (OECD, 2002), explored the reading habits of 15-yearolds in 32 countries. In this study, UK students came seventh in terms of mean performance, below Finland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and Korea. Overall, 72% of students said that they read for enjoyment on a daily basis: 12% read for more than one hour a day on average, 23% for between 30 minutes and one hour, and 36% for up to half an hour. Those who were high achievers in reading literacy were much more likely than low achievers to read for enjoyment: 87% compared with 55% said they did so. Girls were much more likely than boys to read for enjoyment: 78% of girls, compared with only 65% of boys, said they did so on a daily basis. At all levels of achievement in reading literacy, girls were significantly more likely than boys to read for enjoyment. Among the 25% of students who were most proficient in reading literacy, 90% of girls, compared with 84% of boys, read for enjoyment every day. Among the least proficient 25% of students, however, the difference was much more marked: 64% of girls, compared with only 48% of boys, did so.(as cited at Clark, Rumbold, 2006). A Nestle Family Monitor (2003), which surveyed 914, 11-18-year-olds attending state and public schools across England and Wales, reported that four in five (83%) of young people read books in their spare time, with 16% reading books everyday. Only one in ten (11%) said that they never read books outside school hours. Overall, 40% agreed with the statement that books are important to them. However, a third also agreed with the statement that they have better things to do than read books, while a quarter agreed that they would be disappointed if somebody gave them a book as a present. This survey also reported that girls read more books for pleasure than boys. More specifically, one in five boys (16%) said that they never read in their spare time compared with 7% of girls. Overall, twothirds (65%) of young people reported that they find reading enjoyable, with 21% also claiming that it is very enjoyable. (Ibid.). 58 POLIS No. 18, ISSUE 2/ 2019 Reading Motivation Research findings are also likely to present only a temporal snapshot of students reading preferences. So, why do some people choose to read for pleasure while others do not? According (Mitchell, (1992); Guthrie & Wigfield, (2000); Baumann & Duffy (1997), indeed, “motivation for learning is thought to be one of the most critical determinants of the success and quality of any learning outcome” and it is therefore likely “that motivational processes are the foundation for coordinating cognitive goals and strategies in reading …reading motivation is defined as “the individual’s personal goals, values and beliefs with regard to the topics, processes, and outcomes of reading, reading motivation is a multifaceted construct that includes reading goals, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, self-efficacy and social motivation for reading” and “motivation to read and reading ability are synergistic, mutually reinforcing phenomena”.(as cited at Clark and Rumbold, 2006). According Mazzoni, Gambrell and Korkeamaki (1999) two related aspects of reading motivation are reading attitude and reading interest: Reading attitudes “refer to the feelings and beliefs an individual has with respect to reading ”, Reading interest “relates to people’s preferences for genres, topics, tasks or contexts and Reading motivation, “as outlined above, refers to the internal states that make people read”. (Ibid.) In addition to motivation, another important factor in fostering lifelong readers is choice. According Sanacore (1999), Krashen (1993), Flowerday & Schraw (2000), “encouraging and respecting reading choices are important steps toward helping children, young people and adults develop a sense of ownership and self-determination”, “students who choose what they read and have an informal environment in which to read tend to be more motivated, read more and show greater language and literacy development”, similarly, “teachers like to provide choice in the classroom because they believe that it increases motivation, effort and learning”(as cited at Clark and Rumbold 2006). Motivation often is domain specific, according Wolters (2003), “motivation also is important for the maintenance of behavior, particularly when activities are cognitively demanding”. Reading is one such activity, as many different cognitive skills are involved. These range from processing individual words to generating meaning from complex texts. Furthermore, although reading is required for many school tasks and activities, it is also something students can choose to do or not; “Am I going to read or do something else?” Given these characteristics, motivation is especially crucial to reading engagement.