WHAT HINDERS YOU FROM FINISHING AN ENGLISH EDITION BOOK AND HOW TO DEAL WITH IT
Have you get this kind of experience where you got well impressed by a certain English book and wish to finish it in certain period, however, you find that what you have done is no more than putting the name in your to read list without any further action. And you realize that the goal about improving English by reading set months ago is still in vain today.
What have hindered you from reading a book? You may have nowhere to find the book you want. You may lack the motivation or will to keep reading every day. You may find the improvement is without a trace. You may find no time to read or don't feel like reading when you get plenty of time.
Go equip with the following five things and you will find it easy to go through a book then the other.
A TARGET
You may consider reading a book as a target, but it is not concrete, detailed or practical enough for later fulfillment. Find a theme behind the reading for yourself. It could be learning to write business letters in English, standing against procrastination, or getting to know more about human nature, etc. If you want to improve spoken English, choose the novel with frequent conversations in short sentences; if you feel like making a boost to translation skill, read both the English version and Chinese edition and compare them to find the corresponding wording in different languages but with the same meaning; if you would like to enhance your writing, take the book with description in psychological activity to learn to describe in a detailed and vivid way, with illustration in how things come into being to make statement in a logic and rational way, or with argumentation toward a persuasive conclusion to make others agree with what you are trying to convince them.
Beside the main goal mentioned above, you could also think about what you could do along the way like making a list of vocabulary for this book, learning the expression and find the opportunity to apply it in daily writing, make a mind map of the content to get to know the frame of the book, note down something enlightening and inspiring and put it into practice or share with someone else, etc.
A CHANNEL
You may know what to read, but not the platform to find it. You may know where to have books available for downloading, but you may wonder what's suitable for you and worthwhile to read. So you need to know both the place to find books to your taste and a platform to get the books you want.
We have KINDLE to locate the book we might be interested in. It might be the cover or name of a book that attracts you. You just need a click into the link and read the description. Download a piece of sample attractive to you, and see if you feel like reading it after trying a few lines of the chapter.
If the answer is positive, you may go further to BOOKZZ to download the whole book for further reading.
A TOOL
The reader named iReader, or Zhangyue in Chinese, is one of the best I have tried. It is available for epub, pdf and mobi format, three main formats frequently applied. And it supports dictionary, and you could look up the words strange to you every time you encounter.
The design is reader friendly, so you could have appropriate quantity of words on a single page that won't make you feel panic or exhausted. And you could also slide the scroll bar to adjust the rate of progress suitable to you. If you don't want to turn the page yourself or would like to improve your reading speed, you could set the auto page turning function which may force you to read in a stable pace to make sure you get the meaning before the current page is gone.
A PLAN
A good plan is clear about object, time taking, deadline, and result expected.
Take my plan to read four novels by Douglas Kennedy for example. I come across a book named The Woman In The Fifth in KINDLE, and confirm that it suits me after taking a read of the sample. Then I go checking the author and find more books available by him. I finalize the four as my reading list this month.
A check of the recording make me know about the time it takes and the number of the pages, so I could divide my time available for reading based on the period it requires. Started with the shortest novel, I make a list of my leisure time for reading and confirm the number of chapters, then I could have a better understanding of how many time I need to spend on each chapter. Then I will improve my reading speed so as to catch up with the pace expected.
I need to get 2 new words recorded in each page, and note down every question I may have during the reading which may motivate me to read for ananswer. I may have the sentences or paragraphs worth reviewing for later application copied in my reading note. List all the things you need to accomplish when you read a certain book, and check if you are following what you have planned during the process by going over the record.
A FEEDBACK
Note something useful and meaningful down from the book, or even go further to write down your idea about it. Take the vocabulary new to you down and find the way to apply it. Make a record of your input and you will feel like moving on due to the visible outcome from reading.
You could also take the initiative to make the output based on the input. Writing book review, posting an article with the idea or concept gained from book quoted, trying the way mentioned in the book may be a perfect way of making what you have read count. You need some feedback in the form of input and output to track the progress down.
Have a target in mind as guidance, find a channel to the book your like, get a tool to read in an effective, enjoyable and efficient way, with a plan detailed concerning the time and pace of reading, and a feedback concerning input and output. You can get any book conquered in no time.
