Teenagers who read books will succeed in life

"Should I be alarmed that my teenage son doesn’t pick up a book on his own these days?

The short answer is, yes.

Based on research over the last 20 years teenagers that don’t read books are less likely to attend college, reduced language skills, experience depression more frequently then non-readers and have lower paying jobs. That is a lot to be alarmed about. Research also notes that reading fiction has significant benefits to the brain including increasing attention span, developing empathy, improving overall social cognition and enhancing reasoning ability. Reading books benefit our teenagers in so many ways. ...

The importance of modeling reading to young children and teenagers cannot be understated. Our brain contains mirror neurons and what is referred to as the mirror neuron system. Essentially, neuroscience research is showing that mirror neurons fire in our brain when we observe someone doing an action or when we do the action ourselves. Even just imaging the action can cause the mirror neurons to fire. As children watch us perform actions their mirror neurons replicate what we are doing. If we attach that action to a pleasurable activity such as reading to your child than the dopamine reward system is activated. Dopamine is released in the brain reinforcing the pleasure of that action for our children. Thus, when a parent picks up a book and snuggles up to their child before bedtime this association is reinforced between the mirror neurons and the dopamine reward system.

Research is showing that there is a significant correlation between reading aloud to children and educational advantages. In 1985, a landmark report in the U.S. called “Becoming a Nation of Readers” stated that reading aloud to children is “the single most important activity for building knowledge required for eventual success in reading”. Reading aloud also promotes vocabulary development, listening skills, attention span and other emergent literacy skills. However, if a parent cannot read efficiently how many will even attempt a bedtime story? More importantly, if reading is not modeled to children as a pleasurable activity how many of these children will discover this fact themselves as teenagers?"

More: http://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/new-education/2012/01/30/parenting-advice-how-make-teenagers-read-book

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The healing power of books

The "International Conference on Book Therapy seeks to highlight the therapeutic effect of books. Eminent speakers will discuss the global importance of literature as a tool for therapy, present details of successful projects and introduce techniques to calm traumatised minds."

"Book therapy is the art of healing through stories. Books can help readers de-stress, inculcate positive attitudes and inspire hope for the future. Children may suffer from fears, complexes and adjustment problems as a result of natural calamities, man-made disasters and psycho-social traumas both at schools and at home. When parents and teachers are unable to provide the attention that traumatised children require, suitable books can help them cope with their problems,”

More: http://m.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article2844421.ece/



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Publishing what readers want to read

If you ever wondered why literary works are hard to come by these days, you can only blame yourself. Here's a story from a 'distant' (but only geographicaly) part of the world:

"Reading seems less than fashionable ... especially when it comes to fine literature. People searching for a good book, often complain that there isn’t much choice in a market dominated by romance, cheap humor or life in the fast lane. Works with substantial artistic and intellectual value seem to have very little commercial value."

Thus literary works of some higher merit than purely commercial are disappearing because readers don't care to read them.

On the other hand:

We publish what readers want to read, says a publisher of commercially successful books:

"Saying that young people don’t like “good reads” is an excuse ... “Publishers and writers refuse to admit to their inability to produce good work that people will actually read and pay for. 

“If all I did was follow the market," says the publisher, "I’d have nothing to differentiate me from other publishers. Logically, there’s no way to find out whether or not a book will sell until it is actually published,” she said. 

Trends ... are created when publishers research what the public wants and embrace readers as a source of inspiration."

"Social media is a primary way to communicate with readers," says the publisher. "It enables the company to publish books readers want."

More: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/lifeandtimes/read-a-good-book-lately-too-many-indonesians-answer-no/494107



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The role of writers and literature

"There are two theories about art and literature. The first, ‘art for art's sake' and the second, ‘art for social purpose'.

According to the first theory, art and literature are meant only to create beautiful or entertaining works, to please and entertain people and the artists themselves, and not to propagate social ideas. 

The other theory is that art and literature should serve the people, and help them in their struggle for a better life, by arousing emotions against oppression and injustice.

However, there is hardly any good art and literature today before us. ... There seems to be a vacuum in artistic and literary terms. Everything seems to have become commercialised. Writers write not to highlight the plight of the masses but to earn money.

If someone writes about the people's real problems it will spread like wildfire. But are our writers doing this? If they are not, why do they complain that nobody wants to read them? Art and literature must serve the people. Writers and artists must have genuine sympathy for the people and depict their sufferings. Like Dickens and Shaw in England, Rousseau and Voltaire in France, Thomas Paine and Walt Whitman in America, Chernyshevsky and Gorky in Russia and Sarat Chandra and Nazrul Islam in Bengal, they must inspire people to struggle for a better life, what can be really called human existence, and to create a better world, free of injustice. Only then will people respect them."

More: http://m.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article2837586.ece/



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Why do writers write?

"I think that anyone who writes anything, imagines that someone will read it, even if he writes only for self. I ask myself this question: can you write, and not act out a role? A man wants to be a stranger to himself. Not in the role he plays, but in the subconscious decision that in whatever role he assigns to himself, lies his reality. At times I feel that a man comes through, out of what he wrote, like a snake from its skin. That's it: you can not express yourself in writing, you can only lose your skin. But who is interested in this dead skin?! Does it matter whether the reader will ever be able to read anything from it, beyond what is himself? Writing is done not to communicate with readers, or with yourself, but to communicate with that, which can not be expressed otherwise."
Max Frisch, in I am not Stiller (my quick, and imperfect translation from German). Get the English book here.

US intelligence community to brush up on literature

Well, not exatly. They're going to leave it up to computers, and the interest spans literature and spoken word, all in an effort to catch the meaning behind that, which is often elusive: metaphors.

"Researchers with the US Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity want to build a repository of metaphors. You read that right.  Not just American/English metaphors mind you but those of Iranian Farsi, Mexican Spanish and Russian speakers.

In the end the program should produce a methodology, tools and techniques together with a prototype system that will identify metaphors that provide insight into cultural beliefs. It should also help build structured framework that organizes the metaphors associated with the various dimensions of an analytic problem and build a metaphor repository where all metaphors and related information are captured for future reference and access[...]

Stories exert a powerful influence on human thoughts and behavior. They consolidate memory, shape emotions, cue heuristics and biases in judgment, influence in-group/out-group distinctions, and may affect the fundamental contents of personal identity. It comes as no surprise that these influences make stories highly relevant to vexing security challenges such as radicalization, violent social mobilization, insurgency and terrorism, and conflict prevention and resolution. Therefore, understanding the role stories play in a security context is a matter of great import and some urgency".

From: http://m.networkworld.com/community/blog/apple-my-eye-us-fancies-huge-metaphor-reposit



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How to help children fall in love with books

"Get a library card and plan regular visits. 

Turn off the television and have family reading time.

Buy books as gifts for birthdays and other special occasions.

Participate in your school’s book lending, book fair and book buying programs.

Encourage your child to participate in reading clubs at school and at the public library. 

Attend special events where authors of your child’s favourite books are reading or signing books."

More tips: http://www.cramahe-now.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2378:board-offers-reading-tips-for-families&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=61



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