The Power and Pleasure of Reading

Can reading offer pleasure to the reader?

nasiraijaz June 18, 2025

0 43 4 minutes read

To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark- Victor Hugo

Rashid Ali Chandio

Etymologically, the word reading reflects cognitive process or an ability to decode the symbols and written letters in order to receive the meanings. In broader context, reading is the key skill in language skills which provides insights to the readers to reach the contextual meaning of written symbols. Language consists of four key skills including reading, writing, listening, and speaking. These skills work separately but rely on one another as reading and listening skills are considered receptive skills whereas writing and speaking are considered the productive skills. To get proficiency in speaking, one needs to listen more and to write accurately, one needs to furnish her/his reading skill. Collectively, these four skills make language function accordingly. So, all these language skills are necessary to learn time and again because language is a living phenomenon that keeps evolving as the time passes and human inventions develop.

Today, particularly, the current write up deals with the pleasure of reading and to answer the question, can reading offer pleasure to the reader? However, there are mixed answers to this question but generally people think that reading offers the highest level of pleasure. Reading is divided into two categories, one is academic reading and another is general reading. The difference is quite obvious between them. It is my personal observation and opinion that no matter what discipline someone is engaged with academically but she/he must have to develop the habit of reading general books apart from studying their academic books because general reading keeps person attentive and sharp to understand the core relationships among things and phenomena who seem and sound different to the human eye. Subsequently, it enhances human potential to deal with each and everything with greater control and strength. Moreover, a person begins to unfold the essential and core principles of God and its universe. I believe education is simply a profession like other professions in the world and to do it in the best manner, one must develop the habit of reading all sorts of books in order to know the core value of the inside and outside world and the relation between them. If a person becomes part of the educational profession, they must read, otherwise leave the ground and choose some other profession. As Victor Hugo puts it, “To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark”.

Moreover, it is observed that reading offers so many good things to the reader including increase the cognitive process of mind, improve brain function, provide lots of information, add up new knowledge, enhance concentration level, tied up the communication skills, help individuals to reduce stress, lift the creativity, polish the focus level and brings real joy in life. Reading is the lifelong skill that sharpens individual thought processes to make robust decisions in life because of the experience that comes from characters, stories, biographies, autobiographies which are written by the writers who play some real and imaginative role in life. As famous English Essayist Francis Bacon says, “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.” Overall, this quote indicates that reading is a very essential skill for the individual to collect knowledge and stay connected with the world around them. One who misses out this skill in life then they remain very congested, sophisticated, precise, short-tempered, extremists, dogmatic, narrow-minded, inflexible and rigid in their life because they avoid opening the window of their own to see and view the universe the way it is. However, reading opens all those windows to the readers to visualize and experience their realities and accept life in its original shape.

It is a universal truth accepted by everyone that a person is born with some fixed perspectives, stimulated assumptions, and shared realities that are being practiced by society for many generations. However, to challenge them is a very difficult job but reading various books helps individuals to review them and then start to practice them in life consciously because it is the fundamental right of everyone to do anything by understanding them from their own way. In fact, self-liberty and self-understanding comes from getting engaged with reading books of all kinds, otherwise copy-paste culture has been dominating our society. People simply run after things and ideas of others without having grave understanding of them and resultantly creativity dies before it takes flight. In such an environment, reading is the only option that gives wings to the humans to fly and come up with new ideas, concepts, and theories. Today, technology has surrounded, surpassed, and taken control of everything. Ultimately technology has badly impacted the practice of reading among the new generation. Rarely, people read books and in the third world, reading culture has almost been vanished. In such conditions, teachers are the ones who must realize it and try to restore the reading process among individuals by telling them the benefits and importance of reading in life. As the great Cicero puts it in context, “A room without books is like a body without a soul”.

This short piece is not enough to explain the topic of reading which is quite extensive and interesting but it is a kind of little effort to ignite fire in new blood to start and develop reading habits which is crucial for a successful man. If we start to read the successful stories of the people in current age then they are regular readers and they spend most of their time reading instead of wasting their time and resources in ash. I have gone through the life of many such people who read regularly including Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Barak Obama, Sundar Pichai, Parvez Hoodhbai and so on and interestingly, one of the major reason behind their success is their routine and regular reading which help them to come up with new thoughts and ideas. As Bill Gates himself said, “Whether I am at the office, at home, or on the road, I always have stack of books I am looking forward to read”.