Finding Joy in Reading: Balancing Engagement and Enjoyment
Written on
Chapter 1: The Dilemma of Engagement
Reading is often seen as a communal activity, but it can also become a burden.
This paragraph will result in an indented block of text, typically used for quoting other text.
Section 1.1: The Daily Reading Habit
I set aside a minimum of thirty minutes each day to read the works of fellow writers. This practice not only supports the community but also broadens my knowledge. Although I don't always find myself inclined to browse through Medium, I push myself to do so. If I don't, I risk becoming less relevant or seeing a decline in my statistics!
Recently, I've begun to feel that this habit is turning into more of a task than a pleasure. Each time I read an article, there’s an expectation to clap, highlight, and leave a comment—even if the piece doesn't resonate with me. After all, isn’t it a waste of time to not engage? Every interaction is an opportunity to attract more readers to my own work...
Subsection 1.1.1: The Pressure of Engagement
At times, I worry that my responses come off as insincere. I find myself clapping or agreeing with points I don’t actually support.
Does anyone else experience this? If I weren’t a writer or motivated to connect with other authors, I probably wouldn’t engage at all.
I'm generally not one to comment on platforms like YouTube or social media; I simply like or dislike content and move on. Occasionally, I adopt a similar approach on Medium. When I'm fatigued, I skim through articles that catch my eye, clap a few times, and exit.
The obligation to interact with the author can sometimes make reading less enjoyable. What I truly desire is to read an article without the pressure of crafting a detailed response or waiting to applaud multiple times. For me, that’s the essence of reading and learning.
Nevertheless, I also recognize the value of engagement. It’s this interaction that enriches the Medium community!
What are your thoughts on this matter?
I hope you found this discussion valuable. Thank you for reading!
👉Subscribe here 👈, I share intriguing articles weekly!
Chapter 2: Engaging with the Community
In this video titled "Top tips to engage the whole school community with reading for pleasure," we explore strategies for fostering a love of reading among students and their families, emphasizing the importance of communal reading experiences.
The second video, "Why Do I Have to Read This? with Cris Tovani," dives into the motivations behind reading and how to inspire students to engage more deeply with texts.