To cultivate the reading habit in students, schools should initiate student book clubs. Schools can start hosting in-class reading sessions where students go to the library and pick a book to read. The teachers could then hand out homework on the books that the students have read, and conduct group activities so that reading physical copies of books will become their habit and a bond between students – a friendship maker!
Mathew George Kandathil (13)
Mahatma Gandhi International School, Ahmedabad

First, schools should revamp their libraries into inviting spaces, offering a diverse range of books and magazines that cater to various interests and reading levels. A well-curated collection ensures that students find topics that resonate with their curiosity. Secondly, integrate reading into the curriculum by assigning relevant materials that complement subjects taught in class. This makes reading a practical and enriching part of their academic journey. Thirdly, embrace technology by providing access to digital resources such as e-books and interactive magazines. Technology not only makes reading more accessible but also engages students through multimedia elements. Lastly, foster a culture of reading through extracurricular activities like book clubs and author visits. These initiatives encourage social interaction and allow students to share their reading experiences, further igniting their interest in books and magazines.
Jigisha Soni (17)
Father Agnel School, Greater Noida

Schools should enrich libraries with diverse, captivating books to spark interest. Dedicate 30 minutes daily to silent reading to nurture a lifelong love for reading. Host inter-house reading competitions and integrate oral segments into language exams to help students develop extensive vocabulary and eloquent speaking skills. Parents must recognize the essential role of fostering reading and speaking abilities in their children so they can converse confidently and navigate communication challenges in the future.
Sara Tamseel Khwaja (14)
St Joseph’s Convent High School, Gandhi Maidan, Patna

To spark students’ interest in reading, provide a wide range of books and magazines that cater to their diverse interests. Create inviting reading environments and organize engaging activities like book clubs, reading challenges, and interactive discussions. Incorporate creative projects related to the reading material to make the experience enjoyable. Allow students to choose their reading materials to ensure they are engaged and motivated to read regularly.
Meghna Ghosh (14)
Father Agnel School, Greater Noida

Incorporate reading into the curriculum with creative projects and assignments. Use social media tools to create book-related content and communities. Conduct book fairs, reading competitions, book clubs, etc. to encourage students to create their own stories or book reviews. Provide access to e-readers and audiobooks for varied reading. Provide rewards for reading milestones.
Anshuman Singh (16)
Father Agnel School, Greater Noida

In an age of screens, fostering a love for books among students is crucial. Schools can ignite this passion through interactive book clubs, inviting author sessions, and themed reading weeks. Cosy reading corners and diverse genre offerings further entice exploration. By blending traditional and digital formats, educators ensure accessibility, making the journey from reluctant to avid reader an exciting adventure for every student. By blending technology with timeless paperbacks, schools cultivate a reading culture that not only enriches academic growth but also sparks lifelong curiosity and creativity among the young minds of tomorrow.
Nishka Kashyap (13)
Father Agnel School, Greater Noida

To foster student interest in reading books and magazines, schools can implement engaging book clubs, organize author visits, establish reading challenges with rewards, create cosy reading corners, and host book fairs. Teachers should recommend diverse genres and topics, connect readings to real-world issues, and integrate technology for interactive learning experiences. Encouraging parental involvement and showcasing student book reviews can further stimulate reading enthusiasm.
Shruti Thakur (16)
Father Agnel School, Greater Noida

Schools can implement interesting programmes like book clubs, where students discuss their favourite books with one another, to encourage a love of reading among the pupils. To pique interest, libraries can hold author-interactive workshops or reading challenges with a theme. Interests are also expanded when reading lists include a variety of genres and subjects. Last but not least, creating a relaxing reading space with nooks and access to a range of publications can stimulate discovery even more.
Aviral Yadav (14)
Fr Agnel School, Greater Noida

These interactive activities can make reading a social and enjoyable experience:
Guest Author Visits: Invite authors to speak about their books and writing process.
Reading Rewards: Implement a reward system for completing books or reading challenges.
Digital Integration: Use e-books and audiobooks to cater to tech-savvy students.
Creative Projects: Encourage students to create their own stories or book-related art.
Reading Buddies: Pair older students with younger ones to read together.
Themed Reading Weeks: Organize events around specific themes or genres.
Personalized Book Recommendations: Tailor suggestions based on individual interests.
Dhananjay Mishra (12)
Father Agnel School, Greater Noida

Utilize technology by offering access to e-books, audiobooks, or digital magazines, catering to different learning preferences. Encourage peer recommendations and allow students to suggest books they find interesting, fostering a sense of ownership in their reading choices. Implement reading challenges or competitions with incentives like certificates or small rewards to motivate students to achieve reading milestones.
Lavanya Neeraj (14)
Fr Agnel School, Greater Noida

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Yes, it is completely normal to have different interests from other boys of your age. Everyone is unique, and it’s perfectly fine to have your own preferences and hobbies. Each person has their own likes and dislikes. It’s great that you enjoy reading and have a small group of friends you are happy with. Not everyone has to enjoy the same activities. Some people love sports, while others prefer reading, art, music, or other hobbies. Reading is a wonderful hobby that can expand your knowledge, improve your imagination, and enhance your understanding of different cultures and ideas. Having a small group of friends can lead to deeper, more meaningful relationships. It’s quality, not quantity that matters in friendships. Be proud of who you are and what you enjoy. Confidence in your interests can inspire others to appreciate their own unique qualities. Try not to compare yourself to others. Everyone grows and develops at their own pace, and having different interests is part of what makes the world interesting. Consider joining a book club or literary group where you can meet people who share your passion for reading. It’s great that you recognize and embrace your interests. Your love for reading and your close friendships are valuable and important. Being true to yourself is one of the most important things you can do.

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Five minutes of reading a day is as valuable to mental well-being as walking 10,000 steps and eating five portions of fruit and vegetables is to our physical health, according to research commissioned by the Queen’s Reading Room, a literary project led by the U.K.’s Queen Camilla, to promote the power and benefits of reading.

The study found that just five minutes of reading a work of fiction immediately reduced stress in participants by nearly 20%. “A short period of reading can actually help us better manage our stress, significantly increasing our concentration and improving our ability to focus on the next task. Those five minutes really can make the rest of our day better,” says Vicki Perrin, chief executive of the Queen’s Reading Room. “We found that high frequency readers are significantly less likely to experience feelings of loneliness — important not just for the health of society, but because leading research tells us that loneliness can increase the likelihood of different dementias.”

Queen Camilla, an avid reader, highlighted the research: “Just as we always suspected, books are good for us — and now science is proving us right!”

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Bhilar in Maharashtra is India’s first book village. Located between Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar, the village is formally named Pustakanche Gaav or ‘The Village of Books’. Families in the village have given parts of their homes as reading hubs, which stock nearly 35,000 books in Marathi, Hindi, English and Gujarati, for people to explore free of cost. The walls of their homes showcase designs by artists from all over India, which advertise the books you will find inside. E.g., a house decorated with Warli art depicting folk legends has books on folk tales, while Mangaltara Mansion, painted with pictures of forts and Maratha king Shivaji, stocks history books. Other genres include poetry, literature, environment, biographies, among others.

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My childhood was spent in innumerable escapades, getting lost in caves with Tom Sawyer, solving mysteries with the Five Find-Outers and their dog, and hunting man-eaters with Jim Corbett. Oh, what a glorious time I had, sometimes even going Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea with Jules Verne or hearing the Hound of the Baskervilles howl over the English marshes with my hair standing on end along with Sherlock Holmes!

All these adventures were mine without spending a single pai, as I entered the cover of one book or another that my mom or dad brought me from various libraries they were members of, and later on, which I too became a member of.

Oh, the world of books that kept me propped up in some different corner of my home or perched on a window sill, and without a ‘do not disturb’ board around. Everyone kept away from me as I disappeared often from one meal time to another into the imaginary fantasies of some wonderful author.

Never a dull moment for me as holiday mornings saw innumerable authors calling out to me from within the confines of their very descriptive or picturesque covers, shouting, “Bob, you want to be kidnapped today? And I would grin at Robert Louis Stevenson as he took me into the realms of his book Kidnapped!

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“You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book.”
— Dr Seuss

Reading allows us to learn about life, stretch our imagination, and broaden our perspective. Reading is a way to learn from people through their experiences and stories. Books allow us to use our imagination, share ideas, obtain information and inspire people through stories. Therefore, World Book and Copyright Day, is celebrated on 23 April to promote the enjoyment of books and reading.

Here are five timeless classic books that every teenager should read.

ATOMIC HABITS by James Clear

If you are looking for ways to instil good habits and get rid of bad habits, this is the perfect book for you. Atomic Habits is a comprehensive guide to creating and maintaining habits that lead to success in any area of life. The author emphasizes the importance of creating habits that are “atomic” — small, incremental changes that when combined, create significant impact. The book provides a step-by-step process for habit formation, including how to create an environment that supports good habits, how to set achievable goals, and how to overcome common obstacles to habit formation.

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A tree inside a book

Trees and books have a sad relationship — one sacrifices itself to make the other bloom. So in order to make a difference, a publisher in Argentina came up with a unique project — Tree Book Tree. It came up with a set of books made of acid-free paper and eco-friendly ink. But that’s not all — each book has jacaranda seeds in it. Read the book, plant it in soil afterwards and watch a tree come to life. Poetic justice!

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“Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”
~ Plato

Reading is a pleasure, reading is inspiring, and reading enriches our lives through our imagination. Reading allows our mind to go on adventures and explore new places, meet new people and understand different perspectives and opinions all in the words on a page.

In today’s digital age with social media and multiple entertainment sources, there are numerous options that make it hard to motivate ourselves to read. However, if your daily reading consists of social media and WhatsApp messages, you are missing out. If you need motivation to convince you that reading every day is an essential habit for success, this article is for you. There is a perfect genre of books for everyone from novels and classical literature, science fiction, romance to biographies, self-help guides and business books — there’s something for everyone.

Reading has many benefits, and one of the most obvious ones is learning new things. You can learn practically anything from reading a book — from how to be more productive, start your own business, to cooking to managing your time effectively, everything can be found in the pages of a book.

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“I want to write a book!” declared bright-eyed 8-year old Risha to her mother. “Go for it!” her mom said smilingly. And she did go for it! Today, Risha is a teen author of three novels, the founder of a successful Instagram blog, and an inspiration to young girls and aspiring teen authors everywhere.

Risha Chaurasia, born in Indore in 2007, started writing at the tender age of 8. Her early works consist of two plays — Wonder Car and Journey Of The Island, followed by her first book, Tales Of Twinkling Tweens, which she published at the age of 11. The book is based on the various aspects of a tween’s life and elaborates on school experiences such as teachers, relationships with friends, experiencing bullying, etc. A book for tweens by a tween! The book received a considerable response and was greatly loved and appreciated by its readers. She also did her first author’s visits and ‘Meet and Greet’ soon after.

While many people encouraged and supported her, some did try to pull her down. Here’s where Risha’s role models played an important part. Her mother’s best advice was: “Risha, you write for yourself, not for the world”. This profound statement continues to guide through her journey.

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When was the last time you read a book, or a magazine article? If you’re one of those countless people who don’t make a habit of reading regularly, you might be missing a lot. I was an occasional reader during my school/college days and even the first half of my career in the Indian Navy. Those days I read only story books and novels and I never bothered to finish reading a book. Probably, I did not find the right book!

In 2002, I moved to Singapore and was involved in the training of Republic of Singapore Navy’s Officers and Specialists. It was indeed an exciting and adventurous career and I loved it. But after a few years, the degree of excitement dropped and lethargy set in. I began to ask a series of questions to myself. In my search for the answers to those questions, I began to be a regular visitor to the Regional and National Libraries of Singapore. Being a Singapore Permanent resident, I had the privilege to borrow books from all the libraries in Singapore.

I became an ardent reader and began to read non-fiction and self-help books. Some of the first few books I read were Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, The Power Of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale, Live Your Dreams by Les Brown and The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, which ignited in me a passion for reading.

Gradually I began to find answers to my questions and became very passionate about reading. Books enlightened me and transformed me in many ways. I was able to overcome some of the limiting beliefs and began to look at life from a different perspective. Through these books, I was able to download decades of life lessons and experience of great authors. They challenged me, and pushed me beyond my comfort zone.

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