Reading a new book is always a new adventure and, as a language learner, you must read a lot to improve your English.
But many times, you give up reading a book in the first pages even though:
You were looking forward to reading that book,
You had enough free time to read it
Then, how not to give up when reading a book?
Why do we often stop reading a book and put it back in a cupboard?
Usually, the problem is that when you read a new book, the first pages are always the most challenging.
Why Do You Give Up Reading A Book In The First Pages?
It is common for English learners to give up reading an English book in the first pages because we are introduced to an avalanche of new information:
Many new characters.
Every character has their own characteristics.
There are different relationships between these characters.
A plot is just starting to unfold, and we feel lost as we do not grasp the whole picture.
It may even be our first contact with the writer’s style.
All these combined can make a book look challenging at first glance. Being patient during the first chapters will make the difference between enjoying and finishing the book or giving up and leaving the book unfinished. Your success or failure depends on how you will deal with the first pages of that new book.
What Do You Have To Do?
Whenever I start a new book, I read the first pages more than once. When I feel that I feel inside the book, and comfortable, I go through the reading confidently.
Do not feel weird for reading the first pages or even the first chapters more than once. It is a wise way to consolidate your progress. You will be surprised by all the new things you can catch when you read the same page for a second or a third time.
In books with a lot of characters, before starting the book or after reading the first pages, I recommend looking up the Internet for some information, for example:
The names of the characters.
Their main characteristics.
The relationships between them.
I write down all this in the form of a little summary. It will help me better digest all the new information, and I will likely enjoy the book.
Some Of The Summaries I Wrote When Reading A Book
Example 1:
When reading the book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
| Mikael Blomkvist | Journalist, publisher and part-owner of the monthly magazine Millennium |
| Lisbeth Salander | Freelance surveillance agent and researcher, specialising in investigating people on behalf of Milton Security |
| Henrik Vanger | Retired industrialist and former CEO of Vanger Corporation |
| Harriet Vanger | Henrik’s grandniece |
| Martin Vanger | Brother of Harriet and CEO of the Vanger Corporation |
| Gottfried Vanger | Martin and Harriet’s deceased father |
| Isabella Vanger | Gottfried Vanger’s wife and Martin and Harriet’s mother |
| Cecilia Vanger | Daughter of Harald Vanger and one of Henrik’s nieces |
| Anita Vanger | Cecilia’s sister and one of Harriet’s second cousins |
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*The source where I found this information when I read the book |
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This simple summary helped me to have a mental image of the main characters, some of their main characteristics and relationships. This summary was a pillar that supported my reading.
Example 2:
Another example is when I read The Da Vinci Code
| Bishop Manuel Aringarosa | A fictional Spanish bishop. He’s the worldwide head of Opus Dei and the patron of the albino monk Silas. |
| Sister Sandrine | A nun who lives at Saint Sulpice |
| Lieutenant Jérôme Collet | A lieutenant in France’s Direction Central Police Judiciaire (DCPJ). He is Captain Bezu Fache’s second-in-command |
| Bezu Fache | A captain in the Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire (DCPJ), the French national criminal-investigation police bureau. |
| Professor Robert Langdon | A fictional Harvard University professor of religious iconology and Symbology |
| Rémy Legaludec | The butler of Sir Leigh Teabing who lives in Château Villette |
| Jacques Saunière Saint-Clair | The curator of the Louvre, head of the secret Priory of Sion and grandfather of Sophie Neveu |
| Sophie Neveu | The granddaughter of Louvre curator Jacques Saunière. She is a French National Police cryptographer, who studied at the Royal Holloway, University of London Information Security Group. |
| Silas | An albino numerary of the Catholic organization Opus Dei, who practices severe corporal mortification |
| Sir Leigh Teabing | A British Royal Historian, a Knight of the Realm, Grail scholar, and friend of Harvard professor Robert Langdon. |
| André Vernet | President of the Paris branch of the Depository Bank of Zurich. |
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*The source where I found this information when I read the book |
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Again, as I knew the characters, I felt more comfortable reading the book.
Note: spoiler alerts
Be careful when reading information about a book because you can find spoilers. Some readers do not care to read a book even when some part of the plot is revealed beforehand, while some others will not read it if the book has been spoiled by reading before. It is up to you to decide how much information you want or need to know beforehand.
What About You?
Have you ever given up when starting to read a book?
What do you think about these tips?
Are you going to use this strategy?
Share your experiences!
All your comments are very welcome!!!