3 . How to read more and learn more

These days, more and more Chinese people enjoy sending and receiving messages on the phone. It can help them to get the latest news and communicate with friends. But I think I should read more books besides the textbooks, the more, the better.     1     Of course, it can also help me to get good grades. Here are some tips for you.

Before you start reading, ask yourself why you are reading this book.     2     Clearing about your reading purpose can not only help you choose the books you really need to read, but also remind you why reading the book is important to you, so you will keep reading and complete the book faster.

No matter what you are reading, it is important to enjoy what you read. Your friends read the books they love, but those books might not necessarily be the ones you enjoy.

    3    You may have chosen books that you are interested in, and they are right reading materials. But while you are reading them, there may still be some books that you don’t enjoy reading. Whenever you realize that you aren’t enjoying the book you are reading, give it up.     4     Set a reading goal. It is interesting that I read the books borrowed from libraries faster than those I bought. The reason is that the books I bought don’t have a due date!     5     Having a reading goal helps you work out how much reading you need to do in a week or even a day. Before you read each book, ask yourself when you need to complete this book.

5 . The great thing about libraries is that they house all types of books — from mysteries to biography and dramas — all in one location. The bad thing about libraries is that they house all types of books in one location, and if it’s a location you cannot get to, you are out of luck. Now, mobile library solutions are appearing quickly around the country to bring books to people who need them.

A few years ago, when the Little Free Libraries Movement kicked off, more people of all ages could have access to books. Now, more than 15,000 free book stands can be found across the globe, bringing books to unexpected places. But many folks are simply not in a position to get to the places where the books are. Bookmobile buses are a good solution, but they can be expensive to fund and to operate.

Books on Bikes programs are popping up in areas where there is a strong bike culture, in some regions like Seattle, or a strong need to bring books to the masses, for example, in San Francisco.

The Seattle Public Library’s Books on Bikes program consists of three bike/trailer combos (组合) that librarians bring to community events. The trailers are even Wi-Fi enabled so that visitors can sign up for a library card and browse (浏览) the library’s card catalogue on the spot.

“Seattle has a really strong bike culture so we want to tap into that and provide full-service library programs but do it in a way that is quick and smart,” librarian Jared Mills said in an interview.

San Francisco’s program, called Bibliobicicleta, was launched in 2013 by librarian Alicia Tapia. Her trailer can hold about 100 books and attracts readers of all ages and income levels. It’s an independent, donation-based library — like a Little Free Library, but on wheels.

When asked why she would start a free library on a bike, Tapia answers,“Why not? Bikes are cool,and can go anywhere.”

6 . The creativity TikTok stimulates allows for a broad range of content that encourages users to participate in trends that integrate their passions and hobbies. Specifically, content related to literature on TikTok has generated its own domain. Commonly referred to as “BookTok,” this side of the platform focuses on all things about books: book recommendations, tips for pleasing bookshelves and edits related to literature-based fandoms (粉丝圈).

With heightened demand for new media to comfort themselves during the pandemic period of severe challenges, many young adults have regarded literature as a form of escape. Restarting former literary passions, BookTok users have turned their attention to the app to praise the novels that have helped serve as a brief getaway to worlds within bound pages.

Through a revival of novels that shaped the childhoods of many who are now young adults, even younger generations on the app have been exposed to foundational novels in young adult literature. Along with this emphasis on nostalgic (怀旧的) fandoms, BookTok takes advantage of TikTok trends in order to attract those who may not be familiar with literature to read. The popularity of BookTok and the novels that are recommended to young adults on the app have had a direct effect on bookstores and book sales, with both independent bookstores and chains such as Barnes & Noble taking notice of the broader range of readers that are influenced by TikTok and updating their stock to appeal to users.

As of March 2021, BookTok has over 6 billion views and will only continue to grow larger. Though the popularity of BookTok brought many significant questions regarding the future of the book industry and the books that receive mass attention on social media, the importance of the BookTok phenomenon perhaps lies mainly with the readers who claim their love for books and the creative channels through which they express this admiration. TikTok has demonstrated, at least through BookTok, that brilliant literature is written for a broad audience — the perfect book for you is waiting somewhere on a shelf and, through BookTok, you will surely discover it.

7 . Architect Daniel Libeskind is the designer of some global landmarks such as New York’s One World Trade Center and Berlin’s Jewish Museum. In his new book, he reviews his life’s work and its inspirations — including these books.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. I love Lewis Carroll; he’s a total genius (天才). His two classic works are children’s books for grown-ups because they show aspects of the creative mind that we all have but seldom use in adulthood. Inspired by Carroll, I make a habit of trying to learn seven amazing things before breakfast.

Ulysses by James Joyce. Joyce once said that if Dublin were destroyed, you could recreate the entire city from this novel. You can’t do urban planning without Ulysses because it is a labyrinth (迷宫) you can never leave.

In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. Proust’s great novel is really a book of reflections about how architecture — our living spaces — creates a blueprint (蓝图) for our dreams, our desires, our emotions, and our memories. Where we have lived, what we have eaten, and what kind of cups we use — all of those aspects are examined here in minute detail.

Emily Dickinson’s Herbarium about Emily Dickinson’s work. From childhood onward, Dickinson collected, pressed, and classified the plants she grew in her garden in Amherst. Through the pictures in this book, you can see how her poetry — all her symbols, all her metaphors (隐喻), the colors she mentions — mirrors nature. You don’t even have to read her poetry to see what a great artist she was.

9 . One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to borrow at least one book for the summer in the public library. This was one more weapon for her to___________my strange problem — inability to read. In the library, I pulled a few books off the shelf at ___________.The cover of a book caught my eye. It __________a picture of a beagle (小猎兔狗). I had recently had a beagle. But one morning, he was gone, ___________to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle. There on the book’s cover was a beagle which looked ___________to my dog. I ran my fingers ___________the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan.___________, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.

I started to read about Amos. ___________pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been ___________from his family and who finally found his way back home. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final __________of reunion, on and on. My mother’s call returned me to the real world. Something ___________me: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. I never told my mother about my “miraculous” experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable ___________in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was __________that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and ___________his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the ___________has held.