One way of improving oneself is by reading good books and inspiring articles. It has been said that the internet is killing the reading habit. Maybe, there is some truth in this. You can go to the internet to conduct some research. But the books that you need when studying for a degree are not available online. Even if some are available, it is not very convenient. Of course, one can go online to order books, say from Amazon. And now there are gadgets now to which you can download ebooks but this is not free.
Thomas Carlyle wrote, "The true University of these days is a Collection of Books.” You may have a set of encyclopedia and a good collection of different types of books. A well-read person is very knowledgeable. This can offer great help when seeking for a job and after getting employed.
Perhaps, social media is taking too much time that can be used to read books besides having negative impacts on various aspects of life. The smart phone can be very disruptive. You may have seen some people who don't talk to each other even when they are sitting face to face. They continue to play with their smart phones. Some people become stressed when their phones are not working or when they forgot to bring them.
A lot of time is wasted doing unproductive things. Time is precious. So take up that book that you bought a year or so ago but had never opened. Start reading it. You may get a surprise when you discover that that book can make a lot of difference in your life.
Start by reading a short book progressing to longer ones. Whatever it is, decide to make a start. Refuse to take up that newspaper every time. It may not be good for your mental health. Besides, not everything that you find in newspapers is true. It has been said that only five percent of newspaper articles is true. And you don't improve your English by reading newspapers only.
So, pick up that book lying around for a long time and start reading it.
