Book Review: Small Steps to Big Reading

Small Steps to Big Reading is a self help book written by Dr. Hozefa A Bhinderwala and published by Bloomsbury. It is aimed to convert non-readers into readers. These days as an avid reader, I find many complaining to me about various issues due to which they are unable to pursue their reading habit as aggressively as they want to. This short book, I feel, can be a great answer to all of them out there who doesn't find motivation to pick a book, read and actually finish it. It even goes the extra mile and make you inspired to practice that you read in your daily life.

Dr. Hozefa A Bhinderwala is a practicing Psychiatrist and has taken up the cause of reading enhancement of public by organising workshops, classes and making videos from a decade. This book explains the process of reading theoretically. It details how our eye muscles, nerves and brain works in tandem to make sense of what's written on paper and how these informations are committed to memory for future use. The book also gives us practical techniques which can be used to increase our reading speed without compromising on comprehension.

For so short a book, it is great that Small Steps to Big Reading works simultaneously as a theoretical and practical guide and as a motivator to efficient reading. When people ask me how I read fast, my reply used to be that, instead of reading, I do scanning. But after reading this book I came to know that what I thought was scanning is infact reading and all other reading aloud and lip movements that many resort to, are basically child steps. My biggest surprise after reading the book was the knowledge that slow reading, instead of making you understand more, as per the general perception, hamper the quality of reading seriously. After reading the why's and how's, it make sense.

Small Steps to Big Reading is equipped with lot of illustrations that puts across its points more effectively. There are many examples given for every thing covered in it. The language is very simple and devoid of jargon which make the reading even more of a pleasure. The book comes with a Longitude sheet to help us with increasing the reading speed. It is infact something we can easily make ourselves and customise according to the needs. I tried it out and it really works.

Efficient reading is not just for the casual readers. Everybody can benefit from it because in today's world of information explosion, it is a necessity to keep up in order to stay in the game. Be it students, executives, business men or professionals, it is worthwhile and essential to explore the world of written words. This book can be a guide and motivator in that endeavour.

*This book was sent to me by the author for an objective review.