Not Just Books: 6 Alternative Reading Materials

Some people don’t necessarily like reading books. Even if you love reading books, book slumps or burnout can happen.

It’s okay. Reading is reading. Whether you’re a reluctant book reader or you’re just interested in adding more variety to your reading diet, here is a list of reading materials worth looking into.

 

1. Magazines

When most of us think of magazines, we think of Better Homes and Gardens, Seventeen, People, Sports Illustrated, Time, and all the others we see at the grocery store as we wait impatiently in line. Although some of these magazines have very little text, You are still reading.

Although the options on the grocery checkout stand begs to differ, magazines aren’t just for fashion, celebrity gossip, and health fads. Not all magazines are mostly pictures. In fact, Charles Dickens and his contemporaries published their novels serially, meaning in small chunks. For some of his novels, smaller chunks were easier for the layperson to digest–er, I mean read–than the entire novel at one time. Dickens also founded and edited two weekly magazines in his career, the last of which serially published his novel A Tale of Two Cities.

You can find both low-brow and sophisticated magazines. Magazine content covers nearly every profession, interest, hobby, or area location. Plus, magazines often include more graphics and shorter articles, making it easier to stop and return to reading, and many magazines offer online as well as print subscriptions.

2. Graphic Novels

For the more visually inclined, graphic novels can be a great alternative. Many are about superheroes but certainly not all. Some examples include March: Book One or The Silence of Our Friends, which are both powerful graphic novels about racism in 1960s.

silence-of-our-friends

Source: Amazon

march_book_one_john_lewis_andrew_aydin_and_nate_powell_book

Source: Amazon

For younger readers, there are more age-appropriate graphic novels, but be aware that many graphic novels, including the superhero ones, can have mature content. As with all books, do your research and help your children find books that you and they can enjoy without causing nightmares.

3. Short Stories

Short stories are the mini-me versions of novels, figuratively anyway. No, you may not get as much detail of setting or characterization, but they are shorter than novels, hence the name. If you’re looking for quick reads with interesting plots, how could you go wrong with short stories?

shortstory

Source: Copy Fax

4. Blogs

Like magazines, you can find a blog for almost any subject. Parenting, humor, business and finance, traveling, photography, hobbies, and so many more. There are even blogs about blogs. You’re reading a blog right now!

When you find one you like, consider signing up for update alerts or newsletters.

5. Poetry

Poetry ranges from the easiest children’s book poetry, to the free-verse slam poetry, to the old and extremely deep. Somewhere along that spectrum, anyone can find topics and comprehension levels for their enjoyment and edification.

robert-frost-poetry-quotes-poetry-is-when-an-emotion-has-found-its-thought-and

Source: Quotesgram

6. Newspaper

Although today’s news can be depressing, reading about current events is the old, go-to option–even if you use your new smartphone to do it. You can read news updates, op-eds, feel-good features, sports analysis and reports, reviews, obituaries, etc. So many topics are rolled up (literally if you get the print version) in one place. Plus, after you’ve read all you want, you can try completing the crossword and Sudoku puzzles.

newspaper

Source: Flickr

What other kinds of materials, other than books, do you like to read?

YouTube Channel: MercysBookishMusings

 

Featured image via Forbes

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