Read More!

I personally have always had a love for reading and writing, skills and passions that were major factors in my decision to study and pursue a career in public relations. In fact, it's hard to say which came first: my love for reading or my love for writing. To be honest, I think they each nurtured each other.

Everyone involved in the world of public relations knows how critical it is to be a good writer in order to survive in this field; everyone is always trying to improve their writing. It is my personal belief that the more one reads, the better one's writing will become. For this reason, I do as much reading as possible in my spare time. I've read six novels since coming home for summer, and have also been reading everything else I get my hands on -- from magazines to newspapers to blogs to others' writings samples.

I feel that reading can familiarize one with new facts and insights, new sentence structures and writing styles and new examples to follow (or examples of tendencies to avoid, for that matter). It gives excellent experience in dissecting and understanding arguments, relating to others, building and using vocabulary and communicating more effectively overall.

While I personally enjoy reading novels (when time allows ), reading is something that can be squeezed in anywhere in one's schedule and can accommodate even the most diverse moods and tastes. I think that more people should find ways to incorporate reading into their busy daily schedules. If we all did that, the payoff could be huge!

What do you think, does reading play an important part in your writing? Do you agree that reading is a crucial part of the study of communications?

For that matter, have you read any books lately you'd like to recommend?