MAKING THE MOST OF YOURSELF

READING

STRAP YOURSELF into the pilot's seat of a rocket and feel its engines blast you into space. Hoist the anchor of an old wooden ship and sail the open seas with pirates and explorers. Shrink yourself to the size of a blood cell and swim through the human body. Become a dinosaur and stride across prehistoric lands with long, thundering steps. Through the magic of reading, you can do almost anything. A book is a flying carpet, a time machine, a spyglass. Open a book and you can travel to the far corners of the Earth, to the inside of an atom, and to the most distant stars. Do you know what people ate a thousand years ago? What makes a computer work? How to find a summer job? Reading can give you the answers. School and public libraries are full of exciting books. Librarians wiII show you how to locate books about subjects you like-just ask. They will also explain how you can use library videos, recordings, and other forms of stored information. Find out about getting a borrower's card so you can take home books and other library resources. Reading aloud to someone is a generous act of sharing. Read to your parents, your brothers and sisters, and your friends. Perhaps you know of elderly neighbors who would love to hear a story. If there are younger children in your family, encourage them to read to you. That's a fine way to spend time together as you help them improve their own reading skills. Reading is a window into the past and the future. It is a doorway to discovery and adventure. Read, read, and read some more. It wiII entertain you, expand your mind, and fill you with worlds of fresh ideas.