On this page I will tell you about the problem that I have with reading books and the easiest way that I have found to solve this problem.
Also I will tell you about some books that are easy to read and ways of making it easier to actually read a book.
The Problem
I find it very difficult to read the books that I would like to read. I can read HypoText Markup Language very easily (this is the language that I have used to make this website) but I really want to read proper books like Redwall etc. rather than Enid Blyton that I can just about manage to read. I daren't think what my reading age is but it definitely isn't good enough.
The Answer
The way that I have found to solve this problem is 'Listening Books'. For just £50.00 a year you get sent as many tapes as you can listen to in a year. 'Listening Books' has loads of brilliant stories that people have recorded onto tapes. You can have the tapes for as long as you like. You get sent a box that can fit 6 tapes in - this is usually about 2 complete stories. When you have finished listening to the tapes you put them back in the box and send them back.
When you start you get sent a catologue of their tapes and a card. On the card you write all your choices and they gradually send you them.
Last year at school we read Redwall by Brian Jacques and The war of Jenkins Ear by Michael Morpurgo and both of these were sent to me and so it was much easier for me and noone at school really knew that I hadn't read them like everyone else.
Some of my favourite books (tapes) have been
- Redwall,
- The War of Jenkins Ear,
- Through the Looking Glass,
- The Boggart and The Boggart and The Monster both by Susan Copper,
- The Demon Headmaster strikes again,
- The 3 Muskerteers by Alxander Dumas,
- Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine,
- Bangers and Chips explosion by Brough Girling,
- All the Biggles books by Capt W E Johns,
- The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tyler by Gene Kemp,
- The Ghost of Thomas Kempe by Penelope Liverley,
- The Hobbitt by J R R Tolkien.
This is only a small selection of the books (tapes) that I have read!!! If you are interested in the tapes I have liked best, please click here to fill out a form.
- If you would like any information on 'Listening Books' please email them on
- or visit their website at
- or telephone them on
- or fax on
- or write to them at
- Listening Books,
12 Lant Street,
London
SE1 1QH.
Some books that are easy to read
I have recently found some books that are written especially for people like me.
www.barringtonstoke.co.uk
www.eprint.co.uk
- They have a good font
- the lines are well spaced.
- There are not too many lines on each page
- There are quite a lot of pictures rather than just pages and pages of writing.
- The books are not too long either.
- There are some really good stories and I have read quite a few of them now and if you click here you can read about what I thought of them.
- Do visit both these websites for more info.
Ideas for making it easier to actually read a book.
- Try listening to the first few chapters on tape and then start reading yourself - tip given by Mrs Jenion - my Learning Surport teacher
- Try reading from the start but make a few notes as you go along so that you really understand the beginning eg how the characters are related etc. and who lives where - by Binny who is my mom
- Try reading the book out loud with a better reader. This way the words you don't know will be read by them. You will start to recognise the words and be able to finish the book. Reread the book on your own and see what you have have picked up. - by Liane Hindmearsh (a visitor to I Am Dyslexic.com)
- "When I was 23 I desperately wanted to read novels, but I couldn't get into them. SO I decided to read the first two or three pages OVER and OVER AGAIN intil everything had SUNK IN ---Characters etc. I could then read a book to my heart's content AND HAVE NEVER LOOKED BACK" - Deborah (a visitor to I Am Dyslexic.com)
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To read documents, letters etc :
Use a scanner to scan in the text
then OCR (optical character
recognition) to convert the scanned
image back into text. Put it into a
talking wordprocessor and listen to
the story.
Sandra O'Neill (a visitor to I Am Dyslexic.com)
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Find a magazine/book you really love/like and record it on to a
tapeplayer/mircophone. Include grammar - if you read something wrong stop
the tape and start the word again. Keep going
until you have finished. I find it to do paragraphs or pages at a
time. Then when you have finished you have you own audio book that you can
hear whilst you are reading it
Linz Jones (a visitor to I Am Dyslexic.com)
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As you read - at your own pace - visualise the people/action really clearly in your mind. See them in full colour and detail, as if on a cinema screen. This can help you remember the content of the story in greater detail, which then means better recall for comprehension etc.
Ros Smith (a visitor to I Am Dyslexic.com)
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Read the first page of a book and if after that you find it hard or think it sounds boring pick another one. Never read a book that you don't like, it makes reading harder. And another idea is to read with a memer of your family i.e your mum or dad and they can read and a page and then you can read a page. It makes reading more fun and you don't get so annoyed cause there is always someone there to help you. Hope this helps.
Gabi from Preston who is dyslexic. (a visitor to I Am Dyslexic.com)
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Read some modern versions of old favourites that are known to you.
They can have amusing twists. You can predict some vocabulary through
your knowledge of the old favourites.
Books suitable for primary age by Laurence Anholt like "Cinderboy" and
"Seven Aliens" etc I find popular.
Jocelyn Ponting (a visitor to I Am Dyslexic.com)
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If you have someone who is willing to read to you, make sure you
look at the text as well and get them to run their finger under the
words as they read (at the normal speed) It doesn't take any effort on your
part, but a surprising amount will sink in without you realising.
Helen Albans who is dyslexic (a visitor to I Am Dyslexic.com)
If you have any more tips for actually reading a book please fill out this form.