Sharjah 24: Children’s Literature novelist and writer, Nadia Al Najjar, confirmed that the new generations are distinguished by a high level of awareness and passion for the arts; nonetheless, the time they give for reading is not enough, as a result of several factors that cause distraction and reluctance to read, most notably the spread of devices, smartphones, and social networking sites.
She believes that it is possible to convert these devices and platforms into sources for reading which is indispensable for self-development, acquisition of language skills, and acquaintance with other cultures.
Al Najjar said this during a dialogue session organised by the Sharjah Book Authority in the Eastern Region, at Wadi Al Helo Public Library, under the title: "Issues of Refusal to Read", in which she spoke before an audience from the Eastern Region and students from Aisha School.
She indicated that reading is a basic skill that can be developed by parents encouraging their children, setting an example for them to read and providing a suitable environment for reading at home tat contains a diverse library of books appropriate to their ages and interests, in addition to participating in community initiatives that support reading.
She said: "Reading takes us to other worlds of cities and cultures that we cannot visit by traveling, and for this we owe thanks to the translators who make it easy for us to learn about the customs and arts of different peoples. Nevertheless, we must not lose sight of reading Arabic books that hold a high cultural value.”
She added: "The reader in our time is facing great confusion in choosing the appropriate book from among the huge collections of books available in libraries and websites, and this requires every reader to rely on foundations and criteria to distinguish between books and choose wisely, and the first of these foundations is the title that expresses the content of the book and attracts the interest of the reader, who must develop his literary and cultural taste by following his favourite writers and benefiting from their experiences and opinions.”
She explained that the first incentive that encourages reading is for each person to read what he likes and what fulfills his passion, and makes him feel pleasure and benefit, and does not give in to laziness or boredom from reading, but rather renews his motivation by searching for books that suit his personality and interests, but if the reader aspires to become a skilled writer, he must be an active reader, because reading is the first source of inspiration and creativity.
Talking about UAE publications, Al Najjar praised the publications of the Emirati publishing houses in children's literature, stressing that they vie with the publications of the Arab and international libraries in terms of quality and creativity.
The writer talked about her creative experience, and the importance of participating in writing workshops to develop skills and ideas, and gave an overview of her fiction and nonfiction works, which varied between novels for adults and illustrated stories for children, citing three of her novels which marked her journey as a writer.
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