Ways and practices to develop interest in and love of reading: a basis for reading enhancement program

Reading skills are vital to daily activities. It is a passport to entering academia and a key to progress. Despite its benefits, many failed to develop an interest in and love of reading. As observed, many prefer playing mobile games and scrolling social media posts rather than picking a book and reading. Since reading is an indispensable skill, students must fall in love with reading. This study aimed to propose a reading program to develop an interest in and love of reading after discovering the bibliophiles’ ways and practices. This is a qualitative descriptive case study. It describes the bibliophiles’ ways and practices of how they love reading. It involved nine bibliophiles who read one book every month and spent vacant time for pleasure reading. The interview responses were recorded, transcribed, and coded to draw themes. The study discovered that interest in and love of reading is developed at home and reinforced at school. Their parents and teachers exposed them to and reinforced the reading experiences, created reading opportunities, established family reading routines, recommended and provided appropriate materials, and practiced pleasure reading. Besides previewing reading materials and setting the context before reading, they note details and develop mental connections while reading. After reading, they extract values, visualize the story, recreate narratives, and learn from each other. Consequently, bibliophiles develop an interest in and love of reading through reading routines, significant persons, and self-motivation. This study proposes a ten-day reading program applying the bibliophiles' ways and practices. Parents are given detailed instructions on how to reinforce ways and practices at school.