Reading as Punishment

Wait a minute. Reading as punishment? Isn't reading a good thing? And isn't punishment supposed to be bad...you know...punish? Sound strange to you? 

Allow me to explain...
I read a news story about how some graffiti artists, teen-agers all, were sentenced to read 12 books over the course of a year, basically a book a month, and complete an assignment on each one, which was "graded" by the prosecutor. At the end of the year, the kids had to write a long essay about what they'd learned. 

I won't go into the specifics of the case, found here, but the novel sentence seemed to accomplish something we sometimes forget our criminal justice system is supposed to promote: Rehabilitation. 

It appears the juvenile offenders were educated right out of their criminal potential. 

Now of course we have no idea if the lessons learned will last a lifetime, but several years later, all the kids seem to be on the straight and narrow. Perhaps that creative prosecutor, and reading, will completely change their lives. 

It reminded me how much reading changed my life and led me to where I am today, as a professional ghostwriter. As a young boy I delivered newspapers, and I used to read the front page stories from the time I was eleven years-old. That helped me become a better reader, which meant I enjoyed my reading assignments in school more than I otherwise would have. Reading books became a prime source of both entertainment and education, and eventually I began writing short stories. Then came screenplays, and one day a ghostwriter friend had to turn down a job and asked me if I'd like to write a book for someone. 

I took the job, and the rest is history. My  history, anyway. 

But it all started with a love of reading. 

If you love to read and have a story of your own to tell (and don't we all have stories to tell?), give us a call at 1-323-539-7635 or drop us an email. 

Who knows? Maybe it will change your life.