What is Reading ?
Reading, as one of the receptive skills, is very crucial in learning the language. Reading "is what happens when people look at a text and assign meaning to the written symbols in that text” (Aebersold and Field, 1997, p. 15). This means that reading is an interaction between reader and text. Reading comprises of two correlated processes: word recognition, which is the process of identifying the written words correctly, and comprehension, which is the process of understanding the message of the text. Thus, the reader composes his previous information in accordance with information on the printed page to construct the meaning of the text.
There are two types of reading: Extensive Reading and Intensive Reading
Here is a mind map I created to show the reasons for reading
Aebersold, J. A. & Field, M. L. (1997). From Reader to Reading Teacher. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.
Grellet, F. (1983). Developing reading skills. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.