Your journey to becoming a great writer relies upon your ability to be a great reader!
You can't create valuable content, when you haven't read anything of value.
How can you produce great material, without first reading the greats such as Shakespeare, Homer, Chaucer, and Jane Austin.
Book reading is a skill. You can either read slow, fast, or at your own pace. However, it is advisable to read in a style and speed that suits your level of comfort. Learning anything in life is best learnt when you feel most comfortable.
In Ancient Greece, there were three main professions. The Politician, the Philosopher, and the Sophist.
All three professions relied upon the ability to read well and speak well - known as Oratory and Rhetoric.
The method that the Ancient Greeks used to become better readers, was simply to start reading out loud.
The "Eureka" moment came when they realized that reading out loud means using more senses - the mouth especially.
By reading out loud your training your mouth and mind to become better acquainted with words.
To improve your reading ability, diversification is the key to success!
Reading books from a diverse range of genres - poetry, novels, epic poems, and classics - will enhance your reading style and make you more well rounded with words.
Take a look at Shakespeare; he created plays, poetry, tragedies, and comedies. Shakespeare was able to do this because his reading was so vast, across a wide range of genres and subjects.
To conclude, reading shouldn't be viewed as a chore, but as an enjoyable hobby.
The only way to improve your reading is to become a lover of books, which will make you a great writer!