I hear this question a lot both in real life from my students and virtually as people often ask this question in the My English Club Chat.  And the honest answer is:  You can't - not without reading.

The only way to improve one's reading comprehension is to read.  The more you read the better your vocabulary will become and the better your reading skills will develop.  There is no tonic to drink or mantra to say that will magically make you a better reader.  You have to read, and then read some more and then even more.  The bonus to this is that the more you read, the better your memory will become.  So being an active reader will bear fruit elsewhere in your life as it will help your memory also.

So where do you begin reading?  Anywhere.  You can read magazines, newspapers, online articles, or books.  The important thing is to make time to read.  Try to find something you enjoy as a subject and try to find something you can understand MOST of the words to begin. Many people give up quickly in their efforts to read when they try to start with a "too difficult" reading.  Don't try to start with Shakespeare or Pirsig's "The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" or the Classic "Crime and Punishment".  Start at something near your level and work your way up.  It will take time but the progress will grow, and you will find yourself understanding more and more as you read more.

"A room without books is like a body without a soul."  Cicero

I think Cicero must be one of my Ancestors since I agree with his sentiment.  I have created a list of books in Google Documents.  One is a list compiled by Modern Library of the "Best 100 Novels of the 20th Century".  This is actually two lists as there is a list compiled by the Modern Library Board and another List compiled by readers.  I favor the readers' list as you will see having read many more books on their list.  A second list is one from a BBC survey taken at the end of the 20th Century.  This survey asked readers to name the best books of all time.  A third list is Newbery Award winning books.  If you are just beginning to read in English you may want to look for books on this last list.  Books on this list are often read by students in the US beginning around Elementary Grade 5.  I have started collecting as many as  can and love reading these authors and books.  In fact a few of these books would be on my personal "Best Books" list.

The link to the Google Document Is:  

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkJrCKLelR5VdFJ1TXV5WW...

Look at the tabs at the bottom to see the different lists.  Finally I took the Modern Library Lists and the BBC List and sorted the Titles A-Z.  If a book appears more than once, that means it was on more than one of the Lists.  Books bolded in Blue are books I have read so far among the titles.

Pick a book and enjoy your voyage into the land of imagination and reading.

PS:  I will try to add a tab with links to online sites where you can download free ebooks to the document today.