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More Books, Fewer Scrolls: The Case for Reading Every Day (Psst, Audio too)

a book with a shadow on it

I have always loved reading, but then again, I was brought up by a librarian who is a lifelong book club member and avid reader herself! Not to mention that reading gave me the chance to win a free Personal Pan Pizza! OK, if you are younger than me, Pizza Hut used to reward us for reading books! If we met our teacher's monthly reading goal, we could turn in our sheet to Pizza Hut and get a free Personal Pan Pizza!! It was awesome!!!


Getting back on track! I've always loved reading (and as a consequence, pizza), and aside from getting pizza, it seems I reaped many other benefits! And so can you!


People who regularly read:


  • Have better vocabularies

  • Can have improved memory

  • Readers often have a more developed sense of empathy

  • Improved critical thinking skills

  • Can help us reduce scrolling online

  • Improved conversation skills

  • Often have better-developed cognitive abilities

  • Improved sleep

  • Longer attention spans

  • The ability to self-soothe and reduce stress

  • Improved problem-solving skills

  • Often have better sleep

  • Bonus: just 30 minutes of has been found to lower blood pressure and heart rate, a study found it was effective as yoga.


I encourage you to make regular reading a part of your wellness plan. Did you know that CEO's typically read around 60 books a year!! It keeps them sharp, focused, engaged, and prepared and is a part of their success. I don't expect to be able to read 60 books this year, but I do expect to make an effort to read more books than I've been reading. I've also gone back to paper magazines and love it!


I use an app called "GoodReads" which is an amazing app/website that I've used for years! It catalogs the books I have read, I am currently reading, and I want to read. Helping me track it all is fabulous! In addition to tracking my books, they start each year with a reading goal asking us to set a number of books we'd like to read, and then it tracks our progress over the year. This year, I'm starting with a small number (for me) of 18 books. I find that the accountability is helpful.


What if you don't like to read?


Reading doesn’t only happen with your eyes. For millions of people, listening to a story or piece of non-fiction is a powerful and valid way to absorb ideas, learn, and experience books. In fact, audiobooks have exploded in popularity in recent years: about 38% of American adults listened to an audiobook in 2023, and millions more are discovering this medium each year. I do this as well. I like to listen to non-fiction while I'm cleaning and driving, and read fiction when I'm just relaxing.


What about those benefits you mentioned? Well, guess what???!!! Research shows that listening to an audiobook activates many of the same language and comprehension parts of the brain as reading text does. Studies even confirm that information retention from audiobooks can be very close to that from reading, making them a legitimate form of “reading” in terms of learning. So let's drop the argument!! It's OK to say I "read" a book when you actually listened to it. It means "consumed" in this case.


Each season of my life, I'm a different kind of reader. Some years I listen more, some years I consume mass amounts of non-fiction, and other years I load up on the fiction. I also admit that sometimes I just can't get my head into it, or I'm not in the mood. But I always make a Goodreads goal to help me stay on track. The best goal is to grow. Give it your best effort to read more this year, and I won't tell if you go get a Pizza too! Your challenge is to challenge yourself to read more.


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