My Journey to Avid Reading…
“I don’t like to read.” I insisted plainly as my best friend thumbed through “Moby-Dick”. The musky bedroom was lit by a string of lights, spilling a warm glow onto the stacks of old literature lining the walls.
We were two teenagers resting on a humid summer night, sitting on an aging carpet, discussing better ways to spend our time. I leaned against her frameless bed, and she reached towards a nearby book stack.
Snagging the novel on top, she passed it over to me. The cover read “The Hunger Games”. She sent it home with me. The following day, I dove into my first literature love, completely unaware of how this Young Adult series would change me.
How it would change the way I see the world.
What the Experts Say…
According to an academic article titled “Rewards of reading: Toward the development of possible selves and identities”, reading allows us to “directly and vicariously contemplate who we are at any one point in time, who we might hope to be in the future, who we fear being and who we expect to be.”
Through seeing our world or fictional realities from the perspective of another’s mind, we become someone who can understand others more deeply. Thus, we metamorphose our own identities into a person of depth, empathy and aching to learn.
However, much like my teen self, who existed more than a decade ago, many adults don’t like to read.
(Photo by: National Endowment for the Arts)
The National Endowment for the Arts found that only 25.1% of American adults read print media. An additional 30.4% engage with audiobooks or digital reading.
For adults ages 18-24? Only 18.6% read physical literature.
How Reading Changes Your Life…
At this point, you may be wondering, why does this matter?
This same study found that readers of physical and digital books are more active participants in society. They are also described as more supportive of the arts and drawn to monuments, festivals, museums and live performances.
These findings mean that not only will reading expand your vocabulary and develop your literacy skills, but it will also move you towards social participation and fulfillment.
In this opinion column, “Early Birds and Book Worms”, I will be an active participant beside you. Moving towards changing the population count of avid readers. Here we have a safe space to discuss literary hacks, hot topics and book reviews.
Whether you consider yourself a reader or not, I hope to see you in the comments of my upcoming columns!
Perhaps you will discover your literary love along the way.
