{"id":9344,"date":"2014-05-03T10:23:35","date_gmt":"2014-05-03T14:23:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/blog\/?p=9344"},"modified":"2014-05-03T10:23:35","modified_gmt":"2014-05-03T14:23:35","slug":"more-reasons-to-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/blog\/more-reasons-to-read\/","title":{"rendered":"More reasons to read"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Brain<\/a>On the Inside Higher Ed<\/a> website, Joshua Kim recently asked<\/strong> the question,<\/p>\n

When do you find the time and energy to read books?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That surprised me. What energy does reading take? <\/em>It’s not like running, or swimming or playing sports.<\/p>\n

Sitting down in a comfortable chair, cat on the lap, cup of tea at hand, and a small stack of books within easy reach. Some energy to set yourself up for an hour to two’s reading, but hardly any expended to do the actual reading. Well, maybe a little to move the facial muscles into a smile at the sheer satisfaction one gets from such activity.<\/p>\n

And at night; tucked in, dog and cats on the bed snuggled up, cup of Ovaltine on the bedside table, small stack of books within easy reach – a quiet hour or so reading before lights out. Winding down from the day gently. No energy wasted at all.*<\/span><\/p>\n

Putting a book into each\u00a0bookstand kept on the counter when we have lunch together, on the weekends. Both of us enjoying a peaceful midday break, reading while we eat. No energy at all.<\/p>\n

Taking out a paperback to read on the subway or bus during your commute; reading it in the doctor’s office waiting room; sitting on the front porch in the summer evening sun with a glass of wine and a book:\u00a0effortless.<\/p>\n

Reading is not simply something you learn at school, then neglect for the rest of your life – like algebra or Latin. It’s a skill that you use daily, and to use it well, you have to keep sharp and exercised, like a muscle. As a Northwestern University study<\/a> found, there’s a difference in being a good and a poor reader:<\/p>\n

What makes a good reader? First, you have to know how to read the words on a page and understand them — but there’s a higher-level step to reading comprehension. You have to tie together the words over time, maintaining their order and meaning in your memory, so that you can understand phrases, sentences, paragraphs and extended texts.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I would argue that reading more heightens those comprehension skills, just like exercise improves coordination and muscle quality.<\/p>\n

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Time<\/em>? I suppose that’s another matter. We each regulate our lives, make time for what we think is important. In my life, reading is, there’s always time for it. Especially since we dropped cable TV.<\/p>\n

Given the importance of the printed word on our civilization, culture, politics and history, and on our own state of well-being (see below) I can’t imagine anyone suggesting reading isn’t important enough in their own lives not to dedicate at least a half-hour a day to it.<\/p>\n

Of course, your brain burns energy (calories) reading as it does with every activity. But with reading, it improves itself<\/a> as it does so.<\/p>\n

…researchers found that becoming engrossed in a novel enhances connectivity in the brain and improves brain function. Interestingly, reading fiction was found to improve the reader’s ability to put themselves in another person\u2019s shoes and flex the imagination in a way that is similar to the visualization of a muscle memory in sports.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Reading fiction can be medicinal,<\/a> too:<\/p>\n

Fiction reading can be viewed as a considerable factor in the rehabilitation process for persons on sick leave. This is the conclusion of a new interdisciplinary study from the University of Gothenburg on sick-listed women’s experiences with fiction reading to improve their health, so-called bibliotherapy….
\nThe study shows that the reading relates to an outer, concrete reality and to an inner, more subjectively perceived experience. At a concrete level, the reading helped the women regain their capacity and structure in everyday life. The reading also contributed to a positive self-image and self-understanding via the subjective experience, as well as provided a private space for recovery.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And reading fiction\u00a0may have longterm, beneficial effects<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The results showed heightened connectivity in the left temporal cortex, an area of the brain associated with receptivity for language, on the mornings following the reading assignments. “Even though the participants were not actually reading the novel while they were in the scanner, they retained this heightened connectivity,” Berns says. “We call that a ‘shadow activity,’ almost like a muscle memory.”
\nHeightened connectivity was also seen in the central sulcus of the brain, the primary sensory motor region of the brain. Neurons of this region have been associated with making representations of sensation for the body, a phenomenon known as grounded cognition. Just thinking about running, for instance, can activate the neurons associated with the physical act of running.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Reading also keeps us sharper<\/a> as we age:<\/p>\n

New research suggests that reading books, writing and participating in brain-stimulating activities at any age may preserve memory. The study is published in the July 3, 2013, online issue of Neurology\u00ae, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
\nThe research found that people who participated in mentally stimulating activities both early and late in life had a slower rate of decline in memory compared to those who did not participate in such activities across their lifetime, after adjusting for differing levels of plaques and tangles in the brain. Mental activity accounted for nearly 15 percent of the difference in decline beyond what is explained by plaques and tangles in the brain.
\n“Based on this, we shouldn’t underestimate the effects of everyday activities, such as reading and writing, on our children, ourselves and our parents or grandparents,” said Wilson.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Reading keeps our brains nimble. Not like TV, which stultifies\u00a0them. As Shakespeare<\/a> presciently wrote:<\/p>\n

…we bring forth weeds,\u00a0When our quick minds lie still;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Blogger Kim also said:<\/p>\n

One good library is worth all of Twitter.The collected books in your personal library would make a fair trade for Facebook.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Well, not really. One good library – any library, in fact, is worth more than all<\/em> of Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn and Instagram combined.\u00a0The collected books in my own personal library would fill a medium-sized truck and I wouldn’t trade them for a dozen Facebooks. Or a hundred.<\/p>\n

Social media\u00a0is transitory; the posts, the links, the tweets appear and vanish as others pile on top. The effect is magnified with the number of people you have as “friends,” (most of them aren’t, really) \u00a0the number of pages you like and people you follow. And it’s all digital: just a bunch of electrons that scatter into the ether.**<\/span><\/p>\n

A book is around all of your life, assuming you keep it and care for it. I have books in my library that are more than 100 years old. Boy’s Own Annuals<\/a> from 1909 and 1911 – books my father read when he was growing up. Books published in the 1880s;\u00a0when my grandfather was young, I have books I bought in the late 1960s and have carried with me ever since. I hope I can pass them along to my grandchildren and that they will respect and love them then as I do now.<\/p>\n

I have a page from a book printed in 1503, more than 500 years ago. I don’t have Facebook\u00a0posts or tweets I made six months ago.<\/p>\n

What you saw on Facebook or Twitter 15 minutes ago is likely already gone. Sure, it might be stored on some server somewhere, but you’ll probably never see it again. Maybe it was printed or saved as a PDF. But is a month of your Twitter feed equal to a single sonnet by Shakespeare? Let alone a novel by Dickens, Austen or Thackery?<\/p>\n

I can open a book of poetry published in the 1920s and pass it around. I can share books with friends. Will you ever pull out a tweet and share it with others months or years later? Unlikely. Kim says,<\/p>\n

If you have the secret to reading more books I\u2019d love to know it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Personally I think the “secret” to reading more books is: read more books. Period. At that, he launches into his five tips for reading more:<\/p>\n

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  1. Hang Out With Book Readers;<\/li>\n
  2. Stop Doing Other Stuff;<\/li>\n
  3. Incorporate Book Reading Into Your Work;<\/li>\n
  4. Audiobooks;<\/li>\n
  5. Book Diversity.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Number four: audiobooks, is not reading. It’s listening. Great for MP3s when you’re walking the dog or driving. But it’s not reading any more than watching TV is reading. I love audiobooks, myself, and have many, as well as audio courses and podcasts I listen to, \u00a0but they are not<\/em> reading.<\/p>\n

    I’m not sure how this self-help approach will really help anyone who isn’t already a reader, isn’t already passionate about books.<\/p>\n

    There are many other websites with lists of reasons to read; all of them compiled by people already committed to reading. So it’s somewhat a moot point, i think, although I agree with most of their reasons.<\/p>\n

    The Why To Read<\/a> website has this list of ten reasons to read:<\/p>\n

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    1. To Develop Your Verbal Abilities;<\/li>\n
    2. Improves Your Focus and Concentration;<\/li>\n
    3. Readers Enjoy The Arts and Improve The World;<\/li>\n
    4. It Improves Your Imagination;<\/li>\n
    5. Reading Makes You Smarter;<\/li>\n
    6. It Makes You Interesting And Attractive;<\/li>\n
    7. It Reduces Stress;<\/li>\n
    8. It Improves Your Memory;<\/li>\n
    9. To Discover and Create Yourself;<\/li>\n
    10. For Entertainment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n

      The Across The Page<\/a> website has a list of 25 reasons (not all of which I agree with, by the way), including:<\/p>\n

      \n