The case for reading

Even when your brain feels like mush. I dare not say exactly how long it’s been since I finished reading a book in its entirety. The process for me usually begins with good intentions: coming across a breathtaking excerpt of something online leads to an impulse order, or I’m charmed by a cover in a bookstore and find myself skipping back home to tear into the read. But like so many people, my mind eventually wanders, procrastination takes over, or my schedule elbows me away from books I was initially so excited to read. For those like me who want to break this cycle but are unsure where to start, [my colleague Alissa Wilkinson makes the case for dedicating real time and effort to making reading a habit.]( It’s important to figure out what your particular roadblocks are. Switching up your approach can really help — she shares an anecdote about someone who “would purchase cheap paperback copies of lengthy books he needed to read, and then he’d physically rip them down the spine and carry pieces of the book with him.” That’s one way to make it happen! —[Melinda Fakuade](, associate editor of culture & features   How to fall back in love with reading [illustration of stack of books]( Shanée Benjamin for Vox I doubt you need to be told you should be reading more. There’s a good chance you struggle to make time for reading, and it feels like just another obligation, like hitting your daily step goal, or drinking more water. You’re not alone. In early 2021, nearly a quarter of Americans told the Pew Research Center that they hadn’t read any books at all the previous year. Earlier this year, a Gallup poll revealed that even those who were reading books were reading fewer than ever. “So many people tell me that they used to be a reader and then they just fell out of it,” Lynn Lobash, the New York Public Library’s associate director of reader services, told me, recounting conversations from the past few years. “It’s hard to get back into a practice once you’ve lost it.” Because, look, it’s not easy! Books require sustained attention, something few of us have (and some of us have lost altogether) in these pandemic-riddled, anxiety-inducing times. Given some free time, you’ve probably got a million other things you could be doing: shows to binge, movies to half-watch, browser tabs to skim.[Even if you loved to read as a child, when adulthood hits, reading can go out the window, relegated to beach reading on vacations and maybe a couple of books crammed into the corners of life.]( Even if you do manage to pick up a book, you might feel lingering guilt if it isn’t an important book, or at least an improving one. “There is no such thing as the correct book to read,” Allison Escoto reminded me over Zoom, a bookcase looming behind her. Escoto is the head librarian and education director at the Center for Fiction in Brooklyn. The canon of “important books” — what they are, and who gets to choose them — has been in a vibrant state of reexamination and expansion in recent years, she reminded me, and that means the “notion of the correct book, or the right book, or the acceptable book is itself under scrutiny.” In fact, numerous studies seem to suggest that when it comes to the psychological benefits of reading, just doing it might matter as much or more than the content. Researchers have found that people who spend a few hours per week reading books live longer than those who don’t read, or who read only articles in periodicals; the sustained act of cognition that books demand seems to be the deciding factor. Other research finds a vast array of social-cognitive benefits that come with reading, particularly reading fiction, aiding the brain’s development in understanding others and imagining the world. [Read the full story »]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   Not Okay is a horror movie for the influencer age The Hulu film, out July 29 and starring Zoey Deutch, is a darkly apt satirization of internet culture. [Read the full story »](   What to know about birth control in post-Roe America Access to birth control remains available. [Read the full story »](   More good stuff to read today - [The case for caring less]( - [What the end of Roe might mean for the future of digital privacy rights]( - [Costco’s inflation-proof $4.99 rotisserie chicken, explained]( - [Netflix's Persuasion is an absolute disaster]( - [RRR is an incredible action movie with seriously troubling politics]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=goods). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Policy]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved.