The vanishing act of reading for pleasure                        

Why should you be reading? Regardless of place, age, or locality, everyone universally has probably grown up hearing some version of the customary phrases: “read more!” and “open a book, and open your mind!” Look at the magic of books—each contains a spark of a different idea, a multitude of emotions, meant to evoke a different reaction.

A book written a hundred years ago can still resonate with the present-day reader, with the ability to sharpen your mind, fill your heart, and warm your soul. It’s enchanting how an author bends the idea of time and space to be present with you, whenever you want, and take you somewhere far away, yet impossibly near.

The reading recession

In the United Kingdom, the National Literacy Trust discovered that only 35% of 8-to-18-year-olds enjoy reading in their spare time. This is the lowest level recorded since the organisation began conducting its surveys 19 years ago, representing an 8.8 per cent decline since 2023. These alarming statistics raise urgent questions about the cultural, educational and emotional consequences of a world that is reading less. 

Unfurling hope and ideas

I could elucidate the proven benefits of reading: mental agility, increased knowledge, stress relief, better memory, and so much more. Instead, I want to write about how books are also incredibly useful, beyond being an exceptional road to adventure. Books have helped me start the most interesting conversations (did you know a real, hidden castle in Germany inspired Rapunzel?); others have come to my aid when I needed a cutting retort (emotional range of a teaspoon, anyone?). Reading relaxes me and simultaneously challenges my mind to an exhaustive workout. It folds away little ideas in my mind that unfurl into something else entirely when I least expect it and most need it.

Having been a voracious reader, I’ve found that I’m better able to put myself in someone else’s shoes, I’m a little more tolerant, I’m a lot more empathetic, and I’m able to look at a situation from different perspectives. I’m always curious, and a perpetual daydreamer. I believe in worlds within worlds, I believe in everyday magic, and none of it would be as true if I didn't read for pleasure.

A new era of readers

Though it’s saddening to see the general decline of reading for pleasure, all hope is not lost. A recent resurgence in the “romantasy” genre—high-stakes magical worlds sweetened with fiery romances between the protagonists—driven largely by BookTok is heartening. Modern retellings of classics may dilute the essence for purists, but they are convincing younger readers to seek them out. The genre of mystery has always had its draw, and scrumptious food-inspired offerings, from fiction to cookbooks, have their own niche as well. While overall reading habits may be on a decline, the wild successes of series, book clubs and reading retreats provide solace.

Read anything, read everything

I’m lucky to have inherited my love for reading from my parents and family (have you read this book? What about this one?), to have experienced the charmed tradition of bedtime stories, and to have friends who patiently indulge my whims (can we spend an entire rainy afternoon amidst the bookshelves of this tiny bookstore? Please?). Yes, I might be biased—I am a writer, I’m in love with words, with the coiling fragrance of books, with window-seats in libraries, with the pleasure of entering a bookshop, wondering which new friends I’m about to make, or which half-forgotten gems I’m about to rediscover.

I truly believe that there is a book for every type of reader, because there is no ‘right’ kind of book to read. Books are meant to make you wonder. Read anything. Read everything. What you didn’t like will nudge you towards discovering something else that you do. What you did like will lead you down a path of other like-minded works. 

Photo credits: Getty Images 

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