Other News from the Juniata County Library
Why reading books should be your priority, according
to science.
by Vince Giordano, Librarian and Director of the Juniata County Library | February 2nd, 2022
According to statistics
coming out of the Pew Research Center, more than a quarter--26 percent--of
American adults admit to not having read even part of a book within the past
year. Science has shown that reading will help you in a variety of ways.
Reading fiction can help
you be more open-minded and creative
According to research
conducted at the University of Toronto, study participants who read short-story
fiction experienced far less need for "cognitive closure" compared
with counterparts who read nonfiction essays. Essentially, they tested as more
open-minded, compared with the readers of essays. "Although nonfiction
reading allows students to learn the subject matter, it may not always help
them in thinking about it," the authors write. "A physician may have
an encyclopedic knowledge of his or her subject, but this may not prevent the
physician from seizing and freezing on a diagnosis, when additional symptoms
point to a different malady."
People who read books
live longer
That's according to Yale
researchers who studied 3,635 people older than 50 and found that those who
read books for 30 minutes daily lived an average of 23 months longer than
nonreaders or magazine readers. Apparently, the practice of reading books
creates cognitive engagement that improves lots of things, including
vocabulary, thinking skills, and concentration. It also can affect empathy,
social perception, and emotional intelligence, the sum of which helps people
stay on the planet longer.
Reading 50 books a year
is something you can actually accomplish
While about a book a week
might sound daunting, it's probably doable by even the busiest of people.
Writer Stephanie Huston says her thinking that she didn't have enough time
turned out to be a lame excuse. Now that she has made a goal to read 50 books
in a year, she says that she has traded wasted time on her phone for flipping
pages in bed, on trains, during meal breaks, and while waiting in line. Two months
into her challenge, she reports having more peace and satisfaction and improved
sleep, while learning more than she thought possible.
Successful people are
readers
It's because high
achievers are keen on self-improvement. Go up to someone you admire or respect
and ask them what they are reading. They likely will share with you a great
book that helped stretch their imagination or limits. I recommend, to name just
a few, the LBJ series by Robert Caro, Hellhound on his Trail by Hampton Sides,
and The Poet by Michael Connelly.
