The Book Case

An often shocking number of adults still don’t read books — and the statistics aren’t getting any better.

(Almost half of Americans haven’t read a book in the past year!)

If you spend 10 minutes reading a book a day, you could read about a book or month, or safely 10 a year.

Whether that’s self-help, autobiographical, revisiting your childhood with Harry Potter, or any of the incredible fiction and non-fiction books by lesser-known artists everywhere.

Reading may not instantly boost your happiness more than scrolling through social media—especially since those apps are designed to hack your serotonin and dopamine—but it sparks your imagination. It opens your mind and, truthfully, it just makes you feel better about yourself.

Plus, you do actually (and scientifically) retain more information.

Instead of the feeling of scrolling endlessly for an hour, looking up and feeling like you have no idea what you actually watched… which is nothing short of terrifying. 

The good news? There are still nearly 3 million libraries in the world.

Even though that number has slightly declined, library usage has recently seen a boost. Gen-Z's thirst for nostalgia and "BookTok" on Tik-Tok are also some of the reasons Barnes & Noble stores are now re-opening after being closed.

And even in the age of premium TV and podcasts, books refuse to go out of style. The written word has been around for millennia, and it continues to evolve.

Book clubs are more fashionable than ever across generations. I belong to one, my Mom belongs to three. 

Recently, the entertainment industry has been going nuts because of all the recent changes: box office numbers stumbling, actors’ and writers’ strikes, the switch from TV to streaming.

As if there is a certain way it’s all supposed to be, forever. But in reality, if you pull back, these mediums haven’t been around that long at all. 

A flicker in the light of literature! 

No matter what industry you’re in, you have to accept and adapt to change. Books evolve too — they change, spread, and find new audiences. Think of the earliest scholars discussing the Iliad, and then consider all the romantic hockey novellas, werewolf stories, vampire love triangles, and fan clubs that exist online and IRL today.

So whether you're writing or reading a book today, consider it a solid choice.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” - Dr. Seuss, the most prolific book author of them all.