Studies agree that reading is important. There’s a multitude that can be learned from books – a conglomeration of information, feelings, facts, and ideas that compass nearly every aspect of life.

I don’t think everyone needs to be a bookworm. In fact, I don’t think everyone should be a bookworm, cause, you know, balance. But, I do think that if you have the ability to read and you’re not reading, then you’re stunting your growth. (And, if you can’t read, then there’s a good chance you could still be learning via audiobooks, etc… which is pretty cool.)

But do you know what else I think? I think that it’s easy for me – someone who’s exceedingly passionate about books – to sit down at my computer with breakfast and coffee and write a blog post lauding the benefits of reading.

Yet, sometimes being passionate about something requires more than simply tapping a few keys on a computer and calling it good.

When I was eighteen I went to South America and helped my oldest sister with her host of little ones for two months. At that time she was pregnant with her fifth child and pretty much on bedrest. That meant I got to help take care of her other four children and that included reading to them at nap time.

When nap time rolled around each day I would read to them for up to an hour. My free time for the day started right after I finished reading to them, and although I cringe to tell you this, I wasn’t always happy at the length of time I had to spend doing naptime reading. In fact, I sometimes tried to cut it short.

It wasn’t until a year or two later that I looked back at that time and realized how happy I was that my sister and her husband invested so much time and energy in reading to their children. (Add on to the fact that those books were some of the children’s only look at life in the USA – which is where they now live, and I see doubly much how needed those reading sessions are.) Now I consider it an honor that I got to read to them during naptime, and I wish I had done so with more grace.

Nowadays, when it comes to books and reading, I take the subject seriously. When I have new nieces and nephews born, I generally pass over the cute little clothing items and buy stacks of books instead. (Come to think of it, that’s normally what I give to grown-up friends for gifts, too…)

When I visit my friends with little children I make it a point to carve out time to read a book to the kids. When my best friend’s toddlers interrupt our talks with books I’m delighted that they find them so interesting.

I host giveaways for books, talk about them incessantly on social media, and review dozens of books each year. I contact authors to thank and encourage them, jump at the chance to beta read when time allows, and tell people all around me about my favorite authors.

See, studies agree that reading is important. And I know how much it’s helped me in my own life, so I kinda want other people to experience some of the same benefits. 😉