Summer is a time to explore, relax, and for many, to read. Summer reading programs offer a great (and fun!) way for young people to keep reading and learning during their hiatus from school.
But while we often talk about how much reading for pleasure helps children grow and develop, there’s much less talk about adult reading habits.
We talked to Sarah Taylor, Assistant Director of the Johnson County Public Library, about how reading for pleasure can help adults, what you can do if you’ve slowed or stopped reading, and how reading trends have changed through the pandemic.
Why is Reading for Pleasure Helpful for Adults?
“It is not an exaggeration to say that reading has many benefits,” says Sarah. We tend to focus on the benefits to children, but the truth is that adults have the same perks.
“Reading is a serious stress-buster, and after a really stressful year, it’s a great way to unwind and relax. Honestly, it’s a form of self-care that we often overlook,” she notes.
Reading is helpful in all the ways we might guess: making us better at grammar, comprehension, and writing. But it also helps us be more understanding of other cultures and gives us insight into making decisions (National Literacy Trust).
Sarah adds that research shows 3 even more unexpected benefits of reading for pleasure as an adult:
- Readers of fiction have increased creativity, empathy, and emotional intelligence. Losing yourself in fictional characters’ experiences can make us more open-minded and allow us to spend time in someone else’s shoes.
- Reading boosts brain power, creating cognitive engagement which can help with things like memory and brain function as we get older.
- Reading supports self-improvement. We often tell children “readers are leaders,” and there’s definite truth to that! Johnson County Public Library (JCPL) is all about supporting life-long learning, and one of the best ways to do that is to pick up a book and learn something new.
Everyone reads for different reasons. Some of us read to escape reality, or imagine worlds beyond our own. Some read to learn new skills, like cooking or crafting – or about people they admire. And some read to have time to think about ideas they’re interested in, but the people around them are not.
But no matter why you read, you’re training your brain to remember ideas and facts. You’re thinking in new ways, and growing creatively and emotionally. This new knowledge and skillset is powerful!
What Can You Do if Your Reading Habit has Slowed or Stopped?
It’s one thing to know “reading is good for you” – something many of us have heard since we were children – but it’s another thing to make time for it, even when we enjoy it.
As adults, “People get busy with their kids, jobs, life, and something has to give,” explains Sarah. Oftentimes, reading is that something, even without the COVID-19 pandemic and social changes that have been happening over the past year.
These tumultuous events have caused a unique set of changes to reading habits: “There are people who are reading more – anything and everything they can get their hands on, there are people who have reverted back to their comfort reads – re-reading their favorite books to revisit familiar characters and places they love, and people who have had a difficult time being able to focus on reading right now with everything going on in the world.”
Sarah notes that although everyone adapted in different ways, “All of these reactions are perfectly valid.” One reaction isn’t better or worse than others, they’re just different – including reading habits.
No matter what your habits are, if you’re ready to read more, but aren’t sure how, there are a few great ideas to get you started:
- Try an audiobook: “If it’s hard to find time in your day between work, extracurricular activities, household chores, and squeezing in a few hours of sleep, audiobooks are MAGIC.” You can listen while you’re getting ready for the day, on your commute, while you work out, or even as you clean the house, Sarah recommends. It’s a way to “multitask and still fit your reading in.”
- Get help choosing a book: Librarians are extraordinarily helpful, and they can create a recommended reading list just for you based on what you’re interested in! They’ll even help you find different formats like eBooks and audiobooks if you want. The service is called Find Your Next Book, and the goal is to provide whatever help you need “to find something you’ll love!”
- Use Hoopla: This app, which is free for library card holders, lets you download audiobooks to stream on your phone – that way you don’t have to worry about carrying a book around. You can simply open the app and your book is right there with you! “It’s so very convenient!” Sarah emphasizes.
Why the Library is an Excellent Community Resource
We know the library is a place for books, but there’s much more to it than that.
It’s a valuable community resource, and chances are, if you’re thinking that it’s “just” about books, you could be missing out!
You can find new music, movies, TV shows, and magazines to borrow from the library. Or, if you want to get away from home for a little while, the library offers free computer access and discounted printing, which can be helpful if you don’t have a printer at home and don’t want to print at a costly print store.
There’s also a “Library of Things,” which is a recent library innovation. It’s a collection that provides “non-traditional circulating materials to our patrons who are looking for new experiences,” Sarah explains.
There are items like “Wi-Fi hotspots for internet on the go, baking kits for budding chefs, outdoor AND board games for family weekends, experience passes to local museums and pools, sewing machines, musical instruments, and STEAM kits and Birding Backpacks to continue learning over the summer.”
Oh, and if you’re a little jealous of the kids’ reading program (because you have fond memories of it, as many of us do), there’s a summer reading program adults can participate in! It’s called the Explore Summer program, and the goal is for readers to collectively read 3 million minutes together. You can win fun prizes like “playing cards, a beach mat, or the cutest green JCPL mug (coffee tastes even better from a cute green JCPL mug)” or bigger items like gift cards to local businesses or a prize package for the state parks.
One of the best things about Explore Summer, Sarah notes, is that “all reading counts – including audiobooks, graphic novels, cookbooks, or whatever else you like to read. It’s easy, it’s free, and you can sign up online or at any of our branches.”
Last, but certainly not least, there are book discussion groups you can join. “We often think of reading as a solitary activity, and it’s been easy to become a little more isolated this year,” notes Sarah. But attending a book discussion might be “just the thing to spark a love of reading, meet new friends, and gain new perspectives on the books we read.”
Book discussions are a great way to make new friends and socialize while talking about something you love. Everyone in the community is welcome to join, and they’re free! If you’re interested, you can find a group here.
The library is home to many books, but they are also an outstanding community resource to connect with others and expand how you learn – maybe even make a new friend.
There’s no doubt about reading: it’s good for us. You might think you’ve heard it all: the mental health benefits, the learning benefits for kids, and even the stress relief aspects. But it can also make you more creative and empathetic, improve your memory, and become more open-minded. Pretty good for a hobby you can do for free, right?
And not to worry, if you used to love reading and you want to again – or if you’re interested in finding something you enjoy for the first time – you have options. You’re not alone, and there are people waiting to joyfully help you find your dream read, whether it’s the latest popular book or learning to cook like Julia Child!