Library Director Ann Zydek poses for a photo in her office at Warsaw Community Public Library in 2018. InkFreeNews photo by Dan Spalding.

By Ann Zydek
Library Director

Quin Dawson showcases her “Starry Night” entry as part of the Homeschool Gingerbread House Fair at the Warsaw Community Public Library. Photo provided by the library.

My New Year’s resolution is to read well.

Reading books strengthens the brain, increases empathy, builds vocabulary, prevents cognitive decline, reduces stress, aids sleep, alleviates depression, and lengthens your lifespan. There is immense evidence that reading assists people to understand and manage their well-being and health. Reading helps us to critically think and sift through mounds of information books and online resources to uncover answers to what we are seeking.

What are your reading habits? The American Academy of Arts and Sciences reported in a July 15, 2019, article, “New Evidence on Waning American Reading Habits,” that in 2017, American adults reading for pleasure in the previous year fell below 53%. American readers averaged about 17 minutes per day reading for personal interest as compared to about three hours watching television.

I read “Why We Read What We Read” by authors Lisa Adams and John Health. They irreverently examined favorite topics in nearly 200 bestselling books Americans bought from 1990 to 2006. Some readers read over 50 books yearly with nearly identical formats. The authors concluded our culture favors quick fixes and simple answers to life’s complex problems. They encourage reading fiction and non-fiction books, but not just bestsellers, to provide the best chance at a transformative experience.

Visit your library and access its vast physical and digital library collections to support your unique leisure and informational needs. Learning experts encourage us to strike a balance, using our reading not only for comfort and thrills but also for honest exploration and reflection. Expand your reading choices to selections that offer diverse points of view from your own. Read a book slowly and deeply savor it.

In winter I like to walk outside and then read in a comfortable chair. I admit, my biggest challenge to reading well is binge-watching international television series. Yet, research indicates, especially for children, prolonged television viewing over four hours daily effects our brains negatively (e.g., reduced verbal abilities).

Interested in reading well? Explore “Benefits of Reading Books: How It Can Positively Affect Your Life” by Rebecca Joy Stanborough, MFA. Or check out the library’s eBook “On Reading Well” by Karen Swallow Prior, which encourages us to find a good life through great books that “teach us how (not what) to think.”