For some time now, I have been collecting answers to this question, "Why read?" because I feel sometimes the different approaches to the answer of this question connect with different people, especially those who do not consider themselves readers or do not reach naturally for a book as a way to spend a rainy day or do not see the reasoning behind waiting until midnight for the next book in a beloved series becomes available. Here are some of the responses I have collected, and I would love to hear about more!
Benefits of reading - This Thinglink does approach a response to this question in a more traditional way. There are links here to research examining the scientific benefits of reading as well as the emotional / mental benefits of reading.
Unlocking Imagination - This link goes to NPR's Nina Totenberg's interview with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor upon the publication of her autobiography. This interview focuses on the role books played in her life, including classics and more popular genres.
Learning from the Mistakes of Others - This is a reprint of an email from General Mattis detailing the benefits of reading on his professional military life and lists some of the texts he has found most helpful. In particular, I love how he describes reading as lighting "what is often a dark path ahead."
Inspiration to Change the World - This blog post from Henry Jenkins illustrates how fan communities can create change in the world and prompt dialogue. In the report Jenkins links to in the blog post, readers can understand how issues within story can connect to political issues and ideas that readers care deeply about.
Reading the World - Another NPR link! This article examines the ability of readers to infer emotion from images. The article also contrasts fiction considered more "literary" versus fiction considered "popular" and did find a difference.
Daydreaming - this lecture from Neil Gaiman pulls in ideas from great thinkers such as Tolkien on the importance of reading to our world and to future generations. I find more and more each time I read it.
Future Predictions - This link explores the surveys given out by Latitude to predict where storytelling will go in the future. There are interesting predictions and descriptions of what audiences want from storytelling today. You can also take the quiz to see what audience archetype fits you best.
Participatory Reading - This breakdown of traditional versus participatory reading helps me understand what reading means for students today and how I can use that knowledge when designing learning experiences for them.
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