Unlock Your Mind and Your Imagination

Issue No. 28 : The Many Reasons Reading is so Incredibly Great for You

My local pub in London where I spent many winters reading in front the fireplaces and meeting the most extraordinary characters. Photo: Per Håkansson.

Since I recently slacked off by catching up on my reading (finished The Tenant by Freida McFadden this morning – funny and clever), I’m now under the gun to deliver a few newsletters within a shorter time period than usual.

But that’s alright, I’ve never been a nine to five guy anyway.

Summer time has always been thriller time since I was a young teenager. My dad ran a bookstore and we received Advance Reader Copies (ARC) every June that we read during the long summer vacation. By fall, I had devoured the latest books from Ken Follett, Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, John le Carré, and James Ellroy.

If I was good at anything as a kid it was to read. Reading became a refuge during the challenging teenage years, saved my then below average grades, and laid the foundation for a life rich with curiosity, imagination, and wild adventures.

Reading might also be the reason, or at least one of the reasons that I don’t really care about material things. Because when I get a new book – these days from the local library – I’m completely absorbed and lost to the world for hours if not days.

So I’ve always been reading a lot of everything except course material in college which I always found incredibly boring. And when learning new languages, I found that reading was almost as good as going to the local bar. Almost.

But I haven’t read as many books as I’m planning to do this year since I lived in London and spent the cold winters cuddled up in my tiny penthouse, a five story walk-up without elevator or insulation (I had to duct tape all windows shut to keep the wind from blowing through the 18th century townhouse).

My flat was not just cold and drafty, it had zero to no water pressure in the shower and walls thinner than Japanese Tengujo paper. But it had location: within a three-minute walk in each direction I had my office, the Waterstones bookstore, and a pub frequently frequented by Sir Bob Geldof and Jamiroquai.

Needless to say, life was simple but good.

On really cold days when I was worried about freezing to death in my flat, I first swung by the local Waterstones to pick up a new pocket book followed by securing one of the tables in front of the three open fireplaces at the pub, eating spicy Thai food, and reading until the place got busy in the late afternoon.

I then had a choice: Should I Stay or Should I Go (Joe Strummer from The Clash used to play at a pub down the road)? More often than not I stayed until closing time which meant ending up to no good at The Notting Hill Arts Club.

But I digress, this post is about why reading is so great for you and not the damage flaming absinthe can do to a young, impressionable mind.

Reading books expand the mind just like swimming expands stamina and fitness. Something wonderful happens, and this accounts for both, when there is intention and regularity: you can really feel how you’re getting better.

Reading, just like swimming, is more than just great exercise and a fun daily activity. It’s a really powerful workout for your brain, a portal to new perspectives, and a fundamental key to lifelong learning.

If you’ve ever wondered why you should carve out time for the written word, here’s a deep dive into why reading is truly great for your mind:

Boosts Brain Connectivity and Function: Just like physical exercise strengthens your muscles, reading keeps your brain agile. Studies have shown that reading engages multiple parts of the brain, improving connectivity and overall function. As you follow a narrative, your brain creates mental images, predicts outcomes, and processes complex information, all of which contribute to enhanced cognitive performance.