Reasons to read actual books (not that I think you needed any)

If you're like me, you read simply because you want to – because you want to learn something, because you want to escape, because you want to go to sleep but you're just not tired yet. 

I don't read because I know that reading for just six minutes can reduce stress by 68%. I certainly don't read because my love for reading could make me 2.5 times less likely to develop Alzheimer's that other oldies once I'm a senior.

But if you need a reason, maybe I can help persuade you to read – non-digitally.

Reading has all sorts of benefits, and it turns out that reading actual books is even more advantageous than their digital counterparts (sorry, eReader fanatics). 

As this great article on Mic.com points out, reading in print helps comprehension. A 2014 study found Kindle readers were significantly worse at remembering the order of events in a mystery compared to those who read the paperback version of the story. Science explains that this is because the inability to physically control the pages of an eReader limits its reader's sensory experience, thus affecting recall.

Not only that, but reading things like short, 140-character tweets could actually cause people to lose some of their literacy skills.

This photo was taken during my semester abroad in Paris where I chose to reread Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, this time in French.

According to the Mic.com article, "Reading long, literary sentences sans links and distractions is actually a serious skill that you lose if you don't use it. Before the Internet, the brain read in a linear fashion, taking advantage of sensory details to remember where key information was in the book by layout. As we increasingly read on screens, our reading habits have adapted to skim text rather than really absorb the meaning." (You're skimming this blog post, aren't you?)

Here are a few more reasons. Reading a good old-fashioned novel at a relaxed pace for at least 30 minutes a day is a great way to distract from modern technology. Studies show reading can also increase empathy, and can even improve the quality of your sleep. And he best reason to read books? IT'S FUN!