Rediscover the power of reading books

Read any good books lately? If you’re like many Americans, the answer is no.

According to a 2022 Gallup poll, Americans are reading fewer books than in the past. The average number of books read over the course of the year in 2021 was 12.6, down from 15.6 books per year in 2016. That was the lowest rate of reading in two decades, while the peak was in 1999, when Americans reported reading 18.5 different titles in one year’s time.

A big reason for the decline in reading books is the result of more entertainment choices. From streaming services where you can watch any show you want on demand to the infinite scrolls and dopamine loops of social media, many people don't have time for books anymore. 

A short story used to be a couple of hundred words in print. Now, they can be a couple of seconds on Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok or other social media platforms. People have shorter attention spans, and fewer people are developing a love for reading books at an early age. Instead, they have gotten hooked on instant media gratification. 

"There’s growing evidence to suggest that some individuals can develop a dependency on social media that’s not unlike an addiction to alcohol or drugs," says Paul G. Simeone, Ph.D., vice president and medical director of Behavioral Health at Lee Health. "Their overdependence on social media has led to symptoms typically associated with substance-use disorder."

A 2019 survey found that 40 percent of online users in the United States aged 18 to 22 reported feeling addicted to social media. Five percent of those respondents admitted that "I am addicted to social media" described them completely. Today, research shows that over 33 million Americans (10 percent of the U.S. population) and 210 million worldwide suffer from addiction to social media and the internet. Those numbers are expected to rise in the coming years.

That doesn't mean books can't have a place in this new normal. Books can help us find balance in our age of indulgence. While social media and the internet can harm your health, reading books has many physical and mental health benefits. And these benefits can last a lifetime. 

According to Healthline, reading books strengthens the brain, increases empathy, builds vocabulary, prevents cognitive decline, reduces stress, aids sleep, alleviates depression, and lengthens lifespan. The benefits of reading books start in early childhood and continue through old age to change your brain and your body for the better.

Books are everywhere. Reading them can cost the same as breathing air. Hennepin County has over 40 beautiful libraries. Minneapolis is filled with unique local, independent bookstores. You can find stacks of used books all over town. And every fall, the Twin Cities Book Festival, one of the best book festivals in the world, happens in our backyard.

This year, the Twin Cities Book Festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. The event is free and open to the public. 

Rain Taxi, a nonprofit literary arts organization (where I'm a board member), launched the Twin Cities Book Festival in 2001 as a way to support readers, writers, publishers, and booksellers, as well as to engage the Twin Cities literary community in an exchange of ideas.

“Now more than ever, the world needs books," says Rain Taxi executive director Eric Lorberer, who leads the literary organization’s annual book festival and edits Rain Taxi Review of Books, a nationally distributed award-winning quarterly. "Books connect us to the past, present, and future. Books inspire us to hope and dream. And books give us the power to make our dreams possible. We have an incredible lineup of authors at this year’s Twin Cities Book Festival, and they will bring this all to life for readers on one amazing day."

Featured authors at this year’s #TCBF will present their work via readings, talks, and conversations. They include master storyteller Kate DiCamillo, a beloved author and winner of the Newbery Medal and National Book Award (among others). She has a new book,  "The Puppets of Spelhorst," an empowering journey of self-discovery.

DiCamillo is one of dozens of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic lit, children's, middle school, and young adult authors at the 2023 festival, which also will have a giant book fair with nearly 140 exhibitors, a Minnesota author showcase, a used book and record sale, a live bookmobile, activities for kids, and The Slowdown, a daily poetry podcast with Major Jackson.

So mark your calendars and save the date in October for Rain Taxi's 23rd annual celebration of books.

Then moderate your streaming intake, take some breaks from social media, and pick up a book.

Everyone can benefit.