Why is reading good for you?

  • Why is reading good for you?

    The impact of reading for pleasure and empowerment

    This Reading Agency document pulls together a range of research about the importance of “reading for pleasure”.

    A Society of Readers

    ‘Demos carried out research over the summer of 2018 to assess the potential
    impact of reading on several great challenges of our time: loneliness, mental
    health problems, dementia and social (im)mobility’

    Frequent readers make the best lovers, say dating-app users

    Short piece in the Guardian, 28th April 2017, saying, ‘Heavy reading increases empathy – and makes users of dating sites more likely to click on your profile’.

    The School That Got Teens Reading

    Javone Prince visits Ripley Academy in Lancaster inspiring the school’s most reluctant readers to take the plunge and make reading for pleasure a habit for life. Originally broadcast on BBC2 October 2016.

    Open Book: Why We Read

    Mariella Frostrup and guests discuss why people read and the pleasure that this strange and solitary activity has given millions. She investigates the history of reading and the impact it has on people’s brains. BBC Radio4 August 2015.

Meet the Author events