By Maria Linck
EMS Press
Traverse City East MS
1st Place
Division MS, News Writing
In-Depth Feature
mous challenge. Although reading small things like signs and labels is something we can’t avoid, reading novels is something we can. According to Psychology Today, 42 percent of college graduates will not read a single book after graduation.
Reading a mandatory novel for English class is not quite the same as reading a book of your choice. Choosing your own book gives you the freedom to read something that you are interested and engaged in. Reading allows people to envision things in their head and to take a break from the constant flow of visual information that most modern day electronics produce.
Eighth grade student Meredith Mead enjoys reading a lot. She prefers to read fantasy books but will read anything that she can get her hands on.
“In a book, you can do almost anything,” Mead says. “My mom once called me an addict.”
Eighth grade student Gwen Urbain spends about two hours per day of her free time reading. Her favorite book genres are adventure and mystery. “Reading lets me do cool things,” she said.
Nora Ryba, another eighth grader, also likes to read. Ryba usually reads Warriors, but now she is reading whatever she can find.
“Reading is really fun,” she said. “It makes me imagine stuff.”
Reading stimulates and impacts your brain. A study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that people who read and exercise their brains are more than two times less likely to get Alzheimer’s.
According to Psychology Today, reading novels can make you more empathetic and understanding of other people’s emotions.
As there are so many positive benefits from reading, it’s no wonder that it is widely enforced both at school and at home. So next time you find yourself with nothing to do, grab a book. You’ll be both boosting your brainpower and curing your boredom.