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12 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | NOVEMBER 2025 By Janet Boyce, Resident Reading is vital because it provides the following: 1) expands knowledge, 2) improves cognitive functions of vocabulary, concentration, and analytical thinking, 3) enhances physical health by reducing stress, 4) preserves mental health by promoting brain activity, and 5) fosters empathy and creativity. Reading allows for personal and academic growth. Ultimately, it is crucial for functioning effectively in the workplace and society. Ever since the advancements in technology with the computer and the cell phone, people haven't been communicating face-to-face in a more personal way. Families have become too busy, so time is not set aside for at least one daily meal together. I noticed toward the end of my teaching career in the 1990s-2000s that my students were not as effective communicators as those in my previous classes. In talking with my colleagues, we realized that very little verbal interaction was happening at home. Kids today tend to "read" on the computer or their cell phones as they scroll through social media. In many ways, they have become basically illiterate. They can read fine phonetically, but their comprehension is void of critical thinking analysis. If you never experience a novel, for example, then you don't understand plot structures, foreshadowing, or subtle meanings, ideas, and conclusions. Also, today's TV interferes with other things to do, and it is a very passive experience. Reading is much more active and demands your engagement. Regular reading is a great exercise for your brain. It improves and enhances your memory by training your brain to retain new information. Every time you read a book, you have to remember the setting, the main characters, their backgrounds and history, their personalities, the sub-plots, and more. With every new memory that you create, you add new pathways, and this strengthens the existing ones. Many people don't read regularly, because they find it frustrating to read smoothly, quickly, and with a clear understanding. However, the more you attempt to spend time reading, the better reader you will become! It takes practice to establish a reading habit. I recommend keeping an on-going book at your bedside table, or by your easy chair/couch. Try to find a topic and author that you like. I have one or two books that I'm in the middle of all the time. I prefer the warmth of a real book, but online books like Kindle are good also. I rarely buy a book, but I use the library frequently. I hope they never get rid of libraries. They can be magical places to visit. The best part of reading is that a book can "transport" you anywhere in the world. You can get a glimpse into other cultures and customs of people far away. It may even motivate you to travel there. Books expand your horizons, letting you experience other countries and people in ways you never imagined. We can be like a time-traveler while sitting in the comfort of our own living room. A reader's high is when you are far away, somewhere else, instead of actually reading. Here's to the Wonderful World of Reading! The Importance of Reding

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