If we are what we claim to be, writers, then we should know and appreciate the power of the written word. But how much do we read? Do we only read the same genre? Or do we challenge our senses and intellect by selecting reading material from multiple different genres?

How important is reading, to us as writers and as human beings?

Basically, reading is entertainment. It takes us to worlds we might never imagine visiting in person, even worlds that only exist in the imagination. We can escape reality through reading and we can learn about a different culture through reading. We can even learn to become better writers by studying the style of other writers.

Reading does so much to broaden our perspective on life. For example, it improves our ability to maintain an intelligent conversation. Why? Because simply put, reading broadens our vocabulary and helps us speak, and write, grammatically correct. It introduces us to words and expressions we might never have encountered before and a whole new realm of possibilities with this widely expansive vocabulary. Reading helps us articulate and it provides us with lots to talk about. That is if anyone is willing to listen.

Did you know that reading enriches the brain? How? By improving brain connectivity, that elusive concept of how the different parts of the brain function and work in sync. In other words, it makes your brain work on many different levels, by increasing your vocabulary and your comprehension. Reading also assists in preventing cognitive decline in old age.

Have you ever noticed how reading reduces your stress levels? Some suggest that reading helps prepare the body to sleep, but, in reality, as any avid reader knows, once immersed in a compelling story, it’s almost impossible to sleep until you finish at least the next chapter, if not the entire book.

Here are some other benefits of reading:

- Reading matures us as individuals, as humans, and, most definitely, as writers. Reading challenges our individual perspectives, making us question what we believe as well as what others believe. It broadens our mind to understand differing opinions even when we don’t agree with them.

- Reading aids our memories, nurturing things that happened in our past, or in the past of our ancestors.

- Reading also helps us to forget (if only briefly) by taking us away from things that stress us in our daily lives.

- Reading provides company when otherwise we might feel totally alone in the world.

- Reading rejuvenates us, brings new life to our perspective on the world around us.

So, how does all this help us as writers? Reading enriches our entire being and writing unravels all that is within us. If we don’t read, we can’t excel as writers. We become stagnant. At the same time, if we only read one genre, our writing style will only reflect what we’ve read. It won’t reveal our unique individuality. Like when we wrote essays in school and we had to emulate our teacher’s work in order to get the grades we so desired. We have to reach beyond our comfort zone and study what else there is to learn from the wide expanse of genres of the written word.

Why do we read? To make us so much better at what we do best: writing!