I read voraciously as a kid. Between hand-me-down novels and new books I (or really, my mom) bought for my monthly grade school reports, my six-shelf bookcase was sagging under the weight of ink and paper.
But now, despite a still-stuffed shelf, I don’t read as much as I used to.
I could make the typical excuses: I don’t have time, I don’t have the energy or I don’t have a good book to read, but those are all lies. I most definitely have the time, a book takes just a little more effort to consume than a TV show and my shelves are full with uncracked spines waiting to be opened.
So, what’s holding me back from reading more?
The 2025 Gallup “Voices of Gen Z” study found that 24% of Gen Zers dislike reading, and 35% of Gen Z adults “rarely” or “never” read for fun. It’s hard to pinpoint a reason why Gen Z is reading less than past generations, but I speculate that increased smartphone and social media usage, shortened attention spans and easy access to bingeable streaming shows have replaced young people’s desire to read.
The third reason is often my excuse. Quick, easy entertainment is just a click away, whereas when reading, forming a mental picture from words on a page takes effort. While a minuscule effort, it’s still more than watching images on a screen.
More often, my excuse to not read is that books are more intimate than other forms of media. In a book, fiction or nonfiction, the reader mulls over every word to comprehend the scene and message. So, if I want to read, I need the “right” time and the “right” atmosphere to give the “right” amount of attention to the text. I need a book with the “right” message for the “right” hour – no apocalyptic fiction before breakfast (too serious!), no thrillers before bed (too scary!).
There may be an argument for reading certain books at certain times. Just like how listening to sad music can make you sad, reading a book with a pessimistic narrator could make you more cynical, or an optimistic narrator more peppy and so on. The effect that stories have on my attitudes may be another reason why I tend to put books on a pedestal. Books have a profound power to change people, but change is uncomfortable, and people tend to avoid discomfort.
But isn’t it fun to face a challenge? On the other side of the hill, don’t you feel better for having climbed it?
Studies show that reading does have beneficial effects, including improving vocabulary and comprehension and, when reading fiction, increasing empathy.
A 2025 article titled “Does reading still make you smarter? It depends” found that “reading experiences positively predicted both reading comprehension and verbal ability” and that “participants’ experience with reading books was cognitively most beneficial.”
Specifically, when reading fiction, empathetic engagement with the story and characters increases the reader’s overall capacity for empathy.
“Comprehending characters in a narrative fiction appears to parallel the comprehension of peers in the actual world,” found the 2006 study “Bookworms versus nerds.” “In general, fiction print-exposure positively predicted measures of social ability,” while no such prediction was found among frequent non-fiction readers.
The benefits of reading sound great. I’d love to be more verbose, and who doesn’t want to improve their social skills? But how can I actually start reading more?
James Clear, author of the bestselling self-help book “Atomic Habits,” has tips for reading more.
“When I looked at my own reading habits, I realized that my reading habits were mostly reactive, not proactive,” says Clear. “If an interesting link flashed across my screen … then I would read it as a reaction. I wasn’t proactively making time to read books each day. I was simply reading interesting ideas that were pushed in front of me.”
Clear’s tip is to make time for intentional reading, which is easier said than done. But if you think about your schedule, what do you typically do during the first hour of your day? The last? Why can’t you squeeze a few pages (Clear recommends 20) of a book into that time?
“Before you move on to the normal bustle of the day, invest in yourself,” says Clear.
What has helped me read more is to not take it too seriously. I need to take books off a pedestal and put them back on my shelf. Not everything I read has to be intellectual or profound. I can read purely for entertainment.
My tips for you: find something interesting, find the time and just read! Reread a book that you loved in high school or find something similar. Dive into a topic you’re curious about or get recommendations from friends. Instead of watching YouTube over lunch, read a page, a section or a chapter. Before bed, instead of burning your eyes with blue light, open a book and read one sentence, one paragraph.
Invest in yourself, one word at a time.
