An election palate cleanser on why and how to read
Summary
Packy McCormick reminds readers of the importance of reading in today’s world where people tend to spend far too long on social media or watching TV, with the average American spending 16 minutes daily reading compared with more than three hours watching TV and 2 hours, 14 minutes on social media.
He urges people to spend some of their internet time buying books and to actually read them, with scientific evidence backing the benefits of reading in terms of improving focus, slowing memory deterioration, enhancing memory, boosting verbal skills, and improving the ability to connect different pieces of information and ideas.
The most successful people read a lot, including Warren Buffett, who spends 80% of his working day reading and thinking, and Barack Obama, who managed to read at least 30 minutes every night while US president.
Furthermore, Packy suggests that the way people read and what they read can greatly improve the value they get from reading, recommending reading a lot on a specific topic before expanding out and mixing fiction and non-fiction to gain a wider perspective and understanding of the world and the lessons that can be learnt from the past.
