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Baby, Come Back to Me: It’s Time to Get Back to Books

As a kid, libraries were heaven — the musky smell of creased paperback pages enveloped you as you surrounded yourself with new friends and places you’d soon visit. A vacation to another reality was awaiting you in a wad of paper that weighed less than your backpack. You hurried home, filled with anticipation to snuggle into bed as your mom read you away to a place of imagination.

Sounds picturesque, huh?

Why, for some, does this yearning for books fade? The biggest culprit for decreased passion may be technology. iPhones and iPads are glued to our hands, while real life is busy passing us by. Some may be more attracted to the allure of a shiny screen over a matted, out-of-date book. And some of us are zombies by the end of the day, with just enough energy left to plop ourselves on the couch with a glass of wine (or five).

It may be technology, it may be time, it may be past experiences with subpar English teachers or required reading. But, whatever the reason, we’re here to tell you — you NEED to read again. Here’s why:

BOOKS INCREASE YOUR VOCABULARY. 
Do you know what bonhomie, sapient or inscrutable mean? We sure hope so. These little gems didn’t pop up on our radar until we read books by Shakespeare, Faulkner and Beecher Stowe. Whether you figure out their meaning through context clues (sorry we didn’t offer you any) or just looking them up on dictionary.com, new vocabulary is essential to your writing arsenal. While high-level words may not be appropriate in all situations, knowing that you have something so precise and descriptive at hand makes you a walking thesaurus — and a damn good writer. This leads to concise press releases, shorter tweets and heftier speeches.

BOOKS ELEVATE YOUR WRITING STYLE. 
When you read a book, you can see literary devices at play IMMEDIATELY. These devices help shape the meaning, tone and emotion of a novel. They increase suspense. They bring life to the words on the page. They lay out the story in front of your eyes. Each writer has a very specific style, and each of those styles can influence your own. Reading various novels from classic nonfiction to modern political fiction can shape the way you craft messages for differing purposes. Ad copy? Short sentences, alliteration and punchy punctuation are key. Letter to your donors? Parallel structure, first person point-of-view and motifs could be employed. Whatever you do and whoever you write for, just don’t go all James Joyce stream of consciousness on us… ain’t nobody got time for dat.

BOOKS SPARK CREATIVITY. 
You don’t have to read science fiction or fantasy to see literature’s effects on creativity. Any book you open is a way to a different reality, filled with experiences and information that you may not encounter in your life. These tidbits of knowledge encourage you to solve problems differently, to research interesting topics and to interact with diverse groups of people. Books can help with your brainstorming as well. Whether you want to create a branded reality for a client or turn a phrase for a tagline, books give you fodder for these ideas.

As you grew up, books were a way to develop your vocabulary and literacy skills. You took cues from books for conversation starters or playing imaginative games on the playground. Even when you were forced to read as a teenager, you were learning invaluable skills of analysis and respectful discussion. Don’t let all of those years of reading go to waste now! You still have time to squeeze a chapter or two in everyday, even with a busy schedule and an inbox full of emails. Reading is essential to expanding your smarts and creativity. Besides that, books are just plain FUN. So while you’re crackin’ that wine when you get home, why not think about crackin’ a book open as well?

Here’s a quick list of the things our herd is reading right now:
Return on Influence: The Revolutionary Power of Klout, Social Scoring, and Influence by Mark Schaefer
Elect H. Mouse State Judge by Nelly Reifler
Stories by Franz Kafka
The Power of Unpopular by Erika Napoletano
The Other Wes Moore by Westley Moore
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde
Trillions: Thriving in the Emerging Information Ecology by Peter Lucas, Joe Balley and Mickey McManus
The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P: A Novel by Adelle Waldman
The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century by George Friedman

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