[CLICK TITLES TO READ THE ENTIRE POSTS]  An eagle flew by just offshore. Both my husband and I noted that she was flying lower than we had ever seen one of our eagles fly. Gary thought she would hit the water, but she was working hard and stayed in the air. I watched her skim around the big rock on the cape, catch an updraft, and abruptly drop out of sight. Wet, I figure. She was flying, but struggling to get home with wet wings. They don’t like being wet.

That eagle has never read a book, but you should. Books will help you live longer. Books can make you a more empathetic person. Books take you places you will never go any other way. There is a connection between happiness and books—people who read more report feeling happier—though perhaps not a causal relationship.

Just in case, you should read more books

Yes, I know, you read so much troubling news, you cannot possibly be expected to read anything heavy. You read for your work. You are an academic and read student essays. You have a demanding job. You teach middle school. You work with the public. There are only so many hours in the day. It is all too much. No one should expect you to read—um—literature in your limited spare time.

In three weeks of reading about fifteen minutes a day, you can read a novel. That’s 17 novels or works of narrative nonfiction a year. The average American reader reads maybe 4 or five books a year. Many read nothing at all.

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.—probably not from Mark Twain, but smart

 

I do not read anything but history and biography. You perceive that for me to presume to indicate the hundred authors which a person ought to read, would be folly. No, leave me out: My testimony would not be valuable.—Samuel Clemens in a letter to Joseph B. Gilder, 16 May 1886

You may read a young adult book or something The New York Times recommends. I already have a stack to chose from, but choose your stack of to-read books based on what you like. Even the easy ones will leave you feeling good about yourself. The hard ones will annoy and exasperate you, but have you feeling proud and eager to tell someone else.

Fifteen minute, huh? I hear you scoff. Where am I supposed to find fifteen minutes a day?

Read for fifteen in the morning before allowing yourself time on Facebook. You have been meaning to cut back on social media anyway, right?

Read for fifteen minutes before you go to sleep. You would likely just be lying there anyway, desperate to unwind. Unwind with a novel.

Read for fifteen minutes while you wait in line at the bank, at the gas station . . .

Read for fifteen minutes while the baby naps as a reward for being a parent and before you start cleaning the kitchen.

Read for fifteen minutes after you clean the kitchen. It’s an excuse to sit down.

By all means, take the stairs at work to get a few minutes of cardio. Eat a smaller portion for lunch, have only a salad for dinner, or skip dessert. Call a friend. Plan a vacation. Take a nap, for goodness sake, if that is even a possibility. All of that is good.

Taking care of yourself is not punishment. It’s a reward.

Read for fifteen minutes a day.

 

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