The National Year of Reading is coming!

Did you know the National Year of Reading is next year? Nearly a decade since the last National Year of Reading, the National Literacy Trust and The Reading Agency is aiming to put reading high up on the agenda once more. Their intention is to get more people aware of the benefits of reading for pleasure and purpose.

I think this is great news, reading has so many benefits that many people aren't even aware of. A lot of people think it's quite nerdy or boring. I went out on a double date about a month ago - shock horror (I'm quite wary of these kinds of things!) My best friend and our respective other halfs went out for drinks and dinner and got onto the subject of reading. My friend's boyfriend is really into working out, bulking up and looking good - he would never step foot in a library. Which is fair enough; I'm not particularly keen on the gym myself, although I have tried it and made my mind up for myself! He would probably quite correctly label me as a 'book worm', and I would probably quite correctly label him as a 'meat head' - as a mutal agreement of course!

Anyway, he is totally against reading for pleasure and just doesn't understand it. My friend has tried to get him interested as she likes a good book every now and then herself - but it's just not happening. Everyone has their own interests, and there are loads of people out there who hate reading - but that doesn't mean you should knock it!

I personally think reading for pleasure is a fantastic way to open your mind and start thinking about issues that effect all of us in one way or another. A thought-provoking book can help you to form your own opinions and shape the way you think about things - that's quite a powerful tool. And a powerful book can get turned into a powerful movie (although as we all know, that's sometimes not quite the case!) allowing it to reach even more people.

Not to mention the escapism. I hadn't read a good book for so long after a left university. I've just realised how much I've missed it and how much my state of mind benefits from it. I have an incredibly busy mind and find it quite hard to switch off at the best of times. So finding a book that captures my imagination and entertains my mind is brilliant - and necessary! I guess everyone needs a form of escapism, whether that be through reading, watching a good film, listening to music or switching off at the gym.

My mother started reading to me from a very young age, and I'll definitely do the same with my children - the house will be filled with books! There's a whole multiude of wonderful things to be gained from reading, so I think it's wonderful that the whole of 2008 will be dedicated to it. Click here to find out more about The National Year of Reading.