Turn over a new leaf and set your imagination free

A new campaign is encouraging people across the UK to rebuild their reading habits. Fiona Evans finds out why

When was the last time you lost yourself in a really good book? It’s not easy amid the demands of working and family life but how long since you sat down and read, unfettered by the constant distraction of electronic communication?

If you can’t remember, you are not alone.

Smartphone habits are preventing people from reading books, according to a recent survey.

The results of the research from national charity, The Reading Agency, revealed that two thirds (66 per cent) of the nation would spend more time reading if they spent less time scrolling. Some 31 per cent of respondents said constant notifications on their phone stop them reading and the same number are distracted by TV. Other reasons cited include home pressures such as looking after children or housework.

In a bid to spur on the nation to either get into reading or reconnect with the gentle pastime, the Reading Agency has launched A Chapter A Day.

The idea is simple enough - a challenge which encourages people to make time to read a few pages of a book every day, building up to one or a few chapters - while finding ways to switch off from the distractions of daily life.

“I don’t think we have to get people away from their screens because you can read a book on your phone and on your laptop,” said Sue Wilkinson, chief executive of The Reading Agency. “It’s a difference between a sustained act of reading and scrolling through social media apps. You don’t have to abandon your smartphone but you do want to put it on flight mode so you don’t get notifications and then you can concentrate on a sustained piece of reading, a chapter a day.”

And reading is not without its benefits.

“It’s something that’s really enjoyable,” said Sue. “I think sometimes when you read you get taken into other worlds and that gives you ideas about how you might understand and manage your own. Books open doors to new worlds and new ways of thinking.

“There’s lots of evidence now about the therapeutic benefits of reading and about its role in improving cognitive function. You have to be able to read if you are going to get a job, book a holiday, pass your driving test; without reading you cannot do this.

“But it also has other benefits and all the evidence shows that it’s calming and relaxing, it opens the door to new worlds and new ways of thinking and being. It builds empathy. It’s a sort of companion to life’s ups and downs.

“It’s that skill that you need to manage and run your life but it’s also all the other things it does that are for your happiness and well-being.”

The think tank Demos carried out research last year, commissioned by The Reading Agency, to assess the potential impact of reading on loneliness, mental health problems, dementia and social (im)mobility - resulting in a report called A Society of Readers. “It has a whole body of evidence that shows how reading can help to combat these big societal challenges,” said Sue. “For instance it shows that people who read regularly for pleasure report fewer feelings of stress and depression.

“There’s a British cohort study that shows that reading is four times more influential on intellectual progress in adolescence than having a parent with a degree. It’s one of the best things you can do for your child.”

The Reading Agency, which places as much emphasis on working with adults as children, campaigns to promote the benefits of reading and encourage people to read.

It also runs various programmes in public libraries, work places, colleges, prisons and community centres - in which 1.4 million people of all ages participated last year across the UK.

A Chapter A Day focuses on how reading can enrich lives and make people feel happier.

If you are still struggling to justify the time or give yourself permission to read, then here are some words from author Mahsuda Snaith to help: “The beautiful thing about reading is that it helps you connect with something bigger than you while allowing you to feel less alone. It is pure magic and I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t benefit from a bit of that in their lives.”

‘I think sometimes when you read you get taken into other worlds and that gives you ideas about how you might understand and manage your own’ Sue Wilkinson