GET A SPINE
It’s not that those who are still passionate about books are Luddites. It’s just that they would, in the nicest possible way, tell adherents of e-readers, tablets and smartphones that the key to happiness is to . . .
They’re neither Luddites nor technophobes. People who are still committed to reading books just believe that magic happens between the covers—and at Wordfest, the city’s annual celebration of literature.
Reading this story could add minutes to your life.
At least, that was the conclusion of a recent study, which found that people who read up to 3.5 hours a week were, 12 years on, 17 per cent less likely to die than non-readers. The study, published in Social
Science and Medicine, also determined that those who read longer than 3.5 hours weekly derive even greater benefits, being 23 per cent less likely to have died 12 years later. Researchers noted that the advantage came primarily from reading books—reading newspapers and periodicals did help, but the association was weaker. The study concluded that book readers live two years longer than non-readers. Tell that to the next person who suggests you, “get your head out of that book and do something.”
Or you can use that information as a conversation-opener at Wordfest, which starts Oct. 7. In honour of Calgary’s annual festival of writers, we decided to profile a few people who really, really like to read. Two are in high school and dispel the notion that teenagers would prefer to play Pokemon and post selfies than read outside of school; the adults, while possessing divergent tastes and habits, do have one thing in common: none of them watch TV.
It should be noted that not one of the five readers mentioned prolonging their life as a motivating factor. Still, it’s a nice bonus. And when life inevitably ends, maybe reading continues. Virginia Woolf famously wrote in a letter, “Sometimes I think heaven must be one continuous unexhausted reading.” Surely the heavenly part is that—again, Woolf ’s words—“the state of reading consists in the complete elimination of the ego.” Or, as our avid reader and literacy advocate Berniece Gowan put it a bit more succinctly: “It’s always been a great way for me to escape.” If it’s been a while since you’ve curled up with a good book, let these book lovers inspire you to make your own escape.