London. Wednesday 5 April. World Book Night, the annual celebration of reading organised by national charity The Reading Agency, is today launching the Road to Reading, a 10-week initiative that challenges you to read for 30 minutes each week, and see what a difference it makes to your life.
With benefits including boosting self-esteem, supporting mental health, sparking curiosity and connecting us to others, regular reading is a vital tool for social and personal change. Adults who read for just 30 minutes a week are 20% more likely to report greater life satisfaction, 52% more likely to feel socially included and 57% more likely to have better awareness of other cultures.
Perfect for those who used to read more, but now struggle to find the time, or readers who haven’t picked up a book in a while, the Road to Reading invites everyone to pledge to read every week for 30 minutes, for a 10-week period.
Regular readers can also join in by signing up and logging their reads, with survey insights feeding into a national study into reading and life satisfaction. The Reading Agency hopes that reading lovers will help to sign people up to take part, supporting their mission to get the nation reading.
To anyone taking part, The Reading Agency will be then sharing weekly tips, useful advice, reading recommendations and more, aimed at helping participants along the way. There will also be ideas for shorter reads from the Quick Reads series, and social media assets for people to share their progress with friends and family.
Sign up to the Road to Reading is open from today at worldbooknight.org, with the challenge officially kicking off on World Book Night, during the Reading Hour (7-8pm) on Sunday 23rd April.
Together with the whole nation, The Reading Agency will be inviting participants in the Road to Reading to tick off their first 30 minutes of reading then, spending time with a good book and inviting others to do the same.
Between The Pages Book Club 