With Book Lovers Day, I can’t help but reflect on my own journey with reading. You’d think I was destined to be a bookworm. My mom was an English teacher and librarian. My grandmother and great-grandmother were librarians too. Reading should have been in my DNA, but as a child, I just wasn’t into it. I never picked up a book for fun, and I certainly didn’t read those summer reading assignments. I figured books just weren’t my thing.
That all changed in my twenties when I started a book club with a friend. We called it Text in the City (yes, we thought we were very clever). We took turns picking books, and I quickly realized how much I enjoyed the mix of conversation and discovering new genres. The experience opened my eyes and gave me a new appreciation for stories.
Fast forward to today, and the library has become my happy place. I love walking through the stacks, browsing, and finding what calls to me. Sometimes I even imagine working there one day in retirement. I track my reads on Goodreads, set yearly goals, and review the “best books” lists at the end of each year to build my to-read list for the next.
But lately, I’ve been thinking more about how reading fits into our culture.
Last month, a new study revealed that only 16 percent of Americans are reading for pleasure, which is a 40 percent drop from just over a decade ago. Even more concerning, people are reading to their children less and less. Add to that the fact that 37 percent of fourth graders are not reading at grade level, and it’s hard not to feel like the whole system is breaking down. With technology waging a war on our attention spans and time, it’s no wonder it feels harder to carve out space for a book.
And it’s not just statistics, but I can see it firsthand with my kids. My son has dyslexia, so reading can be a real challenge for him. My daughter doesn’t have any learning differences, but she’s not exactly excited about reading either. The books she’s assigned in school rarely grab her interest. The funny part is, they’re the same ones I was assigned at her age, and even my mom read them when she was in school.
I understand the value of the classics, but it feels like it may be time to update the curriculum. Maybe if schools offered stories that reflect today’s world and kids’ interests, more of them would actually enjoy reading instead of seeing it as a chore.
As for me, I’m making up for lost time. I’ve gone through phases of historical fiction, but lately I’ve been drawn to stories about people in their 60s and beyond. My favorite book of 2025 so far has been The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife, which made me laugh out loud, and I just finished Sylvia’s Second Act, about two friends, ages 63 and 77, who leave Boca and start fresh in Manhattan. These books remind me that new chapters in life aren’t just for the young.
It still surprises me that the kid who never wanted to read now finds peace in ending each day with a book. Reading has become my solace, my joy, and honestly, my favorite form of self-care.
So this Book Lovers Day, whether you’re already an avid reader or someone who hasn’t picked up a novel in years, maybe give it another try. You never know when the right book, or the right book club, might change everything.
