We live in an age where visual stimuli provide fast and furious entertainment in fast-paced films, television programs and hot off the press news items that zoom into the location for 'live coverage.' Little or nothing is left to the imagination to conjure like a good novel might do.

This is where reading takes on timeless value. Readers interpret the words on the page with their private perceptions of characters, places and emotional bonds. The reader has control over how he or she will make sense of the author's tapestry of words. Without the formulated visual stimuli, readers are able to connect to people and situations and perhaps a sense of place in their own lives extending the value of a good novel in a meaningful way.

Many childhood hours of reading, transported me to places I visited in later years only to find a sense of 'familiarity', a deja vu moment and quiet contemplation thereafter of the 'people'I met in the many chapters of the authors' canvasses of words.
Reading establishes fond memories that might be remembered through significant moments in one's life.

Reading certainly heightens the power of perception creating empathy and understanding for life. Needless to say, it expands one's proficiency at spelling and elevates and extends one's choice of vocabulary too.

Would you pick up a book today or turn on the television?