Who Loves 2 Read?!

Thursday 14 September is Australian Reading Hour. 

Reading is an excellent pastime and we at Text endorse it wholeheartedly. 

So on 14 September, read an Australian book for an hour. Any book: fiction, non-fiction, educational, recreational, illustrated, scholarly, romance, crime, historical, literary, poetical, allegorical, spec fic, fantasy, adventure or even instructional. Read for one hour on your own or find someone else to read with. Read in the morning, at lunchtime, in the afternoon, in the evening, under the covers with a torch. 

Some quick reading facts:

• Reading reduces stress by 68 per cent, relieving stress more quickly than listening to music, going for a walk or having a cup of tea.
• Reading a gripping novel causes positive biological changes in the brain that can last for days. Reading for pleasure is the most important indicator of the future success of a child – more important even than their family’s socioeconomic status.
• When tested for empathy, readers of narrative fiction achieved significantly higher scores than other groups.
• The more leisure books people read, the more literate they become and the more prosperous and equitable the society they inhabit.

The team behind Australian Reading Hour have put together a short video that shows us all why reading is important. 

Australian Reading Hour will be celebrated at the launch of the new Parliamentary Friends of Australian Books and Writing at Parliament House on Tuesday, 12 September, with acclaimed authors including Tom Keneally, Mem Fox, Michael Brissenden, and Matt Stanton; while the Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham, will officially launch Australian Reading Hour with Mem Fox and fans at the Franklin Early Childhood School, Canberra, on 13 September.

More than 330 libraries and bookshops have already registered to participate in Australian Reading Hour 2017, and over 100 Australian authors will partake in events in their local communities.

You can register as a reader here to be part of the project or you can just read. But really, we don’t mind which you choose, as long as you read. 

If you’re anything like us and have bookshelves sagging from the weight of books, yet you have nothing at all to read, head over to our Books page and browse our brilliant books.

Until next time,

Keep reading (on the 14 September)

The Texters.