With the school year now in full swing and, for many, nearing the end of the first quarter of the academic year, it is easy for both parents and children to become so absorbed by a busy lifestyle that they forget either to read or the joy of reading. With having school-age daughter myself, I, too, am guilty of not reading as much as I would like. After taking my daughter back and forth to her after-school activities, I am often exhausted and in need of a few moments of relaxation so that I can continue my routine tomorrow. Turning on the TV and flipping through channels while eating a bowl of popcorn is rather mindless and easy to do, though, as of late, I have begun challenging myself to use this brief but valuable time to catch up on my reading by listening to a chapter or two of my audiobook.
Since reconnecting with the joy of reading, I have found myself even more excited for the end of the day and in a far better mood throughout the day, even when my desk is piled high with papers and my To-Do list is two pages long! There have been countless scientific studies that focus on the positive effects of reading, and some of the dominant takeaways I have seen in a majority of these academic journals find that reading helps: strengthen cognitive functions; improve sleeping habits; create an expansive vocabulary; reduce the strength of daily stressors; and prevent age-related cognitive decline!
With that being said, I want to challenge the patrons of the Geauga County Public Library to try and do the same! See if you find yourself sleeping a little more soundly at night or if you are a little less stressed throughout the day after taking some time to read or listen to a book or two.
For those who are too tired to crack open a physical book at the end of the day, like me, or do not enjoy reading as much as they do listening, I suggest you look at our library’s extensive audiobook collection. Through the Libby application alone, our patrons have access to over 65,000 different digital audiobook titles from the comfort of their homes! And that number increases significantly when you factor in all of the physical audiobooks we have available in Geauga County’s six different branches.
Click the link below to access our audiobook collection and see if you can find the perfect book for the Holiday season!
Link: https://clevnet.overdrive.com/clevnet-geauga/content
Here are a two books that I am currently listening to:
Lauren Beukes’s Broken Monsters – Link to audiobook version!
Matthew Sullivan’s Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore – Link to audiobook version!