If you are searching on Google, or any other search engine, then you can read! Most of the world’s population can read at least at a basic level. But how much do we know about reading as an activity? Today, let us learn some reading facts, are you ready?
Reading Facts: 1-5
1. 33% of fourth graders in America can’t read well! 33% students read below the basic level of reading test conducted by National Assessment of Educational Progress.
2. Learning to read is related to learning to listen and talk.
3. According to statistics, readers have more empathy and emotional intelligence than non-readers. According to a study conducted by APA, managers like candidates who are more likable (high emotional intelligence) than the ones that were self-promotional (low on emotional intelligence.)
4. Teenagers who spend their leisure time reading know nearly 26% more words than the teenagers who don’t read.
5. The same study found out that teenagers who were raised in a book loving environment knew 42% more words than the teenagers who were not raised in such a way.
Reading Facts: 6-10
6. Over 86% of families who earn more than USD 75,000 a year read at least one book a year. Less than 70% of the families who earn less than USD 30,000 a year read at least one book per year.
7. According to a research conducted in the University of Toronto, participants processed information better and accepted ambiguity post reading fiction books.
8. 50% of the bedtime readers sleep better than non-readers. Guess what more than 96% of bedtime readers actually recommend the habit to others. It helps your body to prepare for sleep.
However, keep in mind that don’t use phones or laptops at night. It is because the blue light suppresses the melatonin production which is key to sleeping peacefully.
9. According to some studies, reading reduces stress by nearly 70%! As a matter of fact, reading is better at reducing stress than exercise, listening to music, etc.
Thirty minutes of reading can help in reducing blood pressure, heart rate, and even reduces psychological distress.
However, you can’t achieve these results if you read anything that makes you either angry, upset, disappointed, or depressed. If you want to get these benefits, stay away from negative news.
10. If a research of University of Liverpool is to be believed, readers are 10% more likely to report adequate amounts of self-respect than non-readers. This percentage increases to 18% if we only include the people who devote 30 minutes or more time for reading per week.
There is 21% increase in general knowledge if you read a book for thirty minutes or more in a week. People who read a book for at least 30 minutes a week are found to start a conversation more easily.
Reading Facts: 11-15
11. Reading also reduces mental aging by 32% in old people. The rate of mental decline is low in people who read books throughout their life.
12. When it comes to reading books, India tops the list with an average reading of 10.42 hours per week. The next top four countries are Thailand, China, Philippines, and Egypt.
13. One out of five children in the United Kingdom can’t read properly by 11 years. 18% of kids don’t achieve proficiency literacy level by age 15.
14. If children have around 20 books at home, they achieve 3 years of extra schooling than the children who don’t have books at home.
15. If you spend 20 minutes of your day reading, you will read 1,800,000 words per year!
Reading Facts: 16-20
16. It may not be surprising to learn but reading is the best bet to learn new words. Children usually learn around 4,000 to 12,000 words every year via reading.
17. Children who often read books perform well in math, spelling tests, and vocabulary than the children who don’t read books.
18. 19% of people reported that reading prevents them from feeling lonely. Reading decreases the feeling of loneliness in people aged 18 to 64.
19. Shared reading groups are generally linked with increased calmness, confidence, relaxation, self-esteem, etc.
20. According to a European study of 5280 men, readers earn more money than non-readers. Men who read a minimum of 10 books outside of school’s compulsory reading earned 21% higher income than the ones who didn’t rea extra books.
Reading Facts: 21-25
21. Reading books also helps you in your conversations. It helps you be a better conversationalist.
22. A study found out that people who read books for 1 to 3.5 hours per week are 17% less likely to die than the ones who didn’t read a book.
23. Regular readers are 2.5 times less likely to get Alzheimer’s than the people who don’t read books.
24. Believe it or not, reading makes you attractive. MyBae, a UK’s dating app conducted a research. They found that 11% of the total users actively searched for people who loved reading books.
25. If you are suffering from lack of focus, then you should give reading a try. Reading helps in improving your focus.
Reading Facts: 26-30
26. According to a study conducted by the UNESCO, reading increases a person’s confidence.
27. Maria Teresa Calderon of Philippines is the fastest reader in the world. She can read 80,000 words in a single minute with cent percent comprehension. An average person can read around 250 to 300 words with just 70% comprehension.
28. William Shakespeare introduced many phrases like in a while, star-crossed lovers, all of a sudden, etc. He is also credited with the invention of more than 300 words like unreal, uncomfortable, undress, etc.
29. Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, was gifted a year’s salary from her friends so that she could quit the job and focus more on writing.
30. There are more public libraries (16,766) than McDonald’s restaurants (14,157) in the United States of America.
Reading Facts: 31-35
31. If you don’t know there are human libraries. You can check them out and listen to their life stories. It was started for the first time in Copenhagen in 2000. Human library organization is active in 80 countries now.
32. Codex Leicester, a linen manuscript of Leonardo da Vinci, was bought by Bill Gates in 1994 for a whopping USD 50.2 million (in today’s value).
33. Victor Hugo bought a huge, knitted shawl which covered him from head to toe and locked his formal clothes so that he won’t be tempted to go out. He did this for 6 months to complete three volumes of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
34. The original manuscript of ‘Of Mice and Men’ was eaten by author John Steinbeck’s dog.
35. Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States of America, read at least one book a day. Sometimes he read three to four books in a day.
Reading Facts: 36-40
36. Can you believe that J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books were rejected by 12 publishing houses?
37. The first-generation kindle was released on 19 November 2007. It costed USD 399. It sold out in just 5.5 hours and remained out of stock for over five months.
38. The first author to exceed a million sales in ebooks is James Patterson. He is the author of Women’s Murder Club Series and Alex Cross.
39. The youngest person to pen a published book in the world is Dorothy Straight. She completed her book ‘How the World Began’ when she was just 4 years and 3 months old.
40. The longest novel ever written was penned by Marcel Proust. The novel is À la recherche du temps perdu. It was published in 1912. It is 4,215 pages long. In English, the title is translated as “In Search of Lost Time” or “Remembrance of Things Past.” It has 13 volumes.
Reading Facts: 41-45
41. The longest word in the world contains 189,819 letters. The name is given to a protein.
42. Children who read books are less likely to commit crimes or do drugs or drop out of school than the children who don’t read books.
43. The Holy Bible (6 billion copies), Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung (900 million copies), and Harry Potter Series (500 million copies) are the three best-selling books to date
44. Fast reading helps in protecting your eyes.
45. Steven Bloomberg stole 23,000 (rare) books from 268 libraries! The total value of these rare books is assumed to be 20 million dollars!
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