Our generations is now so focused on catching up on the latest series on Netflix or defeating the newest enemy in the latest game. We should be spending more of our time opening up a book and expanding our minds. It seems like every time I go to the library the fewer kids there are, or if there are any they spend most of their time on one of the computers. Now I'm not saying I am not guilty of watching TV and catching up on the latest "Dance Moms" episode, but everyone should take their time out of their day or even week to pick up a book and read.

Reading helps you expand your mind and you get to learn something new. Whether or not you are a sci-fi lover or prefer historical fiction there is a lesson in almost every book. By reading a historical book we are able to learn about the good and bad from previous generations, and are able to try to not make the same mistakes in the past. Obviously aliens or zombies are not planning on attacking earth anytime soon but sci-fi can teach us how to have an imagination and be able to imagine a different world. Without reading we wouldn't know all the information we know now, and if future generations continue to walk past a library all that information will be lost.

In most cases a book that received great reviews end up being transformed into a movie. I am personally not a movie person, and the last time I went to a theater was at least six months ago. I feel like the message is usually lost in the movie. When I read a book I am able to imagine what the characters and the scenery looks like. And in a way I get to create a story of my own. With a movie that was once originally a book it takes away the imaginative element of a book. The characters and scenery are already imagined for you. There isn't much room for you to think about what you are watching.

Not only does reading help you learn something new but it can also help expand and improve upon your own writing. You will be able to improve upon your vocabulary, coming across a word you never heard before in a book and being able to use it in your own writing or in a everyday conversation. You can learn different types of writing styles from your favorite authors or be able to make a mental note on how you don't want to sound after reading an author's work that you were not a fan. Every writer has their own unique style of writing and people should not miss out on reading hundreds of books all by different authors and all with different voices.

Unfortunately not everyone is a fan of reading, and that is okay. Not everything you have to read has a to be a 500 page novel, because picking up a newspaper or going online and typing in CNN or any other news outlet can help you learn so much about what is going on in today's society. Just like in a book you could pick up on new information.

From the words of Dr. Seuss: "The more you read the more things you know. The more that you learn the more places you will go."