In college or during daily life, in general, many of us get caught up in assignments and the reading of textbooks, our jobs, and lose sight of reading specifically for leisure purposes. Reading is an activity you can do anywhere that not only makes you smarter by doing so, but it can increase your critical thinking skills and creativity. Whether one reads a newspaper article, book, or an article on The Odyssey, reading is reading. Books are accessible to anyone with a library card and there is no excuse as to why someone cannot read for fun. Here are some shocking statistics on Americans who read books:

One-third of high school graduates never read another book the rest of their lives.

42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.

80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.

70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.

57 percent of new books are not read to completion.

It's shocking that so few Americans actually read, and care about reading. Books offer an escape from the real world and allow you to enter your own realm of your creativity. I would say the number one reason as to why there are so many non-readers would be the lack of time. College and careers consume a lot time, leaving little to actually do something like reading. Everyone should try and make time to read because it is so good for you.

I'll never forget the moment I knew I loved reading. I was in the fifth grade and we were reading, "Walk Two Moons," by Sharon Creech and I absolutely loved that book. Throughout the book, I not only felt joy, but also sadness and at the end, I cried. The power of books is really strong and can make you learn a lot about yourself and your own creativity. Please find time to read because there are so many amazing books out there waiting to have their pages turned.