2023 is here, and there couldn't be a better time for you to rediscover your passion for reading books!

I'm an ambivert (both introverted and extraverted), and last year, I took some time to reflect on why reading is my favorite hobby and why it's important to read more books by indie authors.

Here are 12 reasons why I think reading is the best hobby ever and why you too should read more books than you normally would this year:

1. Reading is good for your mental health.
2.  Buying and reading books allows you to put food on somebody else’s table; it’s how you support (indie) writers.
3. Reading helps us cope with life’s ups and downs.
4. For writers, reading is the quickest way to learn the craft of writing and the difference between a good and a great book.
5. Reading breeds innovation, as it shows you what’s already been done (or overdone) before so you can add to it with your own creativity.
6. Reading helps you to assess and assert your feelings about important subjects such as work, relationships, money, etc. in a critical way.
7. There’s a book about everything you want to know.
8. By reading about other people’s experiences, you learn valuable lessons and save yourself the time it would take to go through the same things to gain the same experience.
9. Reading gives you something to look forward to at a certain time of day—it’s a date!
10. Reading fiction takes your mind away from your problems, and that’s always a good thing.
11. Reading in public helps a shy person or introvert ward off unwanted interactions with people.
12. Reading can help you build or be a part of a strong community of like-minded individuals who share the same interest in books as you, also known as book clubs. There are book clubs near you that you can join in person or online (I'm thinking of starting my own too)!
    

That's it, friends!

I hope this year has been off to a great start for you, and if you have enjoyed this newsletter, all I ask is that you tell a friend about it; the more the merrier!

Sending you lots of bookish love,

Priscille.

P.S.: Did you know? I host a podcast about writing and writers! This year, I'll be recording the second part of the ongoing season, but I need your help deciding what topic will be most interesting to you. Want to help me? Simply cast your vote in this Twitter poll before it closes in less than 20 hours. Thanks in advance :)