Science-Backed Reasons to Read a (Real) Book

Is print really dead? Not if science has anything to say about it! e-Readers give you access to thousands of books at a click of a button. It all sounds enticing, but there is nothing better than a paperback book. In fact, through studies conducted by scientists, they have enough evidence to suggest that you comprehend and memorize text better when you a printed version of text. Keep reading for the science-backed reasons you should put down the e-reader, and instead check out a book at the library.

You absorb and comprehend information better

Science shows that printed books are better at helping you to absorb more information and comprehend it better. In 2004, a psychologist named Erik Wästlund, at Sweden’s Karlstad University, conducted a study comparing e-readers to text on paper and the consumption of information. He found that students learn better when reading from paper. Wästlund found that people absorb more information when they can see the material all on one page. When students had to scroll through the content on an e-reader, Wästlund’s research showed that their comprehension of the text suffered. Wästlund said scrolling, “took a lot of mental resources that could have been spent comprehending the text instead.” e-Readers can also be distracting. The light they emit can hurt your eyes after a while, and it is too tempting to exit out of the book and hop on social media. Paperback books eliminate both of those issues. 

Having a library at home can encourage you to achieve more academically

While we like to promote supporting your local library, scientists have found that having a library at home can help with academic goals. Researchers M. D. R. Evans, Jonathan Kelley, and Joanna Sikora discovered that having an academic culture in the home impacts a child’s performance in school. They write, “We find that a key aspect of scholarly culture, the number of books in the family home, exerts a strong influence on academic performance in ways consistent with the cognitive skill hypothesis, regardless of the nation’s ideology, political history, or level of development.” Having a stack of books available at the house also stirs up a discussion among family members, furthering education and curiosity — everyone in the household benefits from a home library.

Paperback books intensify the joy of reading

The physical characteristics of a printed book is a motivation in it of itself to read a paperback book. You open a new copy of a bestseller at the store, and you hear the crack of its spine. The cover is sleek; meanwhile, the pages are crisp. Some people say they enjoy the smell of a book! It sounds strange at first, but all of these sensations bring back memories that you can associate with the text.

Speaking of home libraries, those bookshelves can fill up quickly, and you may find yourself buried in too much work to get through them all at a rate you’d like to. Iris Reading can change that for you when you sign up for our online Speed Reading Foundation Course. In addition to learning how to read faster, you’ll also learn practical strategies to enhance your comprehension so you can remember more of what you read. Find out more today!