Several factors have contributed to renewed interest in reading. BookTok, a popular subcommunity on TikTok where users create videos to recommend and discuss books, is one such factor. BookTok has helped ignite and rekindle many people’s interest in reading and has benefited bookseller Barnes & Noble, which plans to open 60 new stores in 2026 after launching 30 in 2023, 61 in 2024, and 67 in 2025.
 

Research shows that reading also provides significant benefits for children’s brain development, as follows: 

  • Reading promotes critical thinking skills by engaging readers in a story and encouraging them to ask questions about its characters and plot. Tutors at Readability who specialize in helping a diverse group of readers transition from learning to read to reading to learn point out that reading helps students evaluate situations logically and develop reasoned opinions.
  • Reading helps children expand their vocabularies by exposing them to new words. Reading aloud to children can be especially helpful for young kids, but reading independently also encourages kids to learn new words. As children read and discover new words, their language skills grow.
  • The wide variety of literary genres, from science fiction to fantasy to history, can inspire children to feel curiosity and wonder about the world they live in. This can lead to increased interest in other school subjects, including science, math, and art.
  • Modern children face numerous stimuli that don’t necessarily promote longer attention spans. Social media videos and some children’s television shows may negatively impact kids’ ability to develop strong focus. Reading helps children improve their attention by requiring them to concentrate on a story and process information as it unfolds. This demands maintaining attention for much longer than the average social media video.