Believe it or not, I can recommend something to you – one simple thing – that will:

• improve your brain connectivity

• increase your vocabulary

• empower you to empathize with other people

• improve your sleep

• reduce stress

• lower your blood pressure

• fight depression

• prevent cognitive decline as you age

• and maybe contribute to a longer life.

Drum roll, please …

It’s 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨!

“Ah,” you say. “This is the part where he’s going to plug his new book.”

But you’re wrong. Actually, I’m going to plug Ernest Hemingway, Amor Towles, and Abraham Verghese. (My novel won’t be out till autumn anyway.)

The books I have in mind, respectively, are 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘢, 𝘈 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘸, and 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦.

Want to go fishing for a giant marlin off the coast of Cuba? Visit Moscow in the wake of the Bolshevik revolution? Stand side by side with a brilliant surgeon who’s working in Ethiopia? All these adventures, and many many more, await you within the covers of a book. Plus all the physical and emotional benefits that I listed above.

So what are you waiting for, friend? Turn off the idiot box and find yourself a good summer read!

BACKGROUND: To check out the research behind these claims, visit Healthline.com. See: “The Benefits of Reading Books: How It Can Positively Affect Your Life.”