Well, many things.  We can escape from our lives into another world.  We can learn something new.  We can find out about ourselves from characters we relate to.  We can learn empathy, feel sympathy, express love, find anger.  Books are a way to make our brains work and keep them from atrophy.  When I read, I get lost in the lives of the people I read about.  I get to connect with lives I would never otherwise see or learn about.  No, the actual act of reading is not a taxing one on the body, but for the mind, it is an important activity.  It can be good for the soul.  Reading can be a way to find people who have similar interests, too – book groups abound and create a way to connect with others.  Reading is an activity that forces us to use our imaginations and be creative and think.  I always feel a little melancholy when I look around me at all of the books I want to read and know I will never have enough time in my life to do it – there is so much great writing out there, I want to just devour it all!

Here are another 10 things that happen to our minds when we read.  Pick up a book and find out what reading will do for you!