Read a Book on March 2nd, Nerd.

Is there anything better than cozying up on a snowy winter day with a glass of wine and a good book?  How about sitting outside soaking up some springtime sunshine with your favorite novel?  No matter what mother nature plans to throw at us in the coming months, its always a good time to read something.  Whether its a great mystery novel, or even just the morning newspaper, studies show reading just 30 minutes a day can lower blood pressure and even alleviate depression symptoms.  Since March 2 is National Read Across America Day, what better time to pick up a new read?

In my case, I've been a life long reader.  My mom still tells stories about how I was three years old "reading" to the ladies at the nursing home my favorite nursery rhyme book that I actually just had memorized. After that though, my taste in literature took a drastic turn.  I remember being in elementary school and while all the other girls were reading The Babysitters Club books, I was reading Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.  Then one day in middle school I was at a garage sale with my parents and I saw a beat up old copy of Pet Sematary by Stephen King.  I begged my mom to give me fifty cents for it, and she didn't want to because she thought it was too scary, and too hard for me to read, but I was persuasive even at that age, and she finally gave in.  That's when I was hooked.  I spent sooo many nights staying up way too late scaring the hell out of myself reading Bag of Bones and It.  I am still Mr. King's #1 Fan(see what I did there?)

Maybe horror isn't for you.  Maybe you're looking for something a little more concrete, something based on facts.  There are TONS of biographies on famous musicians.  There's I Am Ozzy, an autobiography by the Prince of Darkness himself, Journals by Kurt Cobain is a collection of his writings and drawings, and of course The Dirt, an autobiography by the members of Motley Crue.  These books are a great way to find out what its really like to live the rockstar life, without actually needing to go to rehab yourself.

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The real question is this; do you read by handling physical copies of books, do you read digital copies like on a Kindle, or do you listen to books via downloads or podcasts?Audio books are a great way to pass the time on a long car trip, or to stay sane during your daily commute.  Kindles are super portable so you can stick them in your bag and go, instead of lugging around a ten pound hardcover novel.  For me though, I prefer a good old fashioned heavy book to curl up with.  There's just something about the smell of the old paper, and the way the pages glide between my fingers taking me to places I could only dream to go.  No matter what medium you prefer, its time to finish reading this article, and start reading something else, anything else, if for no other reason than it will make you look a whole lot smarter!