<i>But later in life, as a source of entertainment, books can't compete with bars, chatting with friends, television, movies, sports, social media,</i><p>That's just, like, your opinion dude.<p>All joking aside, I do firmly dispute the quoted statement above. But whether that matters or not depends on a lot of things. I read a lot of books, but also watch television, movies, sports, etc., frequent social media, and chat with friends. And substitute "coffee shops" for "bars" and I do that as well. I don't see it as competition. I like a blend of all of those influences. But I can't answer "why read a book" any more (or less) than I can answer "why hang out at coffee shops?"<p>So I dunno. I like to read, but I've been reading regularly for something like ~46 years. Reading to me is as much a routine part of life as breathing or sleeping or eating. It would be weirder to me to not read, ya know?<p>Now if we get away from entertainment and talk learning, then that's a whole different ball of wax. And I hope very little needs to be said about why one should read books if one wants to learn stuff (to use a highly technical term).<p>The one last thought I'll add though is this: should reading be accorded some special status or significance? Or should there be any sense of shame or whatever in not reading?<p>There are people out there who would answer an emphatic "yes" to both questions. But personally, even as a life-long avid reader, I say "no". There are a LOT of ways to spend one's time, and only so much time available. And as much as I read, I spend a lot of time not reading. So it's not hard for me to imagine someone with a very slightly different mindset than mine skewing their time allocation towards much less reading. And that's OK. Maybe they are restoring old cars, or volunteering at a soup kitchen, or hunting, or train-spotting, or bird-watching, or hiking, or playing rugby, or doing one or more of a bazillion other things that they find fulfilling, instead of reading. I say that's fine.<p>As a wise man[1] once said "Do what thou wilt, shall be the sum of the law."<p>[1]: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley</a>