Today is National Read a Book Day! This unofficial holiday was created to encourage everyone, book lovers and non-book lovers alike, to pick out a book and find a quiet, peaceful moment in the day to step away from electronics and simply read for a while.

Now this is a super fun and awesome holiday, and we all loved putting this video together. But before we dive into that, I want to share a few sobering facts about reading and literacy in the US. First, a staggering fourteen percent of the US population is illiterate, and nineteen percent of high school graduates are illiterate (source). In 2014, a whopping twenty-three percent of Americans didn’t pick up a single book to read throughout the year, and what’s more, the majority of American’s who did read, only managed to squeeze in less than five books (source). As a writer and unabashed book lover, these numbers make me sad. I would love it if we could all inspire each other to pick up a book and read for a spell. Even if we only make it through the first chapter, it’s better than nothing!

And to celebrate this amazing holiday, the Behaviorists and I are all sharing which book we’ll be reading today and why, and also where we’ll be enjoying our books. Kick back and enjoy our video, and don’t forget to share your favorite book recs in the comments below!