Neil Gaiman has everything right here

Like the man says, Read, read, read. It's like travel without the strip search at the airport and the bad sunburn because you forgot to pack your sunscreen. Reading has saved my life, remade my life, improved my life more times than I could ever count. Reading will show you the world. Reading will expand your mind. Reading will make you a better person. You get the idea. Read on Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming. And in case that's not enough of an argument, the Huffington Post wants you to read, too, for entirely other reasons 7 Unconventional Reasons Why You Absolutely Should Be Reading Books