Let me be the first to say it: last year was horrible. In the UK, we experienced a cooling jobs market, rising tensions between communities, terrorism and a ‘flu-nami’. To make matters worse, the Angiolini report exposed a nationwide disregard for women’s safety, while a Guardian investigation found that the man set to be our next prime minister believes saying ‘Hitler was right’ is merely ‘banter.’
Elsewhere in the world, countries like Indonesia and Haiti were brought to their knees by natural disasters, the crisis in Sudan raged on, and the war in Ukraine did not come to an end. Not to be a Debbie Downer, but all in all, 2025 was absolute pants.
Personally, I’m happy to consign last year to the history books and can report that things are already looking up. Because, for all of our government’s flaws, who can disagree with its decision to declare 2026 the National Year of Reading?
Reevaluating Reading
The National Year of Reading initiative aims to encourage parents and teachers to make reading a daily habit in their household or classroom. It will also see the National Literacy Trust distribute 72,000 books to areas with the highest levels of child poverty, in addition to the government’s £27.7 million investment in the teaching of reading and writing in primary schools. As an avid reader myself, it is incredibly promising to know that politicians are taking this issue seriously. Make no mistake, reading is truly under threat. Less than a third (18. 7 %) of children aged between 8-to-18 enjoyed it in 2025, with literacy rates suffering as a result.
We also know why reading is in decline. As the price of paperbacks continues to climb, libraries, our sole source of free books, remain chronically underfunded. But affordability is just one of the issues. What about the families who can afford to buy novels; why are their young ones not reading? The rising cost of books is clearly a barrier to reading, but it doesn’t paint the whole picture. Perhaps many children lack the time, and therefore the motivation, to sit down and read.
Consider kids’ lunch breaks, for example. Pupils have just fifty minutes a day to eat and play with friends before they are swiftly whisked back to the classroom. This period of free time, if they had more of it, could also be dedicated to reading a few chapters of their favourite book in the school library — something which they might not have the chance to do at home. Controversially, though, this would require an investment, not in lessons, but in leisure, challenging the system of structured learning that has existed since the Victorian age.
Prioritising Leisure
It is not a new proposal. Philosopher Josef Pieper championed the idea that leisure is the bedrock of culture back in 1948. While often dismissed as ‘non-activity,’ Pieper argues that pursuing leisure is actually more valuable than being occupied, as it encourages a ‘contemplative’ and ‘receptive attitude of mind,’ something that many of us sorely lack in the modern world.
Reading is an essential aspect of leisure. And leisure ‘is the key to discovering the wonder and purpose of our universe’, says Pieper. Schools might prioritise homework and exams, but providing students with sufficient leisure time is what encourages them to continue learning beyond the curriculum and to pursue their passions. It nourishes the soul. I still recall the English lesson in which Wilfred Owen’s Dulce Et Decorum Est piqued my interest. That evening, I began researching other pieces of WWI poetry, which ultimately led me down a rabbit hole of Sassoon and Shelley, Rumi and Rossetti, Neruda and Naidu. A whole host of wonderful writers whom I would never have encountered had I not gone out of my way to learn more about them in my free time. And that’s really part of the joy of reading: the thrill of discovering something new.
When we pick up a book (or newspaper, comic, poem, etc), we open ourselves to absorbing knowledge, building empathy and stimulating our curiosity. What could be more enriching for a child than that? However, today’s world doesn’t seem to be willing to accommodate anything other than ’real’ work — certainly not trivial pursuits like reading poetry. With much of the school holidays being consumed by revision and studies proving that many of us are working longer shifts, children and parents alike are increasingly being robbed of their free time. There are no longer enough hours in the day to balance our responsibilities with our hobbies.
That was one of the few positives of the COVID pandemic: it taught us the true value of having meaningful leisure time. I remember how a friend of mine who showed no prior interest in baking was suddenly churning out loaves of bread just for the fun of it. Another found that walking helped clear their mind. And when lockdown struck, I turned to my sketch pad and pen daily, in addition to reading, completing crosswords, listening to music and indulging in Among Us or Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda.
These are hardly life-affirming pastimes. But they were certainly more beneficial than watching brain-rot content on TikTok. Which brings me to my next point. Why would Gen Alpha, who grew up in the digital world, bother opting for an audiobook when there are so many other far more tempting distractions on our phones? Why would today’s infants, raised on a cocktail of YouTube slop and Cocomelon, feel inclined to pick up a novel when the glow of an iPad is all they have ever known?
Turning Over a New Leaf
Given the confluence of circumstances, a decline in literacy rates seems inevitable. But the National Year of Reading initiative has the potential to alter that narrative. By emphasising the value of reading for pleasure and teaching children that learning shouldn’t stop when the bell rings, we will be setting up the next generation to be far more inquisitive, mindful and literate than their predecessors. The change starts with acknowledging the importance of leisure time. Not just for children, but for their weary parents too.
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