I have encountered several posts regarding the general benefits of reading (e.g., Professor Nana). Perhaps this is because it is summer and educators and students have the opportunity to read and so many do not.
This post summarizing findings on the decline in cognitive capacity that accompanies the aging process offers more encouragement.
The findings, published online today in Neurology, suggest that reading books, writing and engaging in other similar brain-stimulating activities slows down cognitive decline in old age, independent of common age-related neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, people who participated in mentally stimulating activities over their lifetimes, both in young, middle and old age, had a slower rate of decline in memory and other mental capacities than those who did not.
I will offer my general warning regarding correlational data, but what could be wrong with the suggestion that we all decrease passive consumption (television) and increase cognitive activity (reading, writing).