Reading, next to exercise, is one of the best things you can do to yourself. Physical exercise will train your muscles. Reading will help your brain develop in early stages of life. Reading helps you learn languages and extend your general lingual knowledge. Heck, reading extends your knowledge in everything! Even reading fiction will make you more eloquent. Reading non-fiction will increase your factual knowledge. If you ever have children, the first thing they should learn after they learn to speak is learn to read.