Though you can read all year round, for whatever reason, summer is the time we all really start to assess the reasons why we should. Maybe you are on a break, maybe you just suddenly feel compelled to pick up a bestseller at the airport. Whatever your situation may be summer just seems to tug at our inner bookworm.

If you need some convincing or have been neglecting your inner reader, here is some pre-season motivation for stocking your shelves and cracking some covers this season.

1. You finally have the time. Whether you attend school or work full-time, everything slows down around summer.
2. Browning with books. Tanning and page-turners go together like margaritas and pool parties.
3. Reading keeps you sharp. Enjoying books in between semesters can help you avoid burn out upon reentry in the fall.
4. Reading keeps you thin. Avoid the snack attacks by filling your hands with a book.
5. Beat the boredom. After a while, summer rest can turn into summer restlessness, fill your empty hours with a great read!
6. Airplane protection. If you’re not up for in-flight chats, put your nose in a book.
7. Kid TV escape. If your kids are watching Frozen for the 178^th time, escape into a book while they “Let it Go.”
8. Make new friends. Join a summer book club (or Summer Reading Challenge) and meet some new people!
9. Get out of the house. Local bookstores are always holding author events. Escape cabin fever by attending a reading.
10. Help road trips fly by. Read to yourself or to the whole car and complete a book and arrive to your destination in a flash.
11. Prep for summer blockbusters. Read The Avengers with your son, Game of Thrones with your spouse and Paper Towns with your daughter to prep for great 2015 releases.
12. Fall in love. If you are over summer flings, but wouldn’t mind a crush, why not fill your heart with a fictional fantasy?
13. Seriously budget-friendly travel. If you just don’t have the cash for a vacation, travel the world from your living room with all the best summer books.
14. Beat summertime sadness. Summer isn’t all sunshine, sometimes you can get a little bluesy. Let an upbeat book bring you back to life.
15. Solid sleep. Sometimes all the activity of summer can make sleep hard to achieve. Grab a soothing book to put you to rest.
16. Summer TV sucks. That’s not entirely fair. There are some winners, but lets face it, the fall TV lineup disappearing frees up a lot of time and no one needs to re-watch that much Sex and the City.
17. Set a good example. Your kids seeing you read is as good for them as it is for you. Inspire your whole family to put down their phones and pick up a book.
18. Avoid embarrassment. If you have bookshelves filled with unread novels some day a bookish friend is going to call you out on it. Start tackling that reading list so you don’t look like a book poser.
19. Save money. Yes you could go to the movies, visit a water park, attend a baseball game, but if you replace the need to entertain with some solid reading time, you’ll save serious cash.
20. Beach readers are sexy. That’s right! Attract the right kind of attention at the beach with an open book.
21. Block the sun. Keep your face from burning at the pool by shading yourself with a bestseller.
22. Boost your vocabulary. This works any time of year, but while your co-workers suffer “vacation brain” you’ll impress the pants off your boss with your dazzling intellect.
23. Screen break. This may not work if your book obsession is entirely digital, but a paper book can be a nice breather from technology.
24. Learn something new. Whether you’re reading a DIY book or an autobiography take advantage of some extra education.
25. Get inspired. Read a memoir that will rev your engines and get you excited about something new.
26. Escape reality. Maybe your summer isn’t all about white sand and beach bods. If you are stuck with kids craving constant activity, a nap-time read can transport you.
27. Introverts paradise. If you’re shy, packed pool clubs and sizzling beach bars are not going to do. Enjoy your summer with friends who don’t push your boundaries too far.
28. Connect as a couple. If you and your spouse are struggling to make conversation on your annual vacations, load up on talking points by reading the same books beforehand.
29. Look cool at the pool. Treating readers like geeks is sooooo 1980s. Let’s face it, a girl or a guy with a book at their public pool screams “dreamy!”
30. Self-discovery. Reading has an amazing ability to hold a mirror up in front of our faces. Take time this season to read stories that unveil the best (and the worst) of you.
31. Shed the stress. A good book can help you decompress. Get your blood pressure under control with a page-turner you can’t put down.
32. Develop speed-reading skills. We all wish we had more time to read. During the summer, challenge yourself to devour a set number of books and see if you can start reading at a faster pace.
33. Get in touch with your softer side. You may have to act tough on the surface, but a good tear jerker can help you release some emotions without losing your grip.
34. Give your marbles a boost. Reading can actually help improve your memory and even combat Alzheimer’s. Do something for your mental health this season.
35. Give writing a whirl. If you’ve always wanted to write then you need to dedicate more time to reading. Readers make the very best writers!
36. Impress a new friend. Summer travel can open you up to a lot of new people. Whether you whip out a cool quote or get into an hours-long book chat, book people know this is one of the quickest ways to someone’s heart.
37. Your idols do it. Reading is one of those rare things that almost all successful people have in common. No matter whom you look up to in business, odds are they have a reading list miles long. Try to take on their favorites this season.
38. Keep cool. If you’re trying to beat the heat, reading will help you stay cool. If you are sitting still with a good read you won’t be working up as much of a sweat.
39. Find role models. If your life has gotten a little wonky and needs some redirection, let a memoir, biography or even a compelling novel give you something to aspire to.
40. Adjust your relationship standards. While there are certainly people who over idolize the love interests in novels, you might be able to use characters for relationship motivation. Keep your summer love from ending in sadness by looking for more endearing, book boyfriend-esque traits.
41. Build a bucket list. Reading can really help you shape a list of to-dos. As you read books this summer and swoon over foreign lands and risky adventures, start jotting down goals that will help you live life to the fullest.
42. Increase your cultural know-how. If you’re traveling out of the country, avoid culture shock by boning up on some regional literature. You could be blending in in no time.
43. Improve your grades. You don’t have to bury yourself in textbooks all summer to do better in school next semester. Read for pleasure and still make gains on your report card.
44. Launch a business. There are plenty of readers who’ve turned what they love into what they do. Become a book blogger and, if nothing else, save some coin on your book addiction.
45. Boost creativity. Even if writing isn’t your jam, readers are more creative people in general. Get your brain juices flowing by flipping open a new book.
46. Reminisce. Summer is that lazy dreamy time of year where you want to fantasize about the future and daydream about forgotten moments. Find some novels that reconnect you to treasured times.
47. Long distance bond. Maybe you’re away from family and friends traveling this summer. Stay connected by forming a reading list that will keep you connected while you’re away.
48. Preserve your self-respect. If you go back to the grind in fall and your only accomplishment is cleaning baseboards, getting out of your pajamas four times and binge watching Orange is the New Black, you might feel a little embarrassed to share your summer exploits. Re-enter work or school with dignity by throwing out your reading number.
49. Bragging rights. In the same vein as maintaining your self-respect, you’ll get to lead the intellectual train into fall if you spent the summer dedicating yourself to words.
50. Bravery. If you’ve spent the beginning of the year getting pushed around and trampled on, give your courage a boost by following the tales of heroes who don’t back down for anything.

Are you convinced you need to read, but at loss for what to read? Consider joining our Summer Reading Challenge and join hundreds of bloggers and readers who are picking up more books this season. Also gain access to author exclusives and over $2,500 in giveaways!