The Why and The How

A short while back, the Department for Education announced that 2026 would be the National Year of Reading. Around the same time, The National Literacy Trust announced a steep decline in reading for pleasure amongst both children and adults.

Although the focus of this campaign is primarily on children and young people, both the above are working to also promote reading for pleasure in adults. The idea is that the grown ups can set a standard for the little ones to follow. Also, there is a worrying decline in general literacy skills, with 6.6 million adults in England being 'functionally illiterate'. With bright marketing, a few celeb cameos, and school library donations, the campaign hopes to rejuvenate this nation's love for reading whilst tackling concerns around reading, writing, and speaking skills.

A nice idea.

The issue, though?

Grown ups are busy, and mostly burnt out. We just about

remember to put the bins out on bin day, let alone fit 15 minutes of reading into our daily schedule.

And this is where my idea for a blog came in.

What if we could have a little space for busy people who want to get more general reading in their lives?

I have a head start due to a love for reading already established in my day-to-day with a towering bookshelf to match. However, I am lucky if I can read a single book a month. How on earth are people reading 100 a year?!?!

My plan is to publish quite irregularly (remember I'm a busy employed grown-up, not a content creator) book recommendations, overviews on book-news updates, and various random topics just to help me practice my writing and to help you meet your general reading quota.

If you are onboard please bookmark this site and get involved in conversations over on my Instagram page: casualreader.blog. Whether an established reader, or a curious cat, you are welcome here.