Hi nui ; I personally see reading (books and other symbolic expressions) as a means to gain information (and/or imagination) from media devices (paper, radio, TV, computer/tablet/phone/Internet, ...). We may limit our definition of reading to 'books' (or paper based media) and only to transform letter combinations into words (of a language). I think this definition is holding us back a fair way. It stops us from reading many technical expressions for examples data tables, mathematical expressions, application menu/icons, traffic signs, electronic circuits, colours and shapes of leaves (for signs of deficiencies), rock texture (for mineral contents), lanscapes (or topologies for underlying infrastructures -- mountains must have caves or hollows otherwise they will sink into 'supporting grounds'), waterways and vegetation, ... I would even define reading foreign languages as another reading.

As you can see by simple generalization of reading (a book), we can learn to read many more things in our world and learn to understand our world better. Read to understand.