By contrast (though not shaming/critiquing), reading has always been one of my favorite past times, and I'm infinitely grateful for the great books that have guided me over the years. To be fair, my goal is to one day become a philosophy professor, so my bias is... a hint strong.
(To my mind, one of the few comparable experiences for what good books can do for one's mind, besides the stray film or play, is something as well crafted as Shenmue. It taught Eastern culture to me in a way mere words would do poorly.)
For the sake of brevity, I've been reading a volume of The Cambridge History of Capitalism, balanced with Ralph McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City. The movie is depressing, but the novel is a truly hilarious criticism of New Yorker culture and drug addiction, while subtly recognizing the brokenness of folks in their 20s. Otherwise, I read Latin for my job which is, however dear, the very requirement of which you speak.
A related aside: one of the best books I've ever read is Mortimer Adler's How to Read a Book, and I think it covers a point that affects much of contemporary society, even though it was written in the 1930s: (at least) the US educational system does a poor job of teaching students how to read better. Reading proficiency is often equated with literacy, hence jettisoned after a certain degree of proficiency is demonstrated. This is unfortunate, as tactics for quick reading (newspapers, internet articles requiring little) or slow reading (for heavier, dense topics) are rarely taught, even in uni. We don't know how to read well, but this book tries to correct that.
