I think the "survivorship bias" argument for reading is a bit overplayed.

There's practically _zero_ of these mega-successful people (Gates, Buffett, Zuckerburg, Musk, etc.) who don't read. Astonishingly, I can't think of a single one. While that doesn't prove causation, it definitely points at it! Do you want to try to be the first successful person who didn't read?

It's not that reading was this one magical trick that caused them to be successful, but rather that reading was a prerequisite. At least, that's my take.