Whether tv or books challenge your mind is a separate issue from what I was commenting on. Both are, or rather can be, a means to escape from reality.
For those who find TV a challenge to the mind, you have my profound symphonies.
In regard to books, especially relating to video and computer games, here's what I had to say back on February 16th:
The stack of books to read is growing faster than anyone's ability to keep up. If you read three books a day, you're still falling behind.
Don't worry about it. Not reading is worse.
Reading is a way of making up for having a short 80-ish life-span. Each book is a distillation of the life experiences of the author, and of the wisdom he or she has gleaned in surviving them.
Reading books is the opposite of playing computer games; with every book you read, another life essence is added to your own.