I read it for the long term benefits - better command of the language, appreciation of the historical context, understandig human nature as described by the author, trained ability to focus on a long form (and thus a long, elaborate thought), a cultural context that I can refer to in a conversation.

There's a bit of a gap between the long term benefits and immediate actionable exercise.

Perhaps you are correct, and if I take each one of the benefits individually I can come up with an exercise that drives the point home. It seems like a daunting task though...