If you have spent any
time at all in your local library, you probably have noticed that the vast
majority of the books that the building has on the shelves would be classified as
“fiction”, which brings up a valid question:
Is there value in reading fiction?
I have run into a few people in local schools who don’t read
fiction because they think that it is a waste of time – but I beg to differ.
Off the top of my head, I can think of 3 reasons why it makes
sense to read fiction:
1)
You can learn something. My favorite authors are
Steve Berry, Clive Cussler, John Grisham, Ken Follett, and Jodi Picoult. All of
them incorporate either current or historical facts that can easily be
verified, and all of them primarily write fiction rather than non-fiction
2) You can
improve your vocabulary and your writing skills
3) Fiction
provides a necessary respite from the nonsense that we hear on the news
literally every day.
Over the last 50 years, these are the 10 most popular books
sold in the world:
1)
The Bible – 3.9 billion copies
2) Quotations
from Chairman Mao – 820 million
3) Harry
Potter – 400 million
4) The lord
of the rings – 103 million
5) The
Alchemist – 65 million
6) The
DaVinci Code – 57 million
7) The
twilight saga – 43 million
8) Gone With
The Wind – 33 million
9) Thing and
Grow Rich
10) The Diary of Anne Frank
Six of the books listed above would be
considered to be fiction, but the most popular book on the list (which most
people would consider to be non-fiction) raises some interesting questions.
Although 30% of our population considers the Bible to be inerrantly true, it is
full of contradictions. If you don’t believe me, take the Bible quiz at the
link below:
In addition to that, 60% of our population
believe that Noah’s ark actually existed, but I’m reasonably sure that it is nothing more than
a great fiction:
Although I am confident that my reasons for
reading fiction are valid, I wondered if there were other advantages that I had
missed, so I Googled “what are the advantages of reading fiction”, and found a
website that listed NINE advantages.
1)
Empathy :Imagining creates understanding. Multiple studies have shown that imagining stories helps activate the regions of your brain responsible
for better understanding others and seeing the world from a new
perspective.
2) Disengagement:
Reading is most effective for stress. Your brain
can’t operate at maximum capacity 24/7—far from it. We all need periods of disengagement to rest our cognitive capabilities and get back to peak functionality. Reading is far more
effective in releasing stress than listening to music, drinking a cup of tea, going
for a walk, or playing a video game.
3) Sleep:
regular readers sleep better.
4) Improved
relationships: books are a reality simulator. Fiction is a particularly useful simulation because
negotiating the social world effectively is extremely tricky, requiring us to
weigh up myriad interacting instances of cause and effect. Just as computer
simulations can help us get to grips with complex problems such as flying a
plane or forecasting the weather, so novels, stories and dramas can help us
understand the complexities of social life.
5) Memory:
readers have less mental decline in later life
6) Inclusivity:
stories open your mind – one study shows that reading Harry Potter can make us
more tolerant and open-minded
7) Vocabulary:
fiction readers build more language – people that read a lot, and especially
people that read a lot of fiction, have a larger vocabulary than just about
everyone else
8) Creativity:
fiction allows for uncertainty, where creativity thrives
9) Pleasure:
reading makes us happier
73% of the American population attempted to read at least one
book last year, but 25% of our population did not read ANY books. If you
combine these two statistics, you’ll find that the AVERAGE Americana only read
4 books last year, but the TYPICAL American (the ones who at least attempted to
read a book), that number jumps to 12.
I’ll have to admit that our household reads a lot more than
average (about 150 between the tow of us) but I also understand that not
everybody has as much free time as we do.
So, if you are one of the people who tries to read at least
one book a year, why not make it a book of fiction?
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