When it comes to reading, we may assume that reading for knowledge is the best reason to pick up a book. That is simply not true. Reading is happiness, it's pure bliss. Reading is like meditation, it calms our inner self and puts out brains into a pleasurable trance like state. It reduces depression, boosts our self esteems and help us cope up with challenges. Some people think that this is achieved solely by reading self motivational books (i.e.-non fiction books) but research, however, suggests that reading fiction predicts increased social acuity. Reading nonfiction might certainly be valuable for collecting knowledge, but it does little to develop EQ, a far more elusive goal.
“FAIRY TALES ARE MORE THAN TRUE, NOT BECAUSE THEY TELL US THAT DRAGONS EXISTS BUT BECAUSE THEY TELL US THAT DRAGONS CAN BE BEATEN”
- NEIL GAIMAN
Fictions improve our creativity and analytical skills. Imagine, when the author describes about a Pegasus soaring in the blue sky, our brains exercises itself to extend our creative imaginations.
Reading nonfiction before going to bed actually encourages projection into the future and planning which affects peaceful sleep. While the fiction engages the imagination and demands present-state attention.
Fiction pose us with hypothetical questions and explores us with potential consequences. But this is not possible with a nonfiction book. Nonfiction books give us facts, information while the fictional books develop our ability to think.
Reading literary fiction helps people develop empathy, theory of mind, and critical thinking.
Fiction can also help socialize children by teaching them important lessons about life and the way that our society and communities work.
Reading fiction helps your mind to relax after a long day's work. It is a form of meditation and aids in relieving stress.
Life is complicated. Oftentimes, interpersonal relationships and challenges don't have the simple resolutions we might like. We become more accepting of this reality by using fiction to explore ideas of change, complex emotions and the unknown.
We know that hearing a story is a great way to remember information for the long-term. Readers experience slower memory decline later in life compared to non-readers.
However I don’t encourage you to stop reading nonfiction. Anything is good than nothing. When you are in certain field it’s good to read a lot of nonfiction related with that field. But fiction does a couple of things that nonfiction can never. When you want your creative juices to flow, grab some fiction books.
“READING FICTION IS STRANGE... ONE LEARNS MORE ABOUT REALITY WHILE TRYING TO ESCAPE FROM IT"
- SUNNY PANDEY
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