Saturday, September 10, 2011

Why Fiction Is Good For You

Ha! I love it when science backs up what avid readers have known all along. This article in Saturday's Globe and Mail tells us why.


2 comments:

Tracy said...

An excellent article, Trish - and of course it depends on the type of stories you read - there's good fiction and not so good fiction.You can only increase your empathy if the author has a strong empathy with the characters (s)he is describing.
Love the analogy between a rollercoaster and flight simulator.

When you read the book yourself you have a particular understanding, but it is always very partial, so the moment you start talking with someone else about it, you are increasing the amount of brain power and coming at if from all these different directions

Absolutely! Discussing a book in detail with others really helps to get the most out of it. You need to bounce ideas off other people - they spot things you don't and vice versa.

Trish said...

Yes, I loved that part about the book discussions. It's so true! I would like to see literature classes in school where books are vigorously discussed rather than tested and essayed. Discussion would not only foster empathy at a time when kids are still developing their habits, but also a love of reading.

I also liked the part about the MRI showing the brain activity of readers . . .

So interesting!