A Novel is Much More than Just a Good Read
By Pat Rutkowski | New Britain Public Library Director at May 6, 2024 | 8:30 am | Print
Perhaps you haven’t really thought about it but there’s a whole lot of learning going on at the library. Everything offered at the library is a learning opportunity. Perhaps, because it might not feel like learning, people don’t necessarily make this connection – like reading fiction.
Ever think about fiction as a learning opportunity? The non-fiction snobs might argue this point with you. Some folks view novels as nothing more than entertainment and enjoyment, a way of relaxing. And indeed, they do provide this – a way to escape from the seriousness of life. Of course, most likely, you already know the obvious - that reading improves one’s vocabulary.
However, works of fiction provide so much more.
With all the endless possibilities of plots, novels can encourage your creativity and imagination.
You can see how others solve dilemmas. It can improve your problem solving skills. You
might get a different perspective and new ideas which may help you when faced with similar challenges. Novels nurture problem solving – especially those mystery books!
You can read about other people’s lives and come to understand others, their circumstances, their choices, their emotions and perhaps view it all very differently. And in doing so, learn compassion and empathy for others. Fiction is a uniquely powerful way to understand others.
Understanding other people’s emotions is an important skill in social relationships. Here’s a tidbit. Studies have shown that heavy fiction readers, overall, outperformed heavy non-fiction readers on tests of empathy.
You can put yourself in someone else’s shoes. In doing so, you experience things you might never experience in your own life. In your imagination, you can be in a completely new situation that you have never been in and learn from it. Studies have shown that it does not matter, to our brains, whether an experience is read about or it is encountered in real life. When we read about a situation or feeling, it’s almost as if we’re feeling it ourselves.
Reading fiction benefits everyone but you can certainly see how crucial it is to start early in life and encourage children to read it. Stretch their imagination. Teach them compassion and empathy through stories. I bet the next time you read a novel you will have a different perspective on its value. So for all those naysayers out there, who might regard reading fiction as just a time passer, think again. And for all you fiction readers keep making this a better world for everyone.
