The researchers found that becoming engrossed in a novel enhances connectivity in the brain and improves brain function. Interestingly, reading fiction was found to improve the reader's ability to put themselves in another person's shoes and flex the imagination in a way that is similar to the visualization of a muscle memory in sports.
Modern-day reading habits continue to evolve in a digital age. Statistics vary on exactly how many people are reading novels this decade compared to decades past. There is a definite trend for general readers to buy more fiction than nonfiction books — and to get facts, news and crystallized knowledge from the internet. In 2012, only four of the top 20 books were nonfiction titles.
"People are interested in escape," says Carol Fitzgerald of the Book Report Network. "In a number of pages, the story will open, evolve and close, and a lot of what's going on in the world today is not like that. You've got this encapsulated escape that you can enjoy."
When Was the Last Time You Read a Good Novel?
Are you someone who likes to read novels? Surprisingly, 42% of college graduates will never read a book again after graduating college. A 2012 "Pew Internet and American Life Project" survey found that people who like to read fiction are driven by personal enrichment and described what they liked about reading saying things like: "I love being exposed to ideas and being able to experience so many times, places, and events." Another person was quoted as saying, "I look at it as a mind stimulant, and it is relaxing." Others expressed the pleasure of living vicariously through a character and having another "life of the mind."
According to the study, reading is a lifestyle choice that is also driven by a desire to unplug from a constant stream of visual information. Readers said things like: "It's better for me to imagine things in my head than watch them on TV ... It's an alternate to TV that beats TV every time ... Reading is better than anything electronic." One respondent captured the general sentiment of avid fiction readers by saying, "I love being able to get outside myself."
One of the benefits of getting outside yourself by putting yourself in someone else's shoes through a novel is that it improves theory of mind.
Modern-day reading habits continue to evolve in a digital age. Statistics vary on exactly how many people are reading novels this decade compared to decades past. There is a definite trend for general readers to buy more fiction than nonfiction books — and to get facts, news and crystallized knowledge from the internet. In 2012, only four of the top 20 books were nonfiction titles.
"People are interested in escape," says Carol Fitzgerald of the Book Report Network. "In a number of pages, the story will open, evolve and close, and a lot of what's going on in the world today is not like that. You've got this encapsulated escape that you can enjoy."
When Was the Last Time You Read a Good Novel?
Are you someone who likes to read novels? Surprisingly, 42% of college graduates will never read a book again after graduating college. A 2012 "Pew Internet and American Life Project" survey found that people who like to read fiction are driven by personal enrichment and described what they liked about reading saying things like: "I love being exposed to ideas and being able to experience so many times, places, and events." Another person was quoted as saying, "I look at it as a mind stimulant, and it is relaxing." Others expressed the pleasure of living vicariously through a character and having another "life of the mind."
According to the study, reading is a lifestyle choice that is also driven by a desire to unplug from a constant stream of visual information. Readers said things like: "It's better for me to imagine things in my head than watch them on TV ... It's an alternate to TV that beats TV every time ... Reading is better than anything electronic." One respondent captured the general sentiment of avid fiction readers by saying, "I love being able to get outside myself."
One of the benefits of getting outside yourself by putting yourself in someone else's shoes through a novel is that it improves theory of mind.
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