At long last my love of reading has been supported by science!
The thing to note here is that the books described in this article are storybooks. Fiction. Fantasy. Escapism. Novels. Stories. Whatever you want to call it. Transporting yourself into the mind of another, or into the world of another, is the key to the good stuff.
I had a discussion with a warm and kind friend that I have who always encourages me to talk in depth about topics, books and worries we share without fear of sounding silly. She also encourages me to explore things that I haven’t fully thought through yet, giving me space to open my mind to itself and come to a conclusion about how I feel about something.
I am very honoured to have this friend.
In this chat the other day we spoke about how important books are for teaching emotional intelligence. We also spoke about why this in effect draws her and myself to fiction and books that explore the human experience, because we crave that feeling of understanding others and it nurtures us.
The cognitive benefits of reading are there full stop. Be it non-fiction, books on hardware, saving money, personal growth, self help etc.
But the gold is in the narrative.
Listen, I’m sure this isn’t breaking news. But giving our brains a break sounds delightful, doesn’t it? I am working on my Immskar Online Book Club and I would encourage you all to comment below or on the book club page with you favourite story for me to fall into next.
Check the article out here:
Why ‘getting lost in a book’ is so good for you, according to science
Speak soon!
Immskar 