Advantages of Fiction over Educational Books

Introduction

The ability to read is one of the most powerful skills that a person can have (Topping, 2015). There are very few things that people are able to accomplish without the ability to read. Without the ability to read, one needs assistance to carry out simple tasks such as reading labels on medicine bottles or on doors. From a wider perspective, when a person develops an interest in reading, there is a world of possibilities that opens up for them. Although reading educational books is just as essential and important, reading fiction books is the most beneficial. 

Reading Fiction Has Numerous Benefits

The education system today encourages students to be independent thinkers. That means they should be able to come up with their own thoughts and solutions outside of what they have learned in the classroom (Topping, 2015). Here, the benefits of reading fiction books come into play. While reading educational books will equip the students with the required information, fiction books will open up their minds. They will be able to think about several other things that the world may not already be exposed to. In the process, a creative and critical mind is born in this kind of student. Such creative and independent thinking is what brings about innovations and inventions. 

Reading fiction can improve the brain’s functionality, according to research carried out at Emory University (Berns et al., 2015). The results revealed that unlike reading educational books, fiction books enable the reader to think more deeply about the content. The reason is that there are many possibilities of outcomes in the stories therein. Therefore, as the reader goes on with the book, he begins to think widely about the chain of thought that the author has taken and whether he could have done better. This cannot be compared to reading educational books. Educational books often have information that is straightforward, does not have alternatives, and is unlikely to change for many years to come. 

Effects on One’s Lifestyle

Reading fiction can sometimes also affect the lifestyle of the reader. According to the same research done at Emory University, brain connectivity can largely be affected by the reading of fiction books (Berns et al., 2015). It connects many parts of the brain to one another in the thought process. When a person reads educational books, the only parts of the brain that are connected are the one that recognizes words and the one that stores information. When reading fiction, however, apart from these two, the emotional and psychological parts of the brain are also engaged. The reader will sometimes picture himself in the shoes of the character or that of the writer. This way, they will begin to make judgments in their head, using logic and emotion, to decide what side of the story he is going for. All this activity ensures that the brain is well connected. 

Conclusion

While the general ability to read can be of much benefit to anyone, the kind of literature that he exposes himself to will affect a lot of things. Reading fiction books is beneficial because apart from playing the role of passing information, it involves the reader in many other activities. A reader is able to learn how to think critically and independently. Additionally, reading fiction helps improve the functionality of the brain. This is done by enabling many parts of the reader’s brain to connect in order for him to gain the most from the reading experience.

References 

Berns, G. S., Blaine, K., Prietula, M. J., & Pye, B. E. (2013). Short-and long-term effects of a novel on connectivity in the brain. Brain connectivity, 3(6), 590-600.

Topping, K. J. (2015). Fiction and Non-Fiction Reading and Comprehension in Preferred Books. Reading Psychology, 36(4), 350-387.