Why you should read fiction

Want to meet and learn from the greatest masters of all time – living or dead, without ever leaving your house? Read a book written by them.

I was fortunate enough to have been introduced to the wonderful world of books at an early age and it changed my life. A reader can never be alone, never be bored and never stops learning. Reading a good book is like trying out others’ lives, perspectives, thoughts and it opens up your mind to ideas you never had before. A good book can take you along on adventures that you would otherwise never get a chance to experience in real life.

Reading a book by a great thinker takes you inside the mind of the thinker where you learn to see the world through their eyes. It’s the best way to learn from them, second only to being mentored by them personally. You can try on new schools of thought, explore contradictory ideas to broaden your own thinking, learn about obscure cultures and concepts and gain better understanding of the world around you.

While non fiction books can teach you about any subject you can think of, reading fiction can do a lot for your mind too. Fiction books immerse you in their stories, right into the characters’ minds and lives and take you along on new journeys and experiences and let you learn from them without experiencing them first hand. I vividly remember the fiction books that have had the most impact on me, some have changed my life completely. I remember feeling every emotion the protagonist felt in Jane Eyre or David Copperfield, the excitement I felt when I read about the absolutely believable magical world J.K. Rowling created in Harry Potter, being blown away by tender stories set in harshest of times in Jane Austen’s works.

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, the man who never reads lives only one" - George R.R. Martin.

Fiction exercises your empathy muscles by letting you experience a variety of emotions in a short span of time. I can never put down a good book without finishing it. Good writers can draw you into their world. You want to rush to the last page to find out what happens to your beloved characters, yet you feel sorry and a sense of loss when you do reach the last page. I have actually missed some fictional characters after finishing a book like they were my beloved friends that moved away. Good stories let you escape your reality and can provide a powerful way for you to rejuvenate your mind.

"If a book is well-written, I always find it too short" - Jane Austen

Historical fiction is a great way to understand the events that have shaped our world better. No history text book can come close to the lessons I learnt from reading fictional books set in various revolutions in history. The way such books bring the struggles and crises to life is unparalleled.

Biographies have taught me every great person that the world idolizes was not born great. They became great by not backing down when faced with trials and tribulations. Biographies not only inspire but also alert us to pitfalls great people fell prey to that we can avoid in our own lives. I was amazed to learn how many failures Nike’s creator Phil Knight went through before creating one of the most well known brands in the world. Such stories have taught me success is not achieved overnight but by persisting despite failing many times over. Reading biographies can give you valuable insight into how successful people make decisions and solve problems that other people are bogged down by.

I like this list of Greatest fiction books of all time by Mark Manson, a celebrated author and writer of one of my favorite books