In a book club discussion, not too long ago, someone said, “I don’t read fiction. It’s just a waste of time.” The remark stung me a bit because I read a lot of fiction. But as is usually my wont I did not say anything at the time because, maybe, the person was right. Maybe reading fiction was a waste of time.
I had, however, forgotten all about the discussion and was merrily going on with my fiction reading routine, until something brought the subject back to my attention. Not surprisingly, I turned to the Internet for answers and found that reading fiction, especially literary fiction, made you a better person indeed. There is even a published study and a review that talk about how reading fiction is good for you, even more than reading non-fiction.
My faith in fiction being restored, I then decided to look into my own experiences to figure out how reading has helped me.
Most people will agree with me when I say that being happy is simultaneously the easiest thing and the most difficult thing. While some find happiness in the simplest of things, there are others who are unhappy even when they have almost everything. It’s no surprise, therefore, that the search for happiness is one of man’s oldest quests.