1. Providing an escape from the day-to-day Fiction is a great way to take a quick immediate break, tobe instantly transported into another world. Today youcould be in America, in the deep south with Alice Walker’s‘The Colour Purple’, tomorrow in the Australian bush withTim Winton’s ‘Dirt Music’, next week in downtown Londonwith Helen Fielding’s ‘Bridget Jones Diary’ and next monthin Ireland with Jim O’Neill’s ‘At Swim, Two Boys’. Thereis no limit to the places fiction can take you.
2. Relaxation There is something about stopping to focus on wordsarranged for our reading pleasure that is instantlyrelaxing. Maybe it’s staying still, something that doesn’tseem to happen often enough. Maybe it’s knowing that weare stepping into a secret world that we have to relaxenough to enter. Then there is the words themselves. Thebeauty and rhythm of language has the ability to calm andrelax us.
3. Stress reliefTaking your mind off your own problems, even for a fewminutes, can have a therapeutic effect and be a timelycircuit breaker. This is so effective that the NationalHealth System in the United Kingdom has introduced a‘Reading and You Scheme’. The scheme encourages mentalhealth patients to read more as part of their therapy forreducing stress and overcominganxiety , depression andsocial isolation.
4. Stimulates the right side of your brainReading opens your mind to new possibilities. It stretchesyour imagination in new and wonderful directions and takesyour mind on a wonderful journey through others’ lives. What would you do if you were Jo Becker in ‘While I WasGone’ by Sue Miller? Would you tell your husband and threedaughters about a grisly crime that happened when you werea university student? Or would you try to pretend it neverhappened?
5. EntertainingFiction is capable of provoking many and varied emotionalresponses – it can make you laugh out loud, it can maketears spill onto the page, it can be edge-of-the seatterrifying, it can make you blush with embarrassment, itcan challenge your core beliefs. There is a world ofemotion in every story and you as the reader get to be partof it.
6. EnjoyableReading is a deeply satisfying pursuit. The expression‘curling up with a book’ evokes a warm and cosy image andfeels luxurious if you don’t get to do it often
.7. RejuvenatingReading is an easy and quick way to nourish your soulbecause it is for the most part a solitary pursuit. Andbeing alone, or at least alone in your thoughts, on aregular basis is crucial to maintaining a sense of self. As I’m sure you know, it’s easier to give to others whenyou feel fulfilled and your needs are met. Even just a fewminutes of reading can keep you going throughout the day. Of course, you know you’ve read something special when youfind your thoughts continually re-visiting it.Reading is like exercising – mental and physical benefitsflow from a regular routine.So don’t feel guilty about taking time out to read. Itsgood for you!