Too many people say they don't have time to read, or they don't enjoy reading or they don't get anything out of reading fiction.
Well, with that, I disagree. It is the ultimate form of escapism. You should make time to read. And fiction can offer you a lot.
Fiction can influence you so deeply that it affects your day to day behaviour. A study was done by Dartmouth and Ohio State researchers who looked at how strongly identifying with a fiction character can influence your real-life behaviours. They came to the conclusion that there is a correlation between these two.
Researchers Geoff Kaufman and Lisa Libby coined the term "experience taking," to describe: "spontaneously assuming the identity of a character in a narrative and simulating that character's thoughts, emotions, behaviors, goals, and traits as if they were one's own."
Think about your favorite book of all time, and the protagonist in that book. Are there similarities between the ways that character overcomes hurdles, have you acted similarly in your own life? One of my favorite books (as I cannot choose just ONE) is Catch 22. If you have not read it, I highly recommend that you do. The protagonist is Captain John Yossarian who is usually described as an antihero. In my opinion, like all good protagonists! He is a bombardier in the 256th Squadron during World War Two, and his main focus is survival. He would most like a way out, safe passage home. That's not to say he is not cunning and clever. He worries a lot and freely admits to being a coward. Yossarian prefers life over any attempt at glory. I don't think anyone can say, that at some stage they haven't just wanted to stay alive!
The results of this particular study tell us a lot about how people read, and how people are enjoying fiction.
When reading fiction we learn about life, morals, how to act in certain situations. And by taking snippets from a variety of different books we can become well-rounded people. A book can teach you so much.
This study shows just how much power an author has over their readers. How reading can improve your mental ability such as rational thinking and abstract thought by testing the readers with themes, ideas, different worlds morals and laws. The freedom that comes with fiction is one of the greatest learning tools.
On the other hand, there was a different study by Stanford's Joshua Landy (Associate Professor of French and Italian) who got completely different results. Landy came to the conclusion that reading fiction "does not make us better people in the moral sense, whether by teaching us lessons, making us more empathetic or training us to handle morally complex situations."
Obviously Landy is a well-educated professor and has research to back up this conclusion, but I would tend to disagree. The results of the first study by Kauffman and Libby ring more true, and are certainly representative of the relationship I have with books. Every book I read, I take something from and I think all passionate readers feel this way. In my humble opinion, if you are not learning, gaining morals or growing as an individual you are not truly enjoying the words on the page.
And it is all very well my trying to convince you of the pleasures you get from reading. But 14 per cent of American's can not read. On top of that people are faced with other emotional and mental challenges like ADD and Asperger's Syndrome. So while I can sit here and preach reading, does not come easily to everyone but it is a vital life skill. I would love for everyone to enjoying reading as much as I do, but even if you don't it is important to be able to read. And while the enjoyment you get from reading can't be taught, try as we may, companies such as Stepping Stone Tutors offer in-home and online tutoring to all ages.
Reading gives you so much, personal growth, morals, characters to look up to. That is why literacy is so important. But not only that, fiction is important and reading for pleasure. You should try it!
Well, with that, I disagree. It is the ultimate form of escapism. You should make time to read. And fiction can offer you a lot.
Fiction can influence you so deeply that it affects your day to day behaviour. A study was done by Dartmouth and Ohio State researchers who looked at how strongly identifying with a fiction character can influence your real-life behaviours. They came to the conclusion that there is a correlation between these two.
Researchers Geoff Kaufman and Lisa Libby coined the term "experience taking," to describe: "spontaneously assuming the identity of a character in a narrative and simulating that character's thoughts, emotions, behaviors, goals, and traits as if they were one's own."
Think about your favorite book of all time, and the protagonist in that book. Are there similarities between the ways that character overcomes hurdles, have you acted similarly in your own life? One of my favorite books (as I cannot choose just ONE) is Catch 22. If you have not read it, I highly recommend that you do. The protagonist is Captain John Yossarian who is usually described as an antihero. In my opinion, like all good protagonists! He is a bombardier in the 256th Squadron during World War Two, and his main focus is survival. He would most like a way out, safe passage home. That's not to say he is not cunning and clever. He worries a lot and freely admits to being a coward. Yossarian prefers life over any attempt at glory. I don't think anyone can say, that at some stage they haven't just wanted to stay alive!
The results of this particular study tell us a lot about how people read, and how people are enjoying fiction.
When reading fiction we learn about life, morals, how to act in certain situations. And by taking snippets from a variety of different books we can become well-rounded people. A book can teach you so much.
This study shows just how much power an author has over their readers. How reading can improve your mental ability such as rational thinking and abstract thought by testing the readers with themes, ideas, different worlds morals and laws. The freedom that comes with fiction is one of the greatest learning tools.
On the other hand, there was a different study by Stanford's Joshua Landy (Associate Professor of French and Italian) who got completely different results. Landy came to the conclusion that reading fiction "does not make us better people in the moral sense, whether by teaching us lessons, making us more empathetic or training us to handle morally complex situations."
Obviously Landy is a well-educated professor and has research to back up this conclusion, but I would tend to disagree. The results of the first study by Kauffman and Libby ring more true, and are certainly representative of the relationship I have with books. Every book I read, I take something from and I think all passionate readers feel this way. In my humble opinion, if you are not learning, gaining morals or growing as an individual you are not truly enjoying the words on the page.
And it is all very well my trying to convince you of the pleasures you get from reading. But 14 per cent of American's can not read. On top of that people are faced with other emotional and mental challenges like ADD and Asperger's Syndrome. So while I can sit here and preach reading, does not come easily to everyone but it is a vital life skill. I would love for everyone to enjoying reading as much as I do, but even if you don't it is important to be able to read. And while the enjoyment you get from reading can't be taught, try as we may, companies such as Stepping Stone Tutors offer in-home and online tutoring to all ages.
Reading gives you so much, personal growth, morals, characters to look up to. That is why literacy is so important. But not only that, fiction is important and reading for pleasure. You should try it!
Learning to read can be a frustrating and difficult process without the right kind of reading help.
That is why our expert and experienced reading tutors understand the importance of encouragement, patience and theory that help to improve reading skills in an effective way.
http://www.steppingstonetutors.com/reading.php
That is why our expert and experienced reading tutors understand the importance of encouragement, patience and theory that help to improve reading skills in an effective way.
http://www.steppingstonetutors.com/reading.php
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