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Love what this says---but not 100% sure I have ever changed my behavior/thoughts/emotions by reading fiction. Has anyone else? I'd love to say that reading Pippi Longstocking as a kid, I was inspired to be brave and gutsy, but I remained a wimpy, scared little girl (maybe if I had dyed my hair bright red!).
I have definitely changed as a person through my reading, fiction included. I read a lot of stories about people in different situations than I am in including other cultures, other religions, other races, other times, etc. It has given me a better understanding of all kinds of people and has made me a more empathetic person overall. Reading those types of books has opened my eyes to others in the world in which we live. I get to temporarily walk in someone else's shoes which I think is a good thing.
BTW, Pippi made not have made you braver but I bet you lived vicariously through her.
There is no question in my mind that reading extensively has changed and grown my views. And yes, reading can be a form of time travel as well as travel around the globe and universe.
I have always felt sort of sorry for people who don't read. It is such a rich, time-honored and cheap for of both escape and knowledge. My parents were both--and still are--avid readers. And I recall from even back when I was a wee lad my Mom would extoll the virtues of reading to us kids. She would say, "With a book you can go anywhere you want to; or live any life, or live any type of experience."
I found this to be true when I was a kid and I still to this day.
I try to read two books every week or so: One novel and one non-fiction.
As far as reading being good for the brain I think this is pretty much a "no-brainer." (was that an oxy-moronical statement? LOL) Perhaps. Any neurologist will tell you the brain is like a muscle, so you have that whole "use it or lose it" dynamic at work. It is no coincidence that people with higher IQ's tend to be readers, and the ones who do not are often dullards.
Watching TV on the other hand? LOL--if memory serves I think that they have hooked-up peoples brains to some of those brain imaging gizmos and found that the brainwaves are very similar to someone who is just sitting there daydreaming.
Books have been my friend since the day I was able to proudly print my name so I could get a library card. The first book I borrowed was Winnie the Pooh. There was a statue in our library of CR and Winnie. I wonder how many people know WTP only as a Disney character?
I was never lonely as a child because I had so many friends stowed between the covers of whatever book I was reading. The Bobbsey Twins, The Happy Hollisters, Nancy Drew and then the wonders of the classics. My best Christmas ever was the year my DM gave me a slew of classics. It was wonderful agony deciding which one I would read first.
I passed the love of reading to my children and now my grandchildren. We are a family of book worms!
I don't doubt that reading books makes smart people smarter.
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