Why Read Fiction?
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 – 5:52 amIf you want to become successful in business, you must understand people.
If you want to understand people, you must read fiction.
Do you believe these two statements are true? I certainly do. Fiction allows us to experience things we otherwise couldn’t - indeed, it allows us to experience things we may not even want to actually experience first hand, but want to know about. It opens the goodie bag for us, breaking down boundaries, opening new perspectives and creating fresh passageways. My friend Professor Phil Rogers has a similar take, and puts it this way:
One way in which I think we benefit from reading fiction is that it serves to expand our experience. We can’t possibly have all the experiences or know all the kinds of people we read about, but all of those vicarious experiences, or even just exposure to imagined experiences, broaden our understandings of what is possible or introduce us to possible responses to imagined experiences or people. And to the extent that greater understandings and greater understanding empower, then the reading of fiction must necessarily empower.
Here’s what That Software Guy is reading. So what are you reading?
One Response to “Why Read Fiction?”
Great post! I’m currently reading “Me Talk Pretty One Day” by David Sedaris, but really looking forward to starting “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini.
By kate ritchie on Jan 22, 2008