Not all of us are readers, at least of books. We read a lot on our phones, though, don’t we? Have you considered expanding your reading to include novels, especially if you’ve been resistant in the past? Read on for some great reasons why you might want to make the leap.

Why read fiction? 

I love to read fiction, but this was not always the case.

When I attended high school back in the late 1970s, we were regularly assigned novels (often the classics by authors such as Charles Dickens or Thomas Hardy) to read as part of our English class curriculum. English was always one of my top subjects. I really don’t know how or why because Coles Notes (which published summaries of literary fiction) was my best friend. I found reading these novels boring and would easily nod off when trying to get through the pages of seemingly unending prose. I never understood why young people were expected to excel reading lengthy verbose books that were so difficult to get through. I expect the selection of books that secondary school students are assigned to read these days has improved.

Even though I did well in English, my early exposure to the dense literary classics turned me off reading fiction for several decades. That’s a long time to not partake in what I now consider to be one of my most favourite pastimes. I did read non-fiction however; mostly biographies and self-help titles. I really didn’t see the appeal or value of reading “make-believe” and thought it would be a waste of my time.

It was my father who reintroduced me to reading fiction. He had just finished reading John Grisham’s The Street Lawyer. He raved to me about it and said he found Mr. Grisham to be very capable of telling a good tale. That was all the inspiration I needed to take on reading this particular work. Well, I loved it. My appetite for reading fiction was finally whetted and I’m so glad it was! After that, I read most of John Grisham’s other novels and enjoyed them, too. It eventually dawned on me that if I found these novels wonderful, certainly novels by other authors may hold a similar appeal. I now read novels by many different authors with some of my favourites being Greg Iles, Elizabeth George, Louise Penny, Linwood Barclay, Ruth Ware, Anita Shreve, and Maeve Binchy. I’d like to give a special mention to my lovely friend KATIE TALLO – Author who writes internationally best-selling gripping thrillers. She’s one of my favourites, too.

There are so many gifted and talented writers whose words have the power to move readers and make them pause in astonishment. A writer who never fails to leave me in awe is Margaret Atwood. So often, I read a line of her prose and need to stop to soak in its sheer brilliance. It is breathtaking.

I know at least three women close to me who are also avid readers of fiction. I asked each of them several questions about what reading fiction means to them. Here’s what they said about WHY they read fiction:

“I love the adventure the story takes you on… it’s a great escape.”

“I read fiction mostly for pleasure. [It’s] an escape from the world. It relieves stress.”

“I read pretty much every day. I love escaping into different worlds. It’s a great way to relax and escape.”

Reading fiction lowers stress levels

A 2009 study conducted by Dr. David Lewis at Mindlab International, University of Sussex, has borne out that reading fiction is, indeed, a great stress reducer – even more effective than listening to music or going on a walk (not to disparage these two wonderful activities)! After reading fiction, the stress levels of the participants were measured and a 68% drop was noted.

Being engaged in an activity that requires your focus helps to reduce stress. I’ve noticed that when I’m playing golf or taking an aerobics class, I’m concentrating on what I’m doing so much that other thoughts have no room to enter my brain and distract me. These activities definitely reduce stress and the effect lasts for some time afterward. The same is true for reading fiction.

Reading fiction relaxes the body and mind before sleep

Reading a novel in bed before drifting off to sleep is a great way to stop thoughts from the day or thoughts about tomorrow from swirling around in your brain and keeping you awake. Such thoughts fall by the wayside as your brain becomes actively engaged in immersing yourself in the adventures of the story’s protagonist. If you do still stay awake, it would likely be from the enjoyment you’re deriving from the novel you’re reading. It’s like your own personal movie where you can’t wait to see what happens next. “I’ll read just one more page or just to the end of this chapter” would be a familiar sentiment for readers of unputdownable fiction when they know it’s time they should turn out the light and get to sleep. After reading, once that light is turned out, sleep is not far away.

Reading fiction increases feelings of empathy and nurtures curiosity

As you read fiction, you naturally put yourself in the shoes of the protagonist. You get to experience and, thereby, expand your understanding of the character’s motivations, choices and regrets regarding their relationships and goals. You are learning something even though the writing is fictional. This exposure to a wide range of human emotions through reading about them in a gripping story increases your awareness of how other humans may experience or see the world differently from you, leading you to become more empathetic to those around you and potentially improving your personal relationships.

As one of my avid reader friends said, “I learn about other countries and their culture and get a different perspective in how others live.”

Reading fiction enhances brain health

Reading fiction educates the reader while it entertains. As we read a book, it makes us think about what we’re reading so we better understand it. Reading fiction develops focus and concentration. Challenging plots exercise our brain’s critical thinking ability which improves our ability to analyze situations and make better-informed decisions in life. Reading fiction may decrease the risk of developing dementia or may delay the disease. So, while we’re reading fiction and deriving great pleasure from it, we’re also giving our brains a great workout.

Reading builds vocabulary and improves writing, language and communication skills

Because of reading fiction, I find that my grammatical skills have improved. When you read the works of various authors, you expose yourself to how other people write and how they are able to explain the characters’ thoughts and actions through words. I wrote a lot of correspondence and reports in my public service career and noticed that my writing improved over time, both in vocabulary and composition. I credit that amelioration to the fiction reading I have done. My love of reading fiction has increased my interest in, and enjoyment of, doing my own writing – non-fiction though it is – as my love of words and written expression has only grown.

Reading, at any speed, is satisfying

Of my avid reader friends and me, I am probably the slowest reader. While I read non-fiction at a comparable pace to, or perhaps faster than, others, I have always taken longer to read fiction. I have tried various speed-reading tips but tend to go back to my typical pace. I equate it to savouring what I’m reading. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! I’ve decided not to dwell on my reading speed. It’s not a competition, after all. As long as I’m happily reading, I’m satisfied. I’m always impressed, though, when one of my friends tells me that they’ve read, like, 80 books in one year. That’s almost two books a week. Whew! Way to go, darlin’! I’ll just muddle through over here.

There are so many genres to choose from in reading fiction

Just as movies are offered in so many different genres for audiences to enjoy, so, too, are novels. Everything from historical fiction, mystery, thrillers, suspense, horror, comedy, family drama, and romance to fantasy, adventure, espionage, political thrillers, science fiction, literary fiction, crime and everything in-between. My favourites are thrillers, family drama and historical fiction. The genres most enjoyed by the three avid women readers I know are:

“Historical fiction, science fiction, and some fantasy, but mostly I enjoy reading about people and their stories. I love experiencing different lives on written pages with my own imagination filling in the scenes they portray.”

“I love reading fiction… whether it’s to solve a crime or [is a] friend/family drama.”

“I enjoy family drama and historical fiction the best. It allows me to form pictures in my mind. I like stories about people overcoming adversity.”

You can keep track of the books you’ve read and want to read

I enjoy keeping tracks of the books I’ve read and those I want to read. There are several handy book-tracking applications you can use to do this such as Goodreads. I use the free version of the app Read More. I really like it. It has several good features. I have entered all the books I own, so I can keep track of the books I already have so I don’t purchase them again! I have marked the books I’ve read, with the rest as To Be Read. I find the app useful and fun.

Reading fiction in book form or on an eReader – It’s your choice!

I admit that I like to read books in book form, but I’ve also enjoyed reading books on an eReader. I remember buying my first eReader. It was the first edition of Kobo. I’ve since owned a couple of Kobo iterations and am considering upgrading once again with Rakuten Kobo. However, as I have a home “library” with plenty of paper books yet to read, I should actually aim to make a bigger dent there before buying yet another eReader. But, what’s logic when you have a love of all things books? 🙂

Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s NOOK are among some of the other eReader brand choices that are on the market today. Many eReaders are equipped to be able to easily borrow eBooks from your public library or purchase (or obtain for free) eBooks online from your eReader supplier or from other retailers such as Indigo and BookBub.

[UPDATE:  Since this article was published, I broke down and asked for a new Kobo Clara BW eReader for Christmas 2025. I received my wish and have been really enjoying reading on this updated Kobo eReader with its backlight. I can read at night without a light on in the room. I purchased a Kobo Remote to go along with the eReader and it’s great. So easy to turn the pages! 😉 I like to  alternate my reading platforms – read a book on my eReader then read a physical book. It keeps things interesting. I also found out that you can provide your email address to BookBub and receive a daily email with recommendations of heavily-discounted and free eBooks tailored to your genre preferences. Non-fiction is wonderful, too!]

Here’s what my avid women reader friends had to say about their favourite mode for reading fiction:

“I’ve been using a Kobo eReader for a few years now and have read more in four years than the last 10 years. I love the many features it offers. It’s like having a library in my pocket. It’s easy to carry with you. I especially like being able to choose the light and font size. I have a cover for my eReader that enables me to stand it up and be hands-free. I love the search capabilities of it. I also like that I can highlight a word and get a dictionary pop-up.”

“I prefer physical books as I am on devices throughout the day for many things. Reading books gives my eyes a break.”

“I used to prefer paper books over an eReader, but I now prefer my Kobo. It’s lightweight and mine is waterproof so I can enjoy it on holiday by the beach or pool, or even in the bathtub. I also like that it shows what page of the chapter I’m on, so I can decide if I want to stop at the end of a chapter. I also prefer my Kobo because I can borrow books from the library [with] no back-and-forth trips to the library!”

In conclusion…

If you’re a regular reader, you will recognize all of the aforementioned as some of the multiple benefits of reading fiction. For those uninitiated, I hope I have piqued your interest enough to maybe give reading fiction a try. You never know; you may find you have an affinity for reading fiction that you never knew existed. And, if you do, whole worlds can open up for you.

You are the Light of your own Life with the power to create the world of your dreams.