I appreciate that you are reading this magazine and its useful information regarding compliance and ethics. But I’d like to use this month’s column to encourage you to read something else—a good book that has nothing to do with our profession.
I recently finished reading a few good books and noticed the same effect on my work I’d seen previously. So, I did some research—some reading about reading. And it turns out my experience mirrors what many others, including some researchers, have noted. My ability to focus on work improved, my creativity got better, and problems that I previously found difficult to analyze became easier.
Which helps more—fiction or nonfiction? They’re both helpful, just in different ways. One benefit that both types of books have is an improved ability to focus. This is very noticeable to me. I know I’m not the only person whose day often consists of dozens of tasks, many of them short and often interrupted by other quick tasks or problems. Our brain gets used to this so that it’s problematic when we need to focus on a work project for longer periods of time.
Reading a book helps by requiring us to stay focused on a good story, whether fictional or true, for an extended period (of course, it goes without saying that you should read more than one page at a time). Good books help because they are really hard to put down, getting our brains accustomed to longer periods of focus. They also make us slow down to take in a lot of information. Another benefit of reading is lowering stress, in some studies, more effectively than listening to music or going for a walk.
But fiction and nonfiction also differ in how each benefits us. For example, since all the facts in a nonfiction book are true, many feel our ability to think critically and analytically is improved since we’re required to process and prioritize lots of information.
On the other hand, fiction is reportedly beneficial in a different way—it can make us more empathetic. Many of the same parts of the brain used to follow a story are used to manage interactions with people. The imaginative aspect of fiction can also aid us in keeping an open and creative mind in tackling tough problems.
So, it’s not all about reading more compliance material. I always like to have at least two books, one fiction, and one nonfiction, in the process of being read or at least ready to start. And now, I have a better understanding of why.
For more encouragement about the benefits of reading fiction and nonfiction books, here are a few articles worth checking out:
Christine Seifert, “The Case for Reading Fiction,” Harvard Business Review, March 6, 2020, https://hbr.org/2020/03/the-case-for-reading-fiction.
Courtney Seiter, “The Surprising Power of Reading Fiction: 9 Ways it Makes Us Happier and More Creative,” Buffer, April 19, 2018, https://buffer.com/resources/reading-fiction/
Basmo, “6 Benefits of Reading Non-Fiction Books,” accessed February 3, 2023, https://basmo.app/benefits-of-reading-non-fiction-books/.
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