Empathy And Reading: The Benefits Of Reading Habits

Introduction:

When was the last time you read a book, or a worthwhile magazine article? Does your daily reading habits centre around tweets, Facebook updates, or the directions on your instant oatmeal packet? If you’re one of countless people who don’t make a habit of reading regularly, your missing out on the significant number of benefits reading has to offer. Reading is one of the most beneficial and a pleasurable activity accessible to anyone. It is through reading that a person is able to discover new ideas, concepts, places, and people. Its from reading that we are presented with the gateway to the future, opening our minds to become more sensitive and caring towards others. We develop empathy and morality woven through characters, ultimately

Reading fiction gives you the drive to know what happens next. To want to turn the page, forcing the need to keep going, even if it’s hard, it forces you to learn new words, to think new thoughts, to discover that reading is pleasurable. Once you learn that, you’re on the road to reading everything. That’s a real drive! People who cannot understand each other cannot exchange ideas, cannot communicate, and translation programs only go so far! The simplest way to make sure ______ is through reading. Fiction helps in building empathy. Empathy is a tool for allowing us to function more than self – obsessed individuals. Wolf on the fold is a compassionate journey through time and the growing up of a family which challenges readers and passes to younger readers an insight into the author, Judith Clarke, of her own personal experience growing up. “The process of writing reminds me of an experience from long ago, when I was a very small child visiting my aunt’s house. She would give me a box of old photographs to look through, and the fascination I felt, gazing at these strangers in their unfamiliar landscapes, wondering who they were, where they lived, who were their friends and families, what were their lives – remains with me today, whenever I begin to write.”Researchers at New York's New School for Social Research provide additional evidence that literature can help students better understand and empathise with others. The study showed that the extent to which what was read