A tablet from Kish (about 3500 BC)
What is useful to read is not in doubt. But the answers to the questions “Why is reading fiction useful?” And “Which books are preferable to read?” Differ depending on the sources. The following text is my version of the answer to these questions.
I will start with the obvious idea that not all literary genres are equally useful.
I would single out three main areas of thinking that literature develops: a database of certain information (factology), methods of thinking (methods of reasoning, including examples), and borrowed experience (awareness of what is happening, worldview, social practices, etc.) . Literature as such is very diverse, and the transition from special to fiction can be very smooth. There are various types of literature (in addition to fiction there is reference, technical, historical and documentary, memoirs, educational) and a large number of intermediate forms that are sometimes difficult to unambiguously identify. In my opinion, in a practical sense, they are distinguished by which particular areas of the human mind from the above they pump more: factology, methodology, experience .
Naturally, technical and reference literature will develop factology more strongly, educational literature - methodology, memoirs and other historical literature - experience.
Everyone can choose what he needs, as a simulator in the gym.
But what about fiction ? It makes it possible to combine all this in an abstract example and to assimilate. Fiction appeared before writing - people, thinking, language and stories that were told, developed and evolved together. These are interconnected processes. The increasing volume of information requires the appearance of new words and concepts, the ability to remember and apply them stimulates the development of the thinking apparatus. Conversely, an increasingly complex thinking apparatus allows us to formulate and generate increasingly complex concepts. The first works of art were the most understandable and effective teaching methods. These were probably hunting stories.
Vasily Perov “Hunters on a halt”. 1871
“Once, Eurosius went mushrooming. He got a full basket, hears, and someone is breaking through the bushes. He is looking, and this is a bear. Well, he, of course, threw a basket, and he climbed onto a tree. Dipper - for him ... "
The following is a story about how Eurosius outwitted the she-bear and escaped.
Gradually, these stories began to grow into receptions that supported the attention of the listener, and became one of the first types of entertainment, while maintaining their educational functions. Hunting stories turned into mystical stories, ballads and sagas. Gradually, a special kind of activity appeared - the narrator (bard), who was able to memorize large volumes of texts by heart. As writing evolved, these texts began to be recorded. And so there was fiction that combines a variety of functions, while remaining the most powerful pedagogical method.
Over time, purely entertaining literature appeared, which, as it might seem at first glance, does not carry any useful practical functions. But this, of course, is only at first glance. If you look closely even at the most stupid little romance, then he also has a little more connected, albeit rail, plot, dozens or other characters who somehow interact with each other. There are some spatial descriptions, intrigues, relationships, etc. All this requires some mental effort: we have to remember who is who, what the characters did and said in the previous chapters, we will automatically try to predict how the plot will develop, what tricks the characters use to achieve their goals. This and much more gradually trains and improves brain function. As you read even such fiction, your vocabulary grows, a person begins to better remember and compare the actions of heroes, notice mistakes and plot inconsistencies, familiar tricks and plot twists begin to seem uninteresting, and so there is a need for more and more high-quality (complex in form and sense) works.
As a test / example, try to figure out why some obviously stupid and bad detective is bad and what exactly.
As the baggage of the read increases, the reader begins to recognize references to other works and the meanings hidden in them. Following this, genre preferences are changing. A fundamental novel or biography no longer seems boring and boring, they are read with pleasure, and as a result, a username sometimes (actually quite a bit) can even remember or put something into practice.
The power of fiction is that it is insanely interesting. And you need to read what is interesting to you personally. Do not try to jump above your head and read books, the meaning of which eludes you almost completely. This is unlikely to give anything. It is advisable to increase the complexity gradually, as children do. From a fairy tale to an adventure story. From adventure to detective, from detective to epic fantasy or science fiction, etc. This process takes a whole bunch of time (all life), but, at least, allows you to keep the brain in good shape until old age.