The power of books

I’m thinking I need to find novels about a woman who become super rich and successful, or an average runner who somehow becomes a crazy good runner, or a girl who meets her dream boy-band member and lives happily ever after…

Why?

A new study from Ohio State University found that when you lose yourself in a book, you start to identify with the fictional character, so much so it can affect your real life. You start to think and feel like the character as if it’s actually you, and it can translate into changes in behaviour in real life. In one experiment, when reading about a character who had to overcome obstacles to vote, those readers were more likely to vote in real life in an election a few days afterwards.

Hence my new reading list.

6 Comments May 9, 2012