Reading novels can also be useful

[rnd]

..for developing the skill of eloquence. Spiritual books, on the other hand, aren't written in a way that allows one to develop it an effective way.

Eloquence is useful in business.

What do you think?

[mandyjw]

Yes, and, reading some novels can be incredibly helpful to your spiritual growth. They are much more implicit and sneakily subtle about it though, they don't pretend to be talking to a "you" nor do they pretend to try to change you, but they do anyway. 

[KingCrimson]

Reading novels is not just "useful" in many ways. They are simply a joy to read as an end in itself. Yes, certainly, reading will written novels will influence your speaking and writing, but it doesn't end there. There are so many genius authors who were able to convey deep truths in their novels. Just think of Hesse, Kafka, Tolstoi, Dostoyevski. Some books are so well crafted that I wouldn't believe they existed if I hadn't read them. Sometimes, everything fits together on so many levels - the structure of the text, the rhythm, the onomatopoeia, the story, the many levels of subtext etc. all woven together in such a masterful manner that every aspect of the novel corresponds perfectly to all the other ones. You feel like this stuff had to be written. Good poetry is often the pinnacle of this, and great poems are extremely hard to write. There are many okay poems, but writing a great one? That's a rare feat. You don't have a lot of words to say what you want to say so it has to be really condensed, every word has to be in the right spot. Novels are more forgiving in that way. But I digress. My point is: Do read great novels and poetry, they can enrich your life tremendously on so many levels.

[Epikur]

Actually there was a time where I felt like I have no time for it. For many years I have more time now and integrated novel reading into my routines. The effect is very strong. The level of communication abilities gets much higher. Same with the level of understanding things. It' s quite massive. Though I had to adjust some things to make it effective without them it would not helped me much I guess.

You become a much better story teller and look for people who have higher level of story telling.

I think that stories are the natural way we learn things. I believe in the future we will have better stories where we can learn thing much better. 

Same as in YT videos and learning apps. Some of them are much better than real teachers. 








 

[Consciousone35]

Reading novels is fun and relaxing and a nice break from the Internet 

[allislove]

A novel can be more profound than the usual spiritual book.
It's also about what you enjoy. If you enjoy reading a novel, if it relaxes you, if it makes you happier – do it :)) 

[Gesundheit]

Novels work on your intuition and emotional intelligence.

Your EQ is proportional to the number and quality of the novels you have read so far.

[Moon]

On 29/06/2020 at 0:10 PM, KingCrimson said:

Reading novels is not just "useful" in many ways. They are simply a joy to read as an end in itself. Yes, certainly, reading will written novels will influence your speaking and writing, but it doesn't end there. There are so many genius authors who were able to convey deep truths in their novels. Just think of Hesse, Kafka, Tolstoi, Dostoyevski. Some books are so well crafted that I wouldn't believe they existed if I hadn't read them. Sometimes, everything fits together on so many levels - the structure of the text, the rhythm, the onomatopoeia, the story, the many levels of subtext etc. all woven together in such a masterful manner that every aspect of the novel corresponds perfectly to all the other ones. You feel like this stuff had to be written. Good poetry is often the pinnacle of this, and great poems are extremely hard to write. There are many okay poems, but writing a great one? That's a rare feat. You don't have a lot of words to say what you want to say so it has to be really condensed, every word has to be in the right spot. Novels are more forgiving in that way. But I digress. My point is: Do read great novels and poetry, they can enrich your life tremendously on so many levels.

Love this comment! 

I used to read a lot more fiction as a teen, starting to open up to it again recently

I also loved studying English literature as a child and especially deciphering poems

Such an enriching pastime, nice to have a change from certain non-fiction reading where I'm focused on gaining and improving

I find it a great way to relax before bed, away from the internet and technology and there's no need to make notes as with some personal development reading, so you can really enjoy getting lost in the book 

[Godhead]

For sure!

Often it's not really the book, it's you. How ready you are to receive information. What information are you looking for/attracting?

Even a bad book, like a really bad one, can teach you a lot if you analyze why you don't like it.

[Moon]

40 minutes ago, Godhead said:

For sure!

Often it's not really the book, it's you. How ready you are to receive information. What information are you looking for/attracting?

Even a bad book, like a really bad one, can teach you a lot if you analyze why you don't like it.

So true!

Clever authors and literary techniques point to a bigger "Why" to be uncovered, they're good teachers of analysis, creativity skills, perspective, empathy and learning of different cultures/people/history you wouldn't normally be exposed to

There are defo some stage yellow elements and skills to develop/use with reading fiction, endless patterns and models you can uncover/apply

[Adam M]

1984 by George Orwell changed my life.

What a profound analogy for society, government, ideology, collective ego, control, upper vs lower class, and so on.

My mind was blown for months afterwards.

[Gesundheit]

44 minutes ago, Adam M said:

1984 by George Orwell changed my life.

What a profound analogy for society, government, ideology, collective ego, control, upper vs lower class, and so on.

My mind was blown for months afterwards.

This book has been waiting on my list for so long. And now this comment made my saliva run. I say to hell with the exams lol

[hyruga]

not just novels.

even reading comics help a lot because in a comic, you are seeing the actual conversation crafted by the authors. 

So this is why people who grow up reading Marvel and DC comics ended up as good conversationalist!

Edited July 29, 2020 by hyruga