“Reading fiction is an utter waste of time and it won’t take you anywhere. Rather try to cultivate your time in something productive.”

If you’re an avid reader, I bet, most of you would’ve heard this phrase at some point of your life. There won’t be any horrible moment than hearing this phrase when you’re in the middle of some interesting book of your favourite author. Surprisingly, it’s always come from our closed ones, making us feel bad at least once at some point too. I often wondered why people whom I met out of my comfort zone find my reading habit worthwhile when the people whom I want to acknowledge my habit says it useless. Have you wondered the same?

When I plunge deep into these thoughts, I end up with more questions than answers.

Why people love fictions?

Why people prefer love tales over non-fiction?

Why sad ending is never accepted widely?

Why a story without antagonist seems weary?

Why do we want to see our dearest pair leading their life without hurdles in stories when in reality, life is always a roller-coaster ride with an open ending?

And the never-ending queries brought chaos. To clear up the air, firstly, I filled answers for known questions and roped in our beloved Google ji for help to fill up the unanswered questions. Guess, what? I got a better understanding which I want to share with you all.

• Reading fictions shapes you as a better person as you can easily fit yourself in someone else’s shoes. Thus, you become a pro in handling relationships.

• Fictions easily emote and connect well than non-fiction which is aimed at a particular group.

• It brings your inner self out and creates an interaction with the characters, paving way for self-assessment.

• It touches and teases your emotions, elevating a level up to make you proactive and strengthen your emotional intelligence.

• It sheds all your negative vibes and helps you to stay with hope always like how the protagonist of a story wins the antagonist at last.

• It brings your hidden confidence out seeing your timid characters grow bold as the character progress.

• Last but not least, Scientifically proved tests suggests that reading fictions increases your memory, reduces your stress, improves your vocabulary, keeps your focus on things and sharpen your analytical skills.

Now, tell me, are reading fictions a waste of time?

It’s not just an entertainment. It’s a lesson we learn to mould ourselves.