Five Ways Reading Fiction Makes You Better At Your Job

It’s no secret that successful people are readers. Reading helps you stay on top of new trends and learn techniques you can use in your career. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett each share their favorite books at the end of the year, and they’re filled with nonfiction titles. But what about fiction–is it purely entertainment? Michel Morvan, founder and U.S. CEO of the tech company CoSMo, reads a couple chapters of a crime novel every night and says it’s not just for fun: “To run a business, you have to be deeply involved in all the minutiae, from strategy to product to hiring,” he says. “Diving into the story, identifying with the characters, and trying to solve the mystery has two effects on me. First, it is a very efficient way to disconnect from all the problems I face in the business. Second, it immediately unlocks my creativity. My mind has no limits while I’m reading, and it shouldn’t while I’m conducting business.” Related: How Changing Your Reading Habits Can Transform Your Health Indeed, research has found that reading fiction can help you improve skills that are just as important as the technical knowledge you might gain from nonfiction. Here are five things a novel delivers to your brain: 1. Enhanced Reasoning Skills Reading fiction can give you insights that help you work beyond logic, says Michael Benveniste, an English professor from the University of Puget Sound. In situations that may be colored by emotion or past experience, it helps you cultivate... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'

[ Fast Company | 2017-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Malcolm Gladwell as punishment? Judge orders woman to read 'David and Goliath'

After a woman recently turned herself in to American authorities and confessed to participating in setting several fires, a judge ordered she read both 'Goliath' and Mary C. Wood's 'Nature's Trust' in addition to serving a prison sentence and completing community service. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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10 New Books You Need to Read This Year

From biographies to technical studies and step-by-step guides, here are 10 books that you should look for in the next few months.Of course, we think you can learn a lot online. But, if you're looking to take a deeper dive, there is often no substitute for the kind of thoughtful analysis you can... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Little music fanzines making a big noise

From the Fly to Zero Core, the most exciting titles in the music market are put together on a shoestring and given away in shops. We talk to the editors proving that print can still thrive• See the best free magazines in pictures hereA few months after its creation, the Fly magazine almost came... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How HarperCollins's Chief Digital Officer Uses Big Data To Make Publishing More Profitable

As more readers favor Kindles and iPads over pulp-based books, Chantal Restivo-Alessi of HarperCollins is mining digital data to determine how publishers can maximize profits.Having worked at EMI records for over a decade, Chantal Restivo-Alessi knows what it's like to have the digitization of... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Small presses growing translated fiction's readership

Innovative and energetic publishers such as And Other Stories and Dalkey Archive are finding new routes to a committed audience"We were dreaming of freedom; we woke up in capitalism," is Slovenian writer Drago Jančar's wry comment at the launch of Dalkey Archive's anthology of short stories,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pew survey: Reading of print books increased in 2013

The Pew survey found that e-reading increased as well but that more adults read a print book in 2013 than in the previous year. 'Print remains the foundation of Americans’ reading habits,' the report stated. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Future of Reading: 10 Trends for 2014 and Beyond

The Internet has been disrupting the businesses of publishing and bookselling for the past two decades. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The bad side of Goodreads' Reading Challenge

Turning literature into a numbers game makes some sense for the book trade, but none for readersWe may be halfway through January already, but the spirit of new year is still in full swing over in San Francisco, where the 2014 Goodreads Reading Challenge goes from strength to strength to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-reading on the rise but print books still dominate

New research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that the percentage of American adults who read an ebook in the past year has risen to 28 percent, up from 23 percent in 2012. Yet the tree book isn't dead yet, at least in the popularity sense, as the results show most ebook... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pew: E-Reading Surges, But Print Is Hanging On

E-books are rising in popularity, but according to the Pew Research Center, print remains the foundation of Americans’ reading habits. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Critics With an Ax To Grind: The 2013 Hatchet Job Nominees

Nominees for "The Hatchet Job of the Year, given to the “writer of the angriest, funniest, most trenchant book review of the past twelve months,” are out. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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X-Files star Gillian Anderson to write science fiction novels

Agent Scully actress will use her 'ingrained knowledge and rhythm' for SF to pen multi-volume EarthEnd SagaAfter delving into the paranormal for years as The X-Files' resident sceptic Dr Dana Scully, actor Gillian Anderson is set to create her own science-fictional universe – but this time in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Charter makes a $61 billion bid for Time Warner Cable, could be the first of many

After months of trying to negotiate a deal behind the scenes, Charter Communications is publishing details of its offer to buy Time Warner Cable (which split from Time Warner years ago). Despite a bid that including debt is enough to nab 20 or so ... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hatchet Job of the Year shortlist - 2013's most negative reviews in quotes

Tasters of the reviews competing for the annual prize that recognises 'the angriest, funniest, most trenchant book review of the past 12 months'News: Hatchet Job of the Year award draws and quarters shortlistCraig Brown on Distant Intimacy: A Friendship in the Age of the Internet by Frederic... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rebels and mavericks make it into 2014 Dictionary of National Biography

Comedians, punks and sportspeople now among 'notables' in the online reference work, once the preserve of the great and goodThe Dictionary of National Biography has charted the lives of the British establishment for 130 years. But while entry into its prestigious pages after death used to depend... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stafford’s 100th Celebrated with Readings, Releases

For the past 15 years or so, poets and poetry lovers around the world have earmarked January 17 as a day to pay tribute to the late poet and pacifist William Stafford (1914–1993) with public readings from his works. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Second Twitter fiction festival to run in March

The second Twitter fiction festival, searching for authors from across the world to tell stories... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'The Invention of Wings': What's fact and what's fiction

'The Invention of Wings' by Sue Monk Kidd is receiving rave reviews and was recently selected as the latest pick for Oprah Winfrey's revamped book club. But how much of the book actually comes from history? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reading Harris novel stimulates brain, finds study

Reading a novel stimulates the brain for days, US researchers have found. The study,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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YotaPhone update lets you read more ebooks and documents on its energy-saving E Ink display

Much as we admired the potential of the YotaPhone in our recent review, we just couldn't overlook its lack of support for popular e-reading platforms like Amazon Kindle and Google Books. That problem hasn't been solved just yet, but things are ... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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