There are a lot of reasons to read fiction. It's something you can do by yourself, while you're waiting in the dentist's office. Well, you can watch movies or TV on your iPhone or iPad, but it's not quite the same. These modern tech devices take all of the imagination out of it. Remember the thrill you got when you first started reading stories, how you imagined the characters looked and what they felt as they moved through the tale? You don't get that in a movie.
When you read fiction, you get to get inside a character's head, see what she or he thinks as they attempt to solve the problems they're faced with. And in a good story our heroine or hero is usually confronted with some kind of problem, whether it's finding the killer in a mystery before the killer finds them or dealing with some kind of evil dread in a horror story. Even in a romance, our heroine usually has to overcome some obstacle to get to her heart's desire.
When you read fiction, you get to step outside of your life in and enter the story person's. For the length of the book you're literally living someone else's hopes, dreams, fears and desires. Your heart quickens in a car chase, your eyes tear up when someone, who you’ve come to care for in the story, dies.
When you read fiction, you learn new things. Most writers of good fiction build their characters around a pretty good factual kind of life. I've learned about raising pigeons, being a fireman, fighting in Iraq, catering, flower growing, politics, religion and so many more things, by reading good stories. Reading fiction is entertainment, sure. But you also learn a whole heck of a lot.
And sometimes you read fiction just because you want a good fright. Well, I think you'll find a few frights on this list. And there are some more chills and thrills you can check out if you like on my other lists and Amazon "So You’d Like to Guides."
