#010 The Novel Cure: Why reading is central to modern wellbeing

“Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.” - Henry David Thoreau

When we think of modern wellbeing, reading isn’t normally the first thing that springs to mind alongside nutrition, exercise, public health and community-building.

But it is an activity (and a great love of mine) that is, hands down, one of the greatest contributors to my wellbeing.

I have always loved reading.

I have vivid memories of my mum or dad taking me to the library when I was in primary school. I loved flicking through the old library catalogues to look up books, writing down the call number, getting to know the Dewey Decimal system, and then hunting it down. I would go home with a stack of books (some definitely not age appropriate, I looking at you Mario Puzo!), and look forward to our next visit to the library.

Today, I am still a voracious reader. I am omnivorous, reading everything from literary fiction and crime thrillers to books on foreign policy and climate change. My house is full of books. We just turned our baby room into a kid’s reading room (note: we only have 3 bedrooms – all 3 kids share!), and our living room was designed to maximise shelf space and be full of cosy reading nooks. I keep a tally of what I read on GoodReads, mostly so I don’t accidentally re-read something, but also as a way of setting annual reading targets.

Our 2 reading rooms

For me reading fulfils and strengthens my core values of curiosity and life-long learning, which happily I seem to have passed down to my children, who all love to read. It brings me such joy to see my 7 year old reading to his two younger brothers – and it is still such a thrill to see them choose to sit down with a book as the activity of their choosing, rather than as a result of my cajoling.

Ella Berthoud argues that books are vital for child development:

Children learn empathy, moral codes, and social norms through the stories they are read as tots, then when they are old enough, the stories they read to themselves, and then the books they read as teens…Every novel you read shapes the person that you are, speaking to you on a deep, unconscious level, and altering your very nature with the ideas that it shows you.

Reading is increasingly being given as a ‘prescription’ to cure what ails us. The pioneers of modern bibliotherapy, Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin write:

Our belief in the effectiveness of fiction as the purest and best form of bibliotherapy is based on our own experience with patients and bolstered by an avalanche of anecdotal evidence... When you’re engrossed in a novel, unable to tear yourself from the page, you are seeing what a character sees, touching what a character touches, learning what a character learns… your thoughts, your senses, your spirit – are somewhere else entirely.

Bibliotherapy: the prescribing of fiction for life’s ailments (Berthoud and Elderkin, 2013)

I love this infographic that highlights the 14 ways reading can improve our wellbeing, particularly our brain health and our mental wellbeing. Neuroscientists have found that the brain is calmed and slowed while reading, in a way that is very similar to the effects of meditation – therefore it can be effective in combatting stress and anxiety. In her book The Art of Mindful Reading, Berthoud highlights that reading provides as much relaxation as meditation, and just 6 minutes reading can de-stress more than listening to music, drinking tea, or going for a walk.

People who know of my reading addiction habit often wonder how I read so much given that I (a) have 3 children under 7, (b) work, (c) study part-time, and (d) have many children. Honestly, I don’t know what it is, but I suspect I devour books at a rapid pace because of 3 key habits:

• I carry a book EVERYWHERE. I am usually early to meet people and so I can usually squeeze in a few pages here and there (and this lessens my annoyance at people who are late!).

• I read 3-5 books at the same time. Some books I can race through in a day (hello Romantic Comedy or anything else by Curtis Sittenfeld), but others take a bit more effort (GoodReads tells me I have been reading Bittersweet by Susan Cain for almost a year!). Read what you are in the mood for, don’t feel like you have to finish everything you start, and ask friends for recommendations.

• I read every day, without fail. I can’t even think of a day I didn’t read – it was probably after giving birth and being trapped in a hospital bed with a squalling newborn. If you are trying to develop a habit of reading, try to do it at the same time every day and leave books in places that will prompt you to pick them up. A stack of books on your nightstand will remind you to read a few pages before bed, a book in your bag might prompt you to read in your lunch break or while waiting for your coffee.

Reading widely also allows us to draw connections between things we might not have otherwise, and applies to both fiction and non-fiction. I have had friends who swear they only read fiction or non-fiction and didn’t have time for the other genre. But you are seriously missing out if you don’t meander through different authors, different styles of writing, and different subject areas. Different stages in your life, differing moods, and even different seasons can affect what we want (or need) to read.

Experiments in modern wellbeing

There are a few ways to approach this month’s experiment depending on whether you are a regular reader or looking to build up a new (or lapsed) reading habit.

For regular readers:

Read more.

If you don’t have a book tracking app installed already, I would encourage you to try one out. I use GoodReads, but there are a tonne of others out there. This allows you to set a reading challenge, discover new books, see what your friends are reading, and keep track of what your go-to genre is. Setting a reading challenge will likely urge you to pick up a book rather than your phone, especially if you set an ambitious target. This year, my target is 80 books (currently sitting at 45 books, 5 books ahead of schedule!). Last year I managed to read 112!

Pick a stretch goal and try to surprise yourself.

Read widely.

If your go to is usually the latest book from Kate Morton or Jane Harper, while you are waiting for the next release, go and browse the shelves at your local library and pick out something a little different. Or ask a friend or your librarian for a recommendation (or pick up a copy of Berthoud and Elderkin’s The Novel Cure: From Abandonment to Zestlessness: 751 Books to Cure what Ails You and find a book to cure whatever ails you).

To build a reading habit for new or lapsed readers

Ask for recommendations.

If you like watching crime dramas on TV, maybe start with a crime thriller rather than a romance novel. If you love soaps, then maybe start with a book that chronicles a family over generations. There is literally a book for everyone (According to a 2022 study conducted by Google Books, there have been 129,864,880 books published since the invention of Gutenberg's printing press in 1440). If you aren’t enjoying a book after 20-30 pages, put it down and pick up something else. Maybe you come back to it, maybe you don’t. Life is too short for bad books.

Start small.

Don’t set a reading goal of a book a week or even a book a month if you are trying to build up a reading habit, rather just set a goal of reading every day, even if it is only one page. Chances are, if you set a goal to read a page a day you will read more as you get absorbed in the story.

Use your local library.

Until you work out what style of book you love, or your favourite authors, don’t buy books, but visit your local library.

I LOVE the libraries in Canberra. I have a long list of books I have put on hold and get a little dopamine hit when I get a notification that I have books to collect (just like online shopping, but cheaper and more sustainable!).

Let me know how you go with this experiment – especially if you find yourself sleeping better, getting lost in a book (or in a state of ‘flow’ as psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi would describe it as), feeling more empathetic, or being less stressed in general.

And of course reach out if you would like any book recommendations (or search for me on GoodReads – Alicia Mollaun) – I think my alternate career would definitely be a bibliotherapist or something else that would pay me to read all day!!)

Be well,

Alicia

“It’s not that I don’t like people. It’s just that when I’m in the company of others – even my nearest and dearest – there always comes a moment when I’d rather be reading a book.” - Maureen Corrigan

If you are intrigued by the idea of bibliotherapy, these 3 books are a great start!