Psychological and brain imaging studies also support this. A study co-authored by Oatley found that non-fiction readers and non-readers score much lower than frequent fiction readers on the ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ test, which measures cognitive empathy, i.e. the ability to understand another person’s perspective.

The Women’s Prize Trust, a UK-based charity, found that women read books by both female and male authors almost equally. Men, on the other hand, overwhelmingly avoid female authors — in 2023, they made up less than 20% of purchases of the UK’s top 20 bestselling female fiction and non-fiction writers

And the potential benefits don’t stop there. Reading fiction has also been shown to increase pro-social behaviour, reduce sexist and racist stereotyping, and sharpen language and comprehension skills. It can also boost overall well-being — slowing cognitive decline,lowering stress (though perhaps not so much when it comes to news), and even increas... See more

Men also read less fiction than women, and when they do, they’re not only less likely to pick up a book written by a woman, but even a story about one.