KnoxReads: Sophie Gee on benefits of reading fiction

Before Sophie spoke, Headmaster Scott James said, “For those who have not listened to ‘Secret Life of Books’, I strongly encourage you to do so. Sophie and her co-host Jonty Claypole's wit, enthusiasm, intelligence, and knowledge encourages you to read the classics with new eyes.”

Sophie’s presentation was spirited and illuminating. She acknowledged that reading can challenge by presenting things that may be outside of one’s comfort zone or address topics that are hard to discuss. When she started her podcast, she dove deep into reading at the pace of more than a book a week!

“It's about trusting the process, having a simultaneously lighter and more committed relationship to being present with a page,” Sophie said. “One of the reasons we most need to keep practising reading, is that it plunges us into an awareness of our own uncertainty and our own not-knowing.

“This condition of uncertainty or unknowing is, in itself, incredibly good for neuroplasticity. This study showed that people who read more fiction, were more likely to have more nuanced and sophisticated understanding of human motivation in complex scenarios involving ambiguous and hard-to-interpret behaviour in the social world. People developed a much more sophisticated moral compass when they are reading complex works of fiction.”

Sophie holds a doctorate in English from Harvard University, is an English professor at Princeton University and the Inaugural Vice Chancellor's Fellow at the University of Sydney.