Trying to read more? Your brain will thank you

Reading is good for you, but fiction has added benefits.

So how does reading work in the brain? Why are stories so impactful? 

And why, in this era of book clubs and booktok, are literacy rates not thriving?

Get your votes in for Radio National's Top 100 Books Countdown before October 1st. 

Guests:

Professor Genevieve McArthurAustralian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy, ACUDirector of Research Translation, Dyslexia SPELD Foundation

Dr Lili YuSenior Lecturer, School of Psychological SciencesMacquarie University Centre for Reading

Dr Raymond MarProfessor of PsychologyYork University

J.A. (Jess) StevensAuthor, A Change of Pace

BecJess' partner

Credits:

• Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar
• Reporter/producer: Rose Kerr
• Senior producer: James Bullen
• Sound engineer: Tim Jenkins

Resources:

• Reading Writing Hotline 1300 6 555 06
• Literacy for Life Foundation
• Dyslexia SPELD foundation

More information:

• More than 1 in 3 Australian adults are functionally illiterate. How can we fix this?
• The benefits of reading narrative fiction
• A chapter a day: Association of book reading with longevity
• What Chinese can teach us about reading
• Too many students have 'reading anxiety'. New research suggests it is triggered by problems in primary school
• Reading and associations with brain health, cognition, well-being, and mental health

To explore more great episodes from the award-winning psychology podcast All in the Mind with host Sana Qadar, download the ABC Listen app (Australia) or search 'ABC All in the Mind podcast' wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find more episodes on mental health, trauma, attachment theory, wellness hacks, and family relationships. You'll also hear interviews with experts like Esther Perel, Billy Garvey and Ethan Kross. All in the Mind is created for ABC's Radio National by specialist journalists and reporters at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.