People who read non-fiction really are different, but chiefly in being knowledge-rich and analytically inclined rather than more empathic, because the famous claim that reading makes you better at understanding people turns out to belong to fiction, not the facts
Articles about how readers are special tend to flatter anyone who picks up a book, folding every kind of reading into one warm compliment. The research draws a sharper line than the flattery does, and the interesting part is that people who read non-fiction d…
Theartfulage.com · Aug 24, 2026