Why reading fiction is important

11th April 2026

 Many years ago, I took part in a panel discussion at the Lok Jack Graduate School of Business on leadership in the energy sector. One of the questions was about work-life balance and what each of the leaders on the panel did in their leisure time. There was the usual talk about family and exercise, but one of the things I mentioned is that I like to read good novels. A journalist who was present at the event subsequently wrote a story about the panel and he mentioned the fact of my novel reading in a final sentence of the article, in a tone that suggested he was a bit bemused by this admission. 

I was reminded of this last week listening to a fascinating panel on workforce development at CERA Week. One of the panellists was Reginald DesRoches, President of Rice University in Houston; a university who has an excellent reputation for producing graduates sought after by industry. He explained that their very strong industry linkages mean that they were able to ensure that their undergraduates received cutting edge teaching in the various domains of their studies, be it chemical engineering or petroleum geology. He explained, however, that because technology was moving so fast what they were teaching today would often be out of date even in a few years’ time. It was therefore important that they also taught critical thinking, and that this, in his view, came from ensuring that all undergraduates got a strong grounding in the liberal arts. 

Now obviously the liberal arts is much broader than literature and the humanities, but I would contend that the ability to read difficult and complex ideas is a basic skill needed in all the liberal arts, including the natural sciences.  This is where I think reading good literature is not just hugely pleasurable, it also trains your brain to be able to absorb complex written information. To use the famous Francis Bacon quote, reading is what makes you a “full man” (or woman, or whatever). 

Just like with running, once you are out of condition it is not as easy to read long complex texts. But once you do a little bit of training you quickly get back into the swing of things. I read novels and short story collections for pleasure, not to train my brain to absorb information (and certainly not to be a literary critic). But I do find that when I am in a good patch of reading good fiction, I find it easier to read the more technical and analytical content that I need to keep up with for my professional life. 

There has been a lot of recent discussion about encouraging young people to pursue technical and vocational training, in the context of fears about A.I. taking many professional jobs. The skilled manual trades are, of course, much less likely to be replaced by robots or AI, so there is a strong logic to the argument. However, as Reginald DesRoches explained, having the domain knowledge alone is not enough, and developing the critical thinking skills that come from being the “full person” will also be needed to succeed. 

Are we thinking about how we can encourage the young people entering vocational course (or indeed any courses) to read good literature? Not everyone is going to become a novel reader, and it seems that is especially the case for boys, but as a society we should ensure that the option is there, like we ensure that there are sports facilities available.  Literary festivals, like the Bocas Lit Fest, can play a big role and I would encourage everyone to attend this year’s edition, taking place on 30 April - 3 May in Port of Spain.

Social media is often seen as the enemy of reading, but that does not have to be the case.  I have seen a few of the “BookTok” videos where people (usually younger women) use TikTok to share information on the latest books they are reading. From the little I have seen, fantasy seems to be the popular genre. Fantasy is not my favourite, as I usually most partial to the sort of contemporary realism of Richard Ford, Elizabeth Stroud, Philip Roth and Anthony Powel. Nevertheless, I think it is great having young people show off their love of reading online and something that must be celebrated.   

For my part, I am always happy to talk about good books: feel free to send me a note with recommendations or ask me about what I am reading at the moment. 

And if I am ever invited again to a leadership panel, I am going to spend a lot more time talking about books, the importance of reading and what fiction can teach you about leadership.