'Bibliotherapy' is of increasing interest as a way to improve mental health and help navigate complex life situations—with people immersing themselves in the experiences of fictional characters or nonfiction and self-help books to find relief and gain personal insights.

Eight ways literature can make us happier

Novels are often characterized as a form of cultural escape, but psychologists argue there are health benefits to the many elements comprising fiction. The Greek philosopher Aristotle explored this in his "Poetics," asking if literature was something meant to make us happier. This article highlights eight different innovations common to literature that provide psychological benefits, including the plot twist and more.

Studies show that reading fiction enhances empathy

It might sound like a cliché, but fiction really can make you a better person, objectively speaking. Numerous studies have proven that reading fiction, especially novels, can enhance empathy by exposing people to multiple perspectives and experiences.

Some claim breathwork can improve mental health, help process trauma, and more

Research shows people who practice breathing exercises see a decrease in depression and stress levels, and that such exercises are about as effective at treating PTSD as conventional approaches. Even something as simple as extending exhales can slow one's heart rate and activate the parasympathetic nervous system.

Consumers are buying more books now than they were 20 years ago, thanks to a 2020 boom and a popular literary corner on TikTok.

Pick books based on how you're feeling? You might be a mood reader.

Add a few new titles to your lengthy TBR collection with this Seattle Times interactive. Click one or more of the emotions from the mood bank, and a series of recommended titles and related reviews will pop up for you to peruse (and maybe, one day, read).

Existentialism has been used as a therapeutic tool, with 2 Swiss psychiatrists pioneering the philosophy's concepts to help patients navigate their issues.

Winston Churchill said he was comforted by Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' and its characters' calmness during World War II.

Researchers found that reading 'Harry Potter' made children more tolerant

Psychological research showed that children and young adults who read Harry Potter developed greater empathy and more accepting attitudes toward marginalized groups.

Researchers found that reading ‘Harry Potter’ made children more tolerant

Psychological research showed that children and young adults who read Harry Potter developed greater empathy and more accepting attitudes toward marginalized groups.

Doctors are prescribing social activities—and seeing good results

Physicians, especially in the UK, are asking patients what they enjoy and then prescribing a consistent regimen of doing that type of activity to improve fitness and overall health, including community exercise classes, volunteering, and spending time in nature. This approach may provide better incentives to stick with an activity.

Board games can improve life satisfaction and coping self-efficacy

They provide distraction, foster self-determination, and promote personal transformation. Purposeful engagement with games builds the capacity to face real-life problems.

Journaling can improve mental wellbeing and promote positive interactions

Described as having therapy with someone who knows you well, documenting one's thoughts and feelings aids in information processing and can reveal personal issues. Methods include bullet journaling and gratitude, which a 2024 study linked to a longer lifespan.

Psychedelic side effects, including worsening mental health for some patients, give pause

This article explores whether the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drug use is really as good as current research suggests. Scientists are exploring its applications for conditions ranging from the existential crisis that can accompany terminal diagnoses to chronic mental health conditions, including anxiety and PTSD.

Mixed reality technologies may help treat depression

A study led by a team from Stanford University showed that MR can help people with depression by providing pathways to engage in activities such as digital board games and dancing. Participants saw reduced symptoms of depression that made their overall treatment plans more successful.

Easy resets for stress reduction

Individual solutions for burnout, often called “self-care,” can be helpful for managing stress. Harvard researcher Aditi Nerurkar’s 2024 book The Five Resets details a road map for burnout recovery. In this interview she suggests, among other tactics, gaining focus on what matters the most in one’s life, taking breaks from both work and the internet, and making time for practices that strengthen the mind-body connection.

A book series aimed at World War II soldiers helped popularize works like 'The Great Gatsby' and 'Of Mice and Men.'

Circulating libraries helped the novel's popularity surge

As literacy rates began to rise in the 19th century, so did the demand for reading materials. The only problem? Newspapers and books weren’t cheap, and newly literate middle-class families struggled to afford literature. That changed when booksellers began offering small fees for patrons who decided to borrow rather than purchase books. This was eventually called a circulating library, an innovation that would satisfy the burgeoning readership of novels and increase literacy rates further.

Existentialist literature explores the philosophy's ideas

Existentialism isn't confined to philosophical texts. Some of the movement's figureheads, like Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, were also novelists. Christina Howells, Professor of French at the University of Oxford, suggests this is because existentialism, as a philosophy, requires human stories to be fully understood, and literature makes the experience of the human condition more present and immediate.

Using psychedelics to manage a cancer diagnosis

Dr. Roland Griffiths helped lead the revival of psychedelic research, often prescribing the use of psilocybin to address severe depression or anxiety in patients. This podcast explores how Griffiths leaned on his own career after being diagnosed with cancer and facing the prospect of death.

One writer believes fantasy is a form of realism

The literary genre has become massively popular in the 2020s, turning a previously marginal form into a mainstream concern. Spufford, a literary novelist who grew up loving books that explored fantastic worlds, argues that fantasy is so popular because it so accurately reflects the real world.

'Everybody else is working to change, persuade, tempt and control them. The best readers come to fiction to be free of all that noise.'

- Author Philip Roth (1933-2018)

Science-fiction legend Ray Bradbury couldn't afford college, but he spent several days a week in his local library, teaching himself how to become a writer.

Researchers are studying roller coasters to improve mental health treatments

Scary rides stimulate our fight-or-flight response while simultaneously releasing feel-good endorphins like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. Once we realize we're in a safe space, we can enjoy the ride and even feel confident and relieved by the accomplishment of overcoming a fearful feat.

Ghosts can work as powerful literary devices

Noteworthy American novels like Toni Morrison’s "Beloved" tell us how spirits help deliver information and greater truths unknown to the characters. Wondering about our souls is common in literature, and the phantoms in these tales offer a unique way of contemplating the complicated experience of being human.

Nonfiction books have been struggling to sell in the mid-2020s

In the early 2020s, readers sought out nonfiction books to help explain prominent current events, such as the first presidency of Donald Trump and the BLM movement. That interest has since waned, as publishers note that readers have lately shown a preference for escapism and gather their information from podcasts.

Comic books were a major part of American propaganda efforts during WWII

See how US comic books, alongside international counterparts, served as powerful wartime propaganda tools from 1941 to 1945—boosting morale, promoting war bonds, and demonizing Axis powers through the use of iconic heroes and patriotic messaging.

The novel broke new ground by offering realistic stories

In this brief interview, Terry Castle, an English professor at Stanford, explains the origins of the early British novel. Castle details how the novel was produced for a newly literate middle class interested in recognizable characters and stories “about life as they knew it” rather than Greek and Roman myths or medieval romances. She also explains why a newly enfranchised female demographic was attracted to the fiction of writers like Jane Austen and Virginia Woolf.

Self-care can't fix burnout on its own

Steps such as exercise, breathing, mindful eating, and spending time with friends, can help alleviate the fight-or-flight mode response of the body to alleviate stress, but they don't fix the stressors causing the burnout. To address those, workplaces may need to consider how to better manage workloads and duties.

An existentialist reading list

If you’re looking for a starting point for diving into existentialist thought, this is a great resource. Its titles are not exactly obscure—Albert Camus’ “The Stranger,” Franz Kafka’s “The Trial,” and Søren Kierkegaard’s “Either/Or” are among the most famous works in Western literature—but the list provides some digestible context for each text, which will help you decide the best place to begin your journey.

Check out cheap, mass-market, and often trashy editions of classic books from Ralph Ellison, James Joyce, Jane Austen, and many more.

Americans are reading fewer books than in the past

A 2022 Gallup survey found that Americans are reading fewer books than ever before. An additional study found that the time people spend reading has dropped over the last 20 years. The most compelling narrative for the shift? Screens have stolen potential readers, occupying the time that they otherwise would’ve spent with books.

Comic books were used as a form of government propaganda in World War II.

One data scientist argued that fan fiction improved writing

In an academic study, University of Washington professor Cecilia Aragon found that fan fiction often teaches young writers how to craft stronger sentences and convey complex ideas effectively. Much of that comes from the larger fan fiction community, which regularly comments on others' stories, offering kind-hearted constructive criticism in what she calls "distributed mentoring."

Consuming true crime media can increase stress and anxiety and create a false sense of danger.

Your favorite music can minimize physical pain, according to a 2025 study on how music can bring solace and address pain.

How reading and writing can lower dementia risk by almost 40%

Research published in 2026 that tracked almost 2,000 older adults for an average of nearly eight years suggests that lifelong exposure to intellectual stimulation, such as learning a language, reading, and writing, can lower dementia risk by as much as 40%.

Music that builds to a crescendo and then resolves relieves stress more than listening to nature sounds.

Young readers are increasingly interested in graphic novels

Sales for the form, which relies on illustration as much as text but otherwise follows the form of the novel, are up 69% among young school-aged children. The genre has many sophisticated, intellectual, and critically-acclaimed titles, though it's sometimes derided as a less serious form of literature. Still, studies find that young children who read graphic novels and comics report higher levels of affinity for reading.

Yoga has become a popular tool for veterans dealing with PTSD

As the practice has become more popular in the West, it’s been incorporated into the Department of Veterans Affairs’ treatment plans for post-traumatic stress disorder. Veteran instructors say that although yoga and the military might seem like odd fits, they share many commonalities, including a rigorous approach. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The benefits of lucid dreaming

Lucid dreams happen when the dreamer knows they've stepped out of the bounds of waking life. Studies show it can help dreamers cultivate creativity, process grief, and work through trauma. A 2021 study found that 85% of participants with PTSD no longer qualified for the diagnosis after a week of trauma-informed lucid dreaming in which they intentionally witnessed (and therefore integrated) recurring nightmares or changed the outcome completely.

How art helps us process our feelings

The internet is chock full of hacks and apps that supposedly help you optimize yourself into a more productive person. But Aparna Chivukula argues that spending so much mental energy on "wellness" misses a larger philosophical issue, one that can only be explored through art.

Why dystopian literature remains popular

Yale English professor Joe Cleary argues that dystopian literature’s continued relevance is due to a torrent of additional societal anxieties and that the streaming adaptations of dystopian classics "The Handmaid’s Tale" and "The Man in the High Castle" have expanded the genre’s popularity, introducing new audiences to its tropes.

Can brain scans help with processing trauma?

MRIs and brain monitoring therapies are becoming increasingly popular for those looking to process trauma and address mental health conditions, including PTSD and depression. This article details how these therapies quantify mental health, giving users another way to measure and manage their mental and emotional needs through brain mapping and other methods.

Mental health applications of psychedelics

Scientists are investigating psilocybin, ketamine, LSD, and MDMA (also known as ecstasy) as potential treatments for mental health issues. These drugs enable an altered state of consciousness, which can have beneficial or harmful impacts depending on the nature of the experience. Research suggests these drugs can be effective in treating substance use disorders, mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, and psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia.

The 21st-century novel is increasingly autofictional

Although autofiction, a literary genre blending autobiography and fiction, has been around for millennia, it has become a popular mode in the 21st century. This extensive study of the genre—which analyzes works by Megan Boyle, Tao Lin, and others—argues that the form has become more prevalent because it mirrors the defining technology of the times: social media.

Several bestsellers began as fan fiction

Ali Hazlewood's "The Love Hypothesis" began as "Star Wars" fan fiction. Cassandra Clare's "Mortal Instruments" series was about "Harry Potter" characters Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley. Anna Todd's "After" series was an example of "real life fiction," or fan fiction that is about real people rather than fictional ones (the books were originally based on the boy band One Direction).

Why aren’t students reading?

It's not just anecdotal: Current students struggle to read longer texts and report lower reading levels for enjoyment than past generations. This brief explainer from the Chronicle of Higher Education diagnoses some of the possible causes (increased screen time and learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic among them) along with how some educators are trying to correct the problem.

Learn how Hollywood tries to get mental health portrayals right

"Entertainment is always the first priority," the director of medical research for "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice" explained in this Newsweek article. But, medical consultants and dedicated groups like the University of Southern California's Hollywood, Health, and Society program, can help inform shows' characters, actions, and sensitivities on subjects like mental illness.

'The Stranger' remains a popular novel for teenagers

Camus' book's themes—alienation, transgression, and existentialism—continue to resonate with adolescent reader. That's also true of other popular teenage touchstones, like Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World," George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four," and Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar," which are still widely read—and assigned by high school teachers. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Modernist novels used unconventional narrative approaches

Modernist writers in the early 20th century sought to capture the complexities of the human mind in their fiction. Novelists like Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Jean Rhys, and William Faulkner experimented with the form by using unconventional approaches to narrative, time, and structure. This lecture from Dr. Madeleine Davies from the University of Reading explains how modernists revolutionized fiction, using Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” as a primary example.