Can you really improve knowledge by reading novels?

i certainly believe that reading books within your example a novel, can abrupt some of our knowledge. it can help for our vocabulary. im fond of reading books and so i say that because of this my English is improving long enough.. i agree about letting the reader share to the world their emotions, but they shared more than their emotions do they? have a happy myLotting! ~pInX~

I usually make notes and underlines while reading Michael Crichton's novels. He did a lot of a research on scientific papers prior to his writing. Of course, the readers need to know what is true knowledge and what come from the author's imagination. Readers who are really interested in certain topic can do their own follow up. Then they will find more facts from the fictions. So reading novel will stimulate readers' interests in finding more knowledge.

Although it has been quite a while since reading seriously, I have always taken works of fiction as just that - fiction. All aspects of the novel can be fictional or imaginary and this is a freedom that writers have in trying to convey a message, a feeling or just a pleasurable walk through an imaginary story. If I am to believe or accept factual information from someone's writing, I turn to reference works for this, where there are facts presented and support for these quoted. Reading novels, I believe, should be purely for pleasure or to provoke some feeling or thought, not for reference as factual knowledge.

There are some things that can be learned from novels. Some authors take great pains to research everything. There are a lot of novels set in historical times that are very accurate in the depiction of what life was like in those eras. The only thing that they embellish would be the characters and the situations in which they place them. That being said, I would probably research things myself before I quoted a novel, unless I was very sure of the authors integrity.

I read novels during my free time, and I think it increased my knowledge on vocabulary, story perception, areas like that. It depends though, about the novels that you read. There are a legion of novels ranging from a multitude of concept and genre, and that what you read may sometimes reflect who you are ;]

i think so because it allows you to think more creatively as well as gain random knowledge

Even not checking facts, it increases vocabulary and keeps your brain moving!

i don't think that the author's reason in writing a novel is just to free people from depression. its probably one reason, but its not the only reason and not the main reason. i think it depends on the person whether he or she would learn from a novel. a person should know how to determine facts from fiction. a person should be selective of what she would believe, what she should treat as facts and what she should treat as fiction. and besides, most novels have an author's foreword/last word that not everything she or he had written are based on facts. the authors always want to be clear on that. they would say which are true and which are not. if a person is serious in what she's reading, of course, she'll research about it in order to prove what is fact and what is fiction. as for me, i believe that reading novels is one way of acquiring knowledge, may it be on science, general information, history or trivia.

I would believe the amount of knowledge attained by a novel, as well as the quality thereof, would depend on the novel more than anything else. These days, just about anything can be published especially with all the self-publishing services that are out there now, and a lot of wrong information is thrown into the mix. Many authors now seem to like to put some sort of political slant on their work which would have a tendency to throw off readers, and others, while they may have a premise for a novel, have clearly not done their research (for instance anyone who says people in New Orleans have southern accents is mistaken, and I know this because my family is originally from New Orleans). Like any form of research, novels are no exception to the rule that the better quality your source the more real knowledge you will obtain. You have to make sure that if the novel does contain any trivia or factual information that it is both correct and presented in an unbiased sort of manner. I also believe some different authors will write a piece of fiction for different purposes. Often times, it is to take the reader to a better place and free them from the rigors of daily life. Other times they intend to educate us on a certain topic or issue using a fictitious format perhaps to make it more entertaining or to serve as a backdrop for their story. If it is done well, the factual errors will be minimal, and it the fictional aspect will be a believable and realistic picture within these facts. And I do believe novels certainly do a better job achieving this than most films and movies, particularly big blockbusters, but that's a whole other topic of discussion.

It does and it doesn't as it depends on how much research a author has done and some do and some don't. I'm sure some people are disappointed when they go to a country that a novel was set in and it just isn't the same. It is not so much knowledge as in facts but novels give us knowledge of experiences that we may never experience for ourselves.

OH YEAH! By reading and watching TV and just "surfing" online, you can increase knowledge! You may not go into rocket science? But you'll learn tons! Anything you do in life leads to knowledge!

It does not matter. I have read novels with history involved and did a little research if I was curious as to it's authenticity. Reading, even comic books, gets the mind to work and a busy mind is what you want. I love to read and my favorite books are mystery and biographies.

Reading books definitely improve knowledge ! Apart from the lots of facts mentioned on novels one got good taste of litrature too ! Novel can be sometime the main source of development of human raise and we all knows that the science fiction novels are great source for technological revolution ! From novels we definitely learns the ethics and beliefs of other people !

as far as novels go, it really depends on what the reader chooses to commit the time to. I think that the best example would be that someone would undoubtably be smarter from reading Animal Farm or Night but would probably have no diffrence when reading somthing like The Devil Wears Prada. Its basicly a matter of how to spend your time

You can learn many things from reading, not just facts. You can learn better vocabulary, new words, life situations. Some people say soap operas are a waste of time but when I saw myself mirrored in one situation it really made me stop and think. Things that happen in other people's lives either real or fiction can benefit us all in some way. They stop and make you think. And if it doesn't, then maybe it will make you laugh... and that's a good thing too.

Contrary to what you believe, arun, novels can impart knowledge. I have been an avid reader of novels for most of my life and have gained much knowledge through my reading. As a case in point, if I am reading a novel and it contains material dealing with subject matter that I am not very familiar with, I am then encouraged to do some follow-up research to learn more about that particular subject. I practice this with almost every novel that I read and it has greatly improved my knowledge.

Hi arun, Any reading is good, even novels. Of course some are better than others. Blessings.

We will add knowledge in writing, hone our skills in writing, add vocabulary

What books are you reading or not reading????? Of course you can really improve knowledge by reading novels. You can learn something from almost anything you read. With novels it can be learning about another country's geographics, people, customs, cuisine, etc. Especially nowadays where authors research people are so good and dilligent about story background research. If your mind is strong enough, and the writer good enough, they should only be able to sweep you up in the moment and make you see or feel what they feel. Even if it's depression. You should be able to shake that off easily, especailly since it someone else that you don't even know. An most likely someone else's fiction. I am a great believer in just sit back and enjoy the ride. Even more so, if you happen to learn something along the way.

reading novels only relaxed the readers, since i have read so many novels during university life. i found most common novels are easy reading and just for fun or entertainment. however, if you find some famous novels, you will find it is another case, that we also can understand life through some simple novels.