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I have enough empathy already thank you very much. (Slightly tongue in cheek) I don't strongly agree or disagree with the study, but overall I think it has some merit.
When I was young I could read stories focusing on tragedies or the human condition etc. without much if any pain. Last year I couldn't finish Water for Elephants or a book told from the viewpoint of an almost dead dog. I found myself approaching tears and didn't like it.
I like to learn things from books and they don't have to be 'literary' for that purpose. I don't mind books that make me angry, but unbearably sad I don't care for. And of course as many people become inured to tragedy and violence by reading about it as those whose empathy increases. More perhaps as given the popularity of thrillers, horror and true crime books.
Helen
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