What does reading fictional literature ACTUALLY do?

The question of the day: Why does literature need to be useful?

New Yorker- Should Literature Be Useful?

I read this really interesting article today on the New Yorker. In this article by Lee Siegel, he addresses two recent studies in which it was found that "reading serious literary fiction makes people more empathetic, and humanists everywhere are clinking glasses in celebration."

If you read the rest of the article, Siegel calls into question why these studies feel the need to prove that literary fiction has a purpose.

And I have to say I agree.

Why is it that we must have a purpose to everything we do? It seems like we are constantly feeling the need to justify everything we are doing by proving what the ends to our means are.

I've noticed that frequently the articles I read (yes more reading) in the news are constantly emphasizing the benefits of reading but they seem to concentrate on the fact that it increases your vocabulary, extends your critical thinking skills, and that it will help you go further in your career because it encourages active brain function and creativity.

But what we forget is that sometimes a book is just a book, and the best thing about it is just reading and escaping from our world for a bit. I don't feel the need to keep explaining that I love books because of all the benefits its going to give me and how its going to change and alter me personally. I just read because I want to. It doesn't need to serve a purpose.