read a mystery, train a brain
There's something about mystery novels.
I grew up reading them constantly. Hell, I could argue that the only books I was reading for a very long period of time were mystery novels. The Boxcar Children, Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie: these were my reading diet for a good chunk of my childhood. As I grew older, my tastes expanded to include other genres, but there will always be a soft spot in my heart for a good mystery.
And I think that fascination with mysteries trained my brain.
Because I was never just along for the ride when I read a mystery novel. No, I was actively trying to solve the case at the same time as the detective. Sometimes the author made this incredibly easy for me to do, other times it was a bit more complicated. But I was at least able to highlight suspicious elements and figure out the most likely suspects and I have not been surprised by the culprit for a very very long time.
And that process trained my brain to not fear the unknown, to be adept at problem solving, to have a very keen sense of intuition, to be a critical thinker, to pay attention to detail, to always look for the why.
Now where have those skills appeared before?
In my discussions of my love of language and translation!
I guess I can be surprised.
I do honestly think my love of mysteries had a hand in pushing me toward my work with language and translation, because they require so many of the same skills, and I LOVE using those skills.
I’ve always enjoyed handling a large amount of information at once and as I’ve grown, what that information is has simply evolved.
So, read a mystery. It’s amazing what they can do for your brain.
~nan
Currently Reading: The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer. I recently finished Footsteps in the Dark and Why Shoot a Butler? by her as well. All solid mysteries.