Alec Hogg: Fiction’s restorative benefits

As a teenager consumed with tales of derring-do by Wilbur Smith's Courtneys and Ballantynes, it's been a joy to redicover the restorative power of fiction. In this case, courtesy of my bank inviting me to a webinar with historical novelist Ken Follett. The consequence was an experience ranking alongside the discovery of When The Lion Feeds so long ago.

Also read: Alec Hogg: Interview with Charlie Munger

Last night I closed the cover on Pillars of the Earth for the final time, having done the same last month with its prequel, SA's current best-selling fiction, The Evening and the Morning. At 1 092 and 817 pages respectively, they're chunky companions. But once getting into the tomes, there's few better ways of temporarily departing the challenges of everyday life.

Years ago after a post AGM press conference in Omaha, I asked Berkshire chairman Warren Buffett for reading advice. The famously voracious bookworm advised a focus on biographies because "there's a great deal you can learn from dead guys." So, for literally decades that's been my standard fare.

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