Wonderworks is a cornucopia of insufferable-but-profitable intellectual and publishing trends, a survey that grinds down centuries of art into the stuff of dietary supplements and serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

As Fletcher tells us, asking and answering such queries is not why writers write or readers read. Literature isn’t an argument; rather, it’s a technology designed to improve our lives. Literature generates sensations that readers need to experience, things like love, courage, empathy, and serenity. Literature can help us overcome stress, connect with our fellow humans, and find joy.

The table of contents alone inspires a certain kind of wonder, bordering on incredulity.

The author skillfully draws attention to a number of inventions from global contexts and language backgrounds.

Reading good books doesn’t just entertain us; it teaches us how to better use our brains and our emotions, as this lively treatise tells us. Fletcher, a professor of story science at Ohio State’s Project Narrative, holds doctorates in both literature and neuroscience, which meet fluently in this thought-packed survey.

Fletcher, professor of story science at Ohio State’s Project Narrative, delivers an innovative take on storytelling that shows how stories 'plug into different regions of our brain.'.