I don't usually include novels in my "things I like" forum (unless they relate directly to the arts), but for this one I had to make an exception.

Throughout this excellent piece of fiction from a rising (already risen?) star of the American fiction genre, there is a question that keeps coming up: do the stories have the power to change our lives?

It is an interesting question. Every day it seems some tells me that I need to see this movie or read that book.

What exactly do I hope to gain out of reading or watching?

We can expand the point and consider what exactly one hopes to get out of going to a gallery, or listening to a band.