Edinburgh Book Festival: Sturgeon shares 'theory' on politicians and literature

Nicola Sturgeon has taken to the stage at Edinburgh Books Festival and shared her theory on politicians and literature. 

The First Minister of Scotland and avid reader touched on what literature means to her during an in conversation event with author Arundhati Roy.

In a clip shared on

 by Edinburgh Book Festival, Sturgeon said: “Literature for me is my way of maintaining equilibrium, of trying to deepen my understanding of the world we live in and gaining a perspective and an empathy that is so important, in my view, in the life of any political leader.

“I have a theory, that if more political leaders read more literature, the world wouldn’t be in quite the state it is in right now.”

The event is not Sturgeon's first on the festival circuit, this summer she has also appeared at Harrogate Crime Festival and is scheduled to join Edinburgh Book Festival's Northern Lights series this weekend. Next month she will interview Ian Rankin at Bloody Scotland. 

Earlier this year Sturgeon told the Scottish Book Trade Conference about the lifelong impact reading has had on her as a person, and the impact it can have on society to expand horizons and suggested then-Prime Minister Theresa May should read Small Island by Andrea Levy (Tinder Press).