What is literature for?

Yesterday in class we watched this video created by Marcus Armitage and Ignatz Johnson Higham for The School of Life. The video explains why we read books and the benefits of this activity. 

 "Why should we spend our time reading novels and poems when, out there, big things are going on? We tend to treat literature as a distraction, an entertainment (something for the beach). But it’s far more than that, literature deserves its prestige for one reason above all others: because it’s a tool to help us live and die with a little more wisdom, goodness and sanity."