Well I don’t know about older folks but it help me a lot in terms of growing as a person. Books, in all different genres give you an outlook to another’s person mind and view of the world so you can, even if you disagree, see things in a different light. I’m young and reading made me more mature and help me reduce stress. About the seeing the typical tropes, that’s to be expected, especially if you read a lot of the same genre. Try breaching out. I’m the kinda guy to always guess the end of a book or movie, but I don’t mind that too much. Remember, it’s not always about the end goal, it’s the road leading into it!