Fiction vs. Non-Fiction

A couple of weeks back, I mentioned this topic: Fiction vs. Non-Fiction. Honestly, since then I've thought of several facets to the topic, but here's the initial one.


A friend of mine, who frequently mentions books he has read when having discussions, has recommended several books to me. (Hi, Bill.) Readers of my blog may remember I read one of them, Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama, and enjoyed it. But since then, I have not read any others, though he has been kind enough to lend me a couple more. Why?

He reads, and recommends, non-fiction.

And me? I'm a fiction kind of guy.

The thing is, for a long time, I didn't realize there was such a thing as a "fiction kind of guy."

It's funny, but a person can live for decades not realizing assumptions he is making. For years, without realizing it, I just assumed that people read fiction. Sure, I knew there were non-fiction books being published all the time, so at some level I knew people were buying and reading them, but in the back of my mind, I must have been assuming that people read these books as a sort of "second choice."

Then, a few years back, my friend Ron told me that he doesn't read fiction. Ever! Non-fiction is his cup of tea. Always.

Oh my! If there's one person like that, I realized, there are probably more!

And so I began noticing that some people I've known for years are probably non-fiction people, others read both fiction and non-fiction, and then there's a group of people like me who read fiction almost exclusively.

I'm not going to try to change anyone's reading habits. Clearly, this is a highly personal decision. These days, I think we should be supportive of anyone who reads books of any kind. So as I think about why I read fiction rather than non-fiction, my comments are not proselytizing, they are self-examination.


I read fiction to consume the results of the imagination of others. I get a thrill out of "what if." I like meeting "people" who take actions I cannot possibly know about ahead of time. I am impressed by a well-constructed plot with an "A-Ha" denouement. I love seeing an author make a point about humanity with a combination of characters, plot, and imagination, while still telling me a good story. Reading fiction [good fiction, anyway] gives me this. It's hard to imagine not allowing myself time to become immersed in the future view of Asimov, the wit of Twain, the concise horror of Poe.

And who would I be if I had not read, and re-read, the classic works of J.R.R. Tolkien? It's hard to imagine.

Newer authors like McDevitt and Card (whose work I have reviewed here), McCaffrey and Ellison, and the many gathered by Gardner Dozois in the annual "Year's Best Science Fiction" anthology? These people can take me places I'd never see, let alone imagine.

Non-fiction? Too often, it sounds like studying. Now clearly, I don't mind learning. Learning is great. It's one of the reasons I like my profession, and it's absolutely why I've purchased and listened to the Great Courses. But studying is different. Studying requires effort. If reading a book feels like studying, it feels like work, and I don't get enjoyment out of spending my free time working [in that way.]

I'm quite confident that people who read non-fiction can list plenty of books that won't give me that "studying" feeling. So, perhaps, as I try to devote more time to reading in the future, I can give a couple of those recommendations a try.

But for now, when you see me reading, when you read my reviews, you can be pretty sure I'll be reading fiction.