Fiction vs Non-fiction

I read a non-fiction book cover to cover, it was a very interesting and informative read and made me feel like I should read more nonfiction. I am however keenly aware that the majority of people, including me,  don’t enjoy reading a lot of nonfiction as it can be very dry.  I own a large number of nonfiction books which I haven’t read and just sit on the bookcase looking at me making me feel guilty about buying them if I am not going to read them. 

I personally feel part of the stigma of not reading nonfiction books come from school.  When I think about nonfiction I think of thick textbooks full of dry text, or writing that some previous student has left on the book. This stage in your life can make or break your want to read more. Your friends can influence you, you haven’t yet settled on your hobbies but you are getting to the stage where you are developing into the adult you will become.  Meaning ;being discouraged from reading at this point can influence the rest of your life.  

Reading fiction is much more pleasurable than reading nonfiction.  You know there will not be questions at the end of the section,  you know you won’t have to take notes (unless you are writing a review) and you can just sit back and enjoy the story.  There are also so many different stories, characters and genres for you to read that you can read a different book everyday of your life, and probably never get bored. 

This means that in comparison nonfiction can be rather boring.  

Nonfiction being boring doesn’t give anyone the right to ignore it.  With a lot of things that you want to learn about you can google it, and usually find some information that you want.  But for something that you need to know in depth a book has still not been replaced.  

There is something about reading advice from a book,  knowing you are able to pick it up at any time and look back at the information knowing that it hasn’t changed or been altered.  

Nonfiction helps you to learn valuable life lessons.  You can learn about the history of the world, the politics of the day, you can learn about hydraulics, or how to use wordpress (I still have to read that book). Being able to learn about these things in a reliable source and reference back is important to allow growth in understanding. 

Nonfiction also allows you to exercise your brain.  Much like muscles, using your brain allows it two grow and develop. Keeping your brain active is very important for your health.  There are numerous studies available explaining the link of keeping your brain active and preventing the onset of dementia .

If you are a writer then knowing more about the world you live in is important, all genres of books are based in the real world in some way.  Lord of the Rings was written because J. R. R. Tolkien was trying to recover from fighting in the First World War, or Charles Dicken;s who commented a lot on what was happening in the world at the time.  Even Shakespeare fell for this by writing about witches when King James became King of England which King James was known for liking.  Each of these things allow a writer to add more depth and in some cases more plot twists than otherwise may be added. 

As such I am planning on reading more nonfiction and I am hoping to share some reviews to hopefully encourage you to pick up a nonfiction book  If I have let me know what you read in the comments below (some suggestions are always helpful). 

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