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Fiction or nonfiction? Why? (self.books)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by mcpheeandme to c/[email protected]

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I appreciate fiction, but I almost always read nonfiction. It's probably because I typically choose the books on topics I'm interested in and want to learn about. But I also love the way a great nonfiction writer can weave a narrative so strong that it's just as much literature as it is journalism.

Some of my favorite examples of nonfiction that do this well: Soul Full of Coal Dust, Toms River, Desert Solitaire (Abbey can be problematic, though, so be warned), The Pine Barrens, This Land, and on and on.

I guess I'm kinda stuck in the environment/nature section these days!

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

I consider reading a cultivating activity to enrich one's knowledge on certain topics. This is why I, like you, find myself reading predominantly nonfiction.

Fiction, however, can be utilized to disclose valuable information as much as to offer leisure. One novel I have in mind is The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, which quite explicitly tackles philosophical and social questions via the protagonists' journal entries.

[–] mcpheeandme 3 points 2 years ago

Agreed. Sometimes fiction reflects reality very well, in its own unique way. I used to be a journalist, and I recall some of my colleagues wondering whether they could do more good by moving to fiction and taking on larger issues in that medium.