Hello lovelies! I hope everyone is having a spectacular Saturday and you guys are already making headway into your TBR pile! I think posting discussion posts on Saturday are becoming a habit and I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not but that doesn’t matter because I have an awesome topic that we can discuss- Fiction Vs Non-Fiction.
Ooooh the age old debate about whether fiction or non fiction books are better and of late the former has been wining I feel, with at least for younger adults anyway. I think many readers prefer fiction books over non fiction and so do I, but for this post I am going to be an advocate for reading more non- fiction books because non-fiction books can be pretty awesome too and I’m somehow balancing the playing field!
Fiction:
I can say, with a hand on my heart, that many readers read fiction because they want to escape. They say I read because I want escape from reality and transport myself into another world, life and mind or some variation of that and I totally read for the exact same reason. Reality can become a bit stressful and tough sometimes and reading a good book no matter genre or length can transport you and take you away from everyday troubles.
Another reason why I think fiction is the best is that sometimes I feel like to tackle a problem or see it more clearly sometimes we need to see it in a different setting, with different people. These problems can easily be as small as getting over heartbreak to a corrupt government. Adding a dash of plot twists and interesting characters and you have an enjoyable story which not only opens your eyes and sometimes helps you figure out problems, but a book that you…well enjoy!
Lastly, fiction encourages creativity! In a world where practicality and logic are becoming highly valued (which is a great thing by the way) creativity is becoming less valued (which is bad!). Creativity and thinking about the impossible is what brought many modern day inventions. Creativity should and needs to be encouraged and what’s a better way then reading books were the impossible exists!
Non-Fiction:
This is the part where I encourage more people to read non-fiction!
Non fiction isn’t boring! I’m a believer that everybody loves history, they just haven’t found the right time period yet! You thought that Henry and his six wives were interesting? Pick up a non fiction history book talking about Henry’s marriages. Thought that the Roman Empire was pretty cool? There are more then plenty of books detailing the rise and fall of the Roman Empire- treat yourself to one! I’m kind of surprised by the amount of feminists that haven’t read a single non fiction feminist book! I mean I’m not feminist but I’ve read a few and they are actually interesting even if I don’t agree with many points. And by reading a book based around something you find interesting, you are simultaneously learning something.
Secondly, as much as we love to escape to faraway lands and follow the lives of people live the life, we are still in reality and educating yourself on the many things we deal with in life could help you. Read books on issues that you see every night on the telly and increase your trunk of knowledge! Knowledge is power! So yeah my main point here is education and knowledge. You can learn a lot from fiction, but sometimes nothing is better than a hard dose of reality.
My last point here kind of leads off from the second one. I can’t help but imagine a world were people actually read history books. And I don’t exactly mean books about Georgian period but just books about 20th century life and politics and economics. We know we won’t make mistakes from the past and we learn from those mistakes and build a better world because of them. This sounds really utopian I know, but I don’t see why we can’t make at least half of it true. Reading non-fiction also encourages the use of facts and figures over feeling making more which leads to people making more logical decisions that could truly make the world a better place.
So who wins…
YOU DECIDE! Comment down below and tell me who wins the great fiction V non-fiction debate! And I don’t want know they are both so good because we know that! I want merciless answers from you bookworms!
-Astra
I don’t think I could choose one that’s better. Both genres are far too broad to rule one out over the other. Within the fiction genre alone, for example, I really like fantasy, sci-fi, and contemporary books, but have little interest in romance. In non-fiction, I enjoy memoirs and books about music, but more scientific books bore me. It doesn’t work for me to rule out one or the other, because there are too many options within each.
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AGREED. Genres are WAY too broad and it’s really hard to pick because there definitely are certain aspects of each that I don’t like or like.
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Hahaha I know but I wanted some decisive answers! I agree that the genres are so broad and different it would be hard to pick that you definitely like more than the other.
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Honestly for me it’s fiction over non-fiction. The only time I’ve really read non-fiction books was in high school for GCSE English and I just found it so hard to get through them. I like being able to escape in the story, knowing at the end (most times) everything has a happy ending, and I love the creativity of all the books out there, mainly fantasy, where authors create their own worlds and characters. Personally I don’t think anything can beat that.
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Ooooh good answer! I can totally see your reason for picking fiction over non fiction. It’s really hard to beat those magical worlds that authors can somehow conjure up! Thanks for answering!
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That’s all right. I think I’ve always preferred fiction, literally because of the magical worlds (probably why fantasy is my favourite genre as well)! There’s just nothing that can beat curling up with a book for a few hours and forgetting the real world exists 🙂
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Hahahaha definitely that is like my perfect night in! I think that’s why fiction and more specifically fantasy holds dear in many people’s lives 🙂
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Same here, it’s how I spend most of my weekends 😀 I think when starting out reading people start with fiction and/or fantasy books so, definitely in my case, I think it’s just what people grew up with and are used to. I’d probably enjoy non-fiction if I gave it a go now I’m not reading it for school.
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That’s a good point though actually about people getting into reading normally through fiction. It’s probably true and then when people get older they start finding out some non-fiction. I think non-fiction sometimes becomes synonymous with school text books which deters people a little, but I’m glad you like non-fiction 🙂
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It’s definitely the case with me, I started off with the Harry Potter books and that inspired my love of fantasy and fiction, and the first time I read a non-fiction book was in high school and I just did not enjoy it. It definitely coloured my views on the genre for a while!
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I know you said not to say both, but I’m gonna say both 😉 I love nonfiction because I love learning about everything I can get my hands on. My favourite nonfictions are definitely true crime. I also find some biographies and memoirs interesting too and want to start reading some more historical NFs. I love fiction too though for all the reasons you listed it’s really nice escaping into the various worlds. I feel like both genres are so broad and I can’t compare them to choose. I definitely read more fiction than non fiction, but I think people should definitely give NF a chance if they haven’t read it before.
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I understand why you can’t chose, I was just trying to be merciless!
It’s so hard to compare the two genres because as you said they are so broad and so different as well! I feel like I need to read more history NFs as well as I find them so interesting when I do read them.
Thank you for answering!
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I think I would always prefer fiction over non-fiction. Like you said, fiction is a lot about the escape, and I absolutely love that. There are a few times that I’m in the mood for non-fiction, but that’s more rare, and only happen if I have a strong urge to learn something, or if I want some inspiration.
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Thanks for answering! It’s really hard to beat a good fiction I believe because of that whole aspect of escapism but hopefully o may have nudged you to read more non-fiction from my reasons ???
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Yeah, definitely! I’ll probably pick up a non-fiction once my semester is over! 🙂
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Yay! 😀
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I’ve enjoyed a ton of non-fiction books over the years, but I’ve always gravitated toward fiction books. I think fiction wins for me.
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Thanks for answering!
I understand- I think fiction is always something that people just love I guess.
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This is such a good topic!
I’m going to be honest, I don’t read non-fiction, it doesn’t attract me, I just don’t feel it but I think I just need to find the right book. I would love to diverse my reading and start reading some non-fiction, I can’t wait for that to happen!
I’m a lover of fiction I just love the worlds, and all the adventures and romance! It’s just so good for me!
So, right now, at this moment, I say for me wins fiction.
But, I agree with all the things you said!
Really enjoyed reading this 😀
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I still have to go with Fiction but I really do understand the importance of Nonfiction. I read Nonfiction occasionally, about 1 every couple of months, but Fiction will always have my heart.
Great post and wonderful points!
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Thank you!
Yes I know and I think that I lead on the side of Fiction mostly but doing this post has made me realise why I love non fiction books.
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Fiction novels are definitely my go-to. But there are times that I’ll pick up some non-fiction, usually history books if I’m honest. I find historical non-fiction to be fascinating! I also have a couple of books about different world religions and politics. I want to try some memoirs next though. I have a few biographies but I’d really like to add some autobiographies too. Great post!! 🙂
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I need to read a autobiography and some memoirs! I haven’t read one in ages. I love historical non-fiction as well. I love it when the author tries to make the history part more fun and entertaining as well.
Thank you and thank you for answering!
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Cannot pick one over the other since they’re so far apart. I love fiction and I certainly read more of it. But I think non fiction makes me a better person. Yes yes. I shouldn’t say both. So I’ll be honest. Fiction is more popular but the older I get the more I realise that I read non fiction too.
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I was a bit merciless saying to pick one but you are right! I think both fiction and non fiction can make a person a better person but I feel like non-fiction doesn’t beat around the bush about it.
Sooo your answer is fiction? I think everybody needs a dose of non-fiction from time to time 😀
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Omg this is such a great topic because I also noticed that I tend to avoid non-fiction in general. But there are some hsitory themes that I particularly love, I guess when I think of non-fiction it always comes to 100 tips to having a great belly or How I became successful that kind of stuff LOL but me lovey some stories about wars, slavery, history in general
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I’m glad you liked the topic 😀
I totally know what you mean but I used to jump to footballer autobiographies! That’s why I kind of included the paragraph saying that history in non-fiction can be totally cool too!
I hope you pick up some books about war and slavery! Both are really interesting subjects to read!
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I will admit to reading way less non-fiction than fiction, but both can be just as good as the other one. There are a lot of non-fiction books that actually quite well disguised as fiction … for example Eat, Pray, Love or Wild. I loved those books and they were basically just real life accounts. But really enjoy reading the autobiographies of some of my favourite actors and actresses or comedians. Also, if there’s topic I like, I am all for that book. Here I have anohter example: Quiet by Susan Cain – SO GOOD! It’s about the difference between introverts and extroverts and that it’s totally okay to be either one.
But I am not much for historical non-fiction, that’s not really my jam.
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I think that stance is really universal for a lot YA bookworms, I just hope that my post prompted some to pick one up.
I’ve heard of those titles and I am intrigued by autobiographies by comedians and actors/actresses but I am more down the historical route unlike yourself 😛 I totally understand, but I will crack down your historical era, Kat!
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Good luck with that LOL
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I wouldn’t say one’s better than the other, but I definitely enjoy fiction more. In fact, I hardly ever read non fiction. I think it’s because fiction tends to be written in a more entertaining way that can make you forget you’re reading, while non fiction is obviously more fact driven. That being said, if a non fiction book caught my eye, I wouldn’t NOT read it just because it’s a real story. Like I really want to read the Diary of Anne Frank at some point.
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I definitely understand the entertainment factor and how that’s a driving force for many people. You are really aware when you read a non fiction book which I guess may be a downside to reading a non fiction.
A Diary of a Young Girl is SOO good! I will have to reread it soon. it’s very impactful.
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I’m always surprised when I read non-fiction (you’d think I would’ve learnt by now) by how much I enjoy it. But that being said, nothing beats dragons, nothing, *serious nodding*.
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Hahahaha yes, I totally get that stance *nods along*
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True, nonfiction isn’t boring but fiction wins for me. I love reading stories and being transported to somewhere new. I like escaping the world without leaving it.
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That’s understandable! I think the majority of of readers agree on your stand point! Have a tempted you to pick up a non-fiction book soon???
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