Question of the Week # 3; Fiction vs Non-Fiction!!
- Thread starter La Femme Fatale
- Start date
tremor
4 itchy tasty
Hmmm I usually go for fiction. It is a great way for me to escape, if you know what I mean. I like to get lost in other worlds and it's even better when the author can paint pictures in your mind. Those are the greatest authors. I do enjoy some non-fiction from time to time as well. What I really enjoy is fiction that plays off of real events...twists what really happened, ya know?
Venomous Oddball
Also Known as Maddy
It really depends. Fiction, like Tremor said, really lets you escape, but it's also interesting to absorb yourself into real life events that you weren't part of.
Jen
Girly Gamer
For me, fiction definitely has the edge. I love to get into a book, or series of books, that really makes you immerse yourself in the world of the characters and actually care about what happens to them. And as mentioned by the ladies above, it does provide an escape for a while.
On occasion I do enjoy reading about history, but if it was a choice I would definitely go fiction. There are more possibilities and worlds to explore in fiction.
On occasion I do enjoy reading about history, but if it was a choice I would definitely go fiction. There are more possibilities and worlds to explore in fiction.
Scrumpeh
Sleepy Person
I'd definitely have to go with fiction. For me, I tend to get immersed in fiction books, whereas in non-fiction books I just kind of read them.
KevinStriker
"Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it?"
Honestly, I think it's important to read both fiction and non-fiction, I'd be hardpressed to pick one over the other, because you read both for different reasons.
Springhosen
Kahnum of Outworld
Non-fiction.. Or fiction based on real events in a historical figure's life. Fiction is nice and all but sometimes it gets out there. I like reading about real people and real things that have happened; it's more interesting to me.
Romero
Her royal court joker
I do like fiction, but not enough to read it. I only read encyclopedias and history books. When it comes to movies (if we're allowed to mention anything besides books) I'm more diverse, I like to watch a good fictional story. Still I watch much more documentary films than fiction.
No when that's out of the way, can I discuss the lovely Meg?
shadowman912
Well-Known Member
Fiction. I think almost everyone on this forum will go with that. Because it's the same reason we all play video games and watch animae. We like to lose ourselves in a different world, be more then you can be in real life. We can survive zombie apocalypses. Slay dragons. Walk with dinosaurs. See a world capable of being more then our own. Living in our imaginations, somewhere in between the certain pain that awaits us in real life and the blissful chaos of our dreams.
mjk321
Well-Known Member
Pseudo-fiction, or steampunk
Hel
Goddess of the Dead
Fiction, regarding both reading and writing.
Reading about true historical events is much less exciting in my opinion because chances are you already know the story and how it ends. Unless there are some fictional elements thrown in, in which case it becomes fiction. Based on true events, yes, but still fiction.
Writing about true historical events is much more work and much less fun. You have to research everything and stick to so many rules, imagination is barely necessary because you won't have an opportunity to implement it anyway. Unless there are some fictional elements thrown in, in which case... well, I already said that. I'm downright allergic to that because of the many boring papers I had to write for university.
My only exception when it comes to this is astronomy. I've read many non-fictional books about it, mostly from Stephen Hawking and similar scientists, but never read a single novel or watched a single movie (like Star Wars, the ignorance of which makes me uneducated in some people's eyes). I don't think there's anything more interesting than the space we all live in, and no novel or movie or other fictional story will ever make it more exciting than it already is.
Reading about true historical events is much less exciting in my opinion because chances are you already know the story and how it ends. Unless there are some fictional elements thrown in, in which case it becomes fiction. Based on true events, yes, but still fiction.
Writing about true historical events is much more work and much less fun. You have to research everything and stick to so many rules, imagination is barely necessary because you won't have an opportunity to implement it anyway. Unless there are some fictional elements thrown in, in which case... well, I already said that. I'm downright allergic to that because of the many boring papers I had to write for university.
My only exception when it comes to this is astronomy. I've read many non-fictional books about it, mostly from Stephen Hawking and similar scientists, but never read a single novel or watched a single movie (like Star Wars, the ignorance of which makes me uneducated in some people's eyes). I don't think there's anything more interesting than the space we all live in, and no novel or movie or other fictional story will ever make it more exciting than it already is.
ArabianLuffy
Legend
Reader's choice of interest.
Author's storytelling skill and plot.
It makes no difference to me. I read manga and listen to audible.
Author's storytelling skill and plot.
It makes no difference to me. I read manga and listen to audible.
Romero
Her royal court joker
Like some of the stupid "documentary" films on History channel and various Discovery channels!Pseudo-fiction, or steampunk
I really dislike fiction that are presented as documentary films. I have become extra skeptical to films on History channel and the Discovery network. They must be trying to be "Disney channel" for adults and it annoys me.
La Femme Fatale
The Queen
Hmm.. what way is that? Only curious.
I feel that both have their place and are important. I remember having a conversation with a friend several years ago regarding the Twilight saga. She was disappointed that many young girls chose to read those books instead of more classic novels.. but I feel that younger generations are not encouraged to read, so anything that can compel them to do so was fine. I'm not sure I can say the same for its successor *cough50shadescough* - I haven't read the books or watched the movie, but the relationship portrayed doesn't sound the least bit healthy. But that's another discussion entirely...
Personally, I actually prefer to read non-fiction. I've chosen to pave a way for myself in an industry where you are constantly constructing arguments and having to back them up with facts and evidence. It's a far more efficient use of my time to read about Canadian history and politics, than to read fiction. That's not to say I don't read fiction - I certainly do - but I find more value in non-fiction and entertainment in fiction.
Hel
Goddess of the Dead
It pi$$es me off when people say something like that. And this is not me speaking as a Twilight fan, but as someone who thinks people should read whatever they want, and as you said, we should be glad that the younger generation still takes an interest in reading at all, be it Twilight, Harry Potter, or Shakespeare. (Fun fact: Twilight is actually based on Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, which means that 50 Shades of Grey is too... in a way.)
I've read quite a few classic novels, and none of them have ever made me more intelligent or educated. They haven't contributed anything to my own writing skills either, let alone my social life. I'm mentioning this because a friend of mine once claimed you need to know about classic literature so you can take part in cultural conversations, but since none of my friends ever talk about that, it means we either never have any cultural conversations, or classic literature is just not a part of it anymore. Either way it's irrelevant for us, and probably for many others too nowadays.
I'm not saying people shouldn't read it if they like it. They just shouldn't be forced (and that includes children at school).
cheezMcNASTY
Entertain me.
Fiction, no matter how well-crafted or thought-provoking it may be, is crafted. It's an author's rhetoric. An author who's only necessary credential/voice of authority is that he decided to write a book. The story's most obvious messages are contrived by the author, though a lot of things do get left to the reader's interpretation.
Given that:
Fiction's use is exhausted when we've decided we know right from wrong.
Beyond that point it's only entertainment.
There is nothing more valuable to learn from than real-world facts and experiences. Taking note of historical trends and events is just infinitely more rewarding. It puts you, here, and today in a much clearer perspective.
A good fictional narrative may shine a new light and help you through a life problem, but non-fiction will always be there to remind you that your problems and stress are just creations of your mind which ultimately don't matter except because you perceive it to and that your mind is made of millions of electricity-firing neurons on an enormous sphere that has trillions of light-years of nothing between everything you've ever known and the things we'll probably never know as a constantly-evolving species.
HARRY POTTER DON'T TELL YOU THAT ****, YO!
Given that:
- Aside from entertainment, what we learn most from reading fiction is lessons in morality
- Morality is a human invention which we (humans) decided the terms of
Fiction's use is exhausted when we've decided we know right from wrong.
Beyond that point it's only entertainment.
There is nothing more valuable to learn from than real-world facts and experiences. Taking note of historical trends and events is just infinitely more rewarding. It puts you, here, and today in a much clearer perspective.
A good fictional narrative may shine a new light and help you through a life problem, but non-fiction will always be there to remind you that your problems and stress are just creations of your mind which ultimately don't matter except because you perceive it to and that your mind is made of millions of electricity-firing neurons on an enormous sphere that has trillions of light-years of nothing between everything you've ever known and the things we'll probably never know as a constantly-evolving species.
HARRY POTTER DON'T TELL YOU THAT ****, YO!
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