Fiction or Fact?

[ApolloBalboa]

What do you enjoy reading best, imaginative works that tell stories or those detailing actual events, studies or people?

I used to enjoy reading a lot of fiction, but as I've gotten older I've become a bigger peruser of non-fiction. The last fiction book I recall reading was Candide by Voltaire, while the most non-fiction books I've finished reading where The Prince by Machiavelli (which some may consider toeing the line between the two, but I consider non-fiction because it's a treatise) and The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God by Carl Sagan. I picked up the former because I'm aware of its correlation to many areas of politics today and I can enjoy a tongue-in-cheek vivisection of government, and the latter because the ideas surrounding God, the anthropic principle, and the universe in general have become a burgeoning interest of mine.

 

[Luu]

I read both. For fiction I tend to choose light pageturners these days, for non-fiction I stick to history.

Last fiction I read: Inferno by Dan Brown. I have a deep rooted bias against that author, due to his... easy relationship with truth. Not sure if he actually believes some of the stuff he Writes, or if that's all PR. It certainly worked with the Da Vinci Code though.

Currently reading Jerusalem by Simon Sebag Montefiore. A fascinating look into the history of this historically central city.

 

[Luu]

Wow, this thread didn't catch on...

...no offence intended. :tongue:

 

[L3ggy]

I have a love for the works of Tolkien, but I also love to read about history, especially Greek and Scandinavian history.

 

[Luu]

Yeah, I'm an avid reader of the Professors works myself. ("Fan" just seems wrong in that context.)

 

[ApolloBalboa]

Wow, this thread didn't catch on...

...no offence intended. :tongue:

None taken, I'm aware it's a bit of a heavy question and I'm sure that some people may not take the time to think about and dissect their literary preferences.

Now I'm aware of the spelling and grammatical errors in my first post. Frak.

 

[dp93]

real like this

 

[Luu]

None taken, I'm aware it's a bit of a heavy question and I'm sure that some people may not take the time to think about and dissect their literary preferences.

Now I'm aware of the spelling and grammatical errors in my first post. Frak.

Oh, I didn't mean you, fellow Reader.

real like this

Easily distracted person says: Who's that girl?

 

[dp93]

Oh, I didn't mean you, fellow Reader.



Easily distracted person says: Who's that girl?

Chanel Preston

 

[sean miguel]

I grew up reading fiction but I just can't read it anymore. I started reading Game of Thrones but lost all interest. I'll stick with HBO.

When I do take time to read it's non-fiction - politics, current events, history, military history etc.

Some of the recent books I've read are No Easy Day (Bin Laden raid), Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10. I'm finishing Witness by Whittaker Chambers right now.

 

[Luu]

@ dp93: Thanks.

I grew up reading fiction but I just can't read it anymore. I started reading Game of Thrones but lost all interest. I'll stick with HBO.

Yeah, I saw the trailer for the show and thought it looked interesting. I decided to read some of it before watching, and ended up reading all the books so far released in about six months. Yeah, I do have way too much free time...

 

[Rey C.]

Usually historical non-fiction, specifically about ancient Rome. But it's also fun to read fictionalized accounts that take actual history and give a what-if view of things. Imagine what the world would be like now if the Roman Empire hadn't fallen and the Dark Ages had never taken place (we lost several hundred years of progress right there), or even better, if the Roman Republic had been restored at some point. If not for the illiterate Dark Ages, hell, we might have had jet planes and computers 200+ years ago and we might be colonizing Mars or the moon right now.

 

[Mr_Stiffy]

I'm ludicrously picky with fiction, there are only certain writers that I've been able to get into - Tolkien, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert, George Martin, Michael Crichton, Chuck Palahniuk. And I go so long between books, I've got a mountain I haven't read yet, so there's no point me trying to get into anyone else. Although I did enjoy "Wetlands" by Charlotte Roche, which I found disgusting, then arousing, then disturbing. Yes, I enjoyed that.

In terms of factual books, I've had to read so many factual books for study and for jobs, I can't do it for recreation. Other than autobiographies from industries I'm into - football, wrestling, porn.

 

[luis1972]

half and half

 

[jod0565]

I like fiction but I truly enjoy reading National Geographic magazine - lots of interesting and amazing stuff.

 

[BlkHawk]

Usually fiction but all over the place: Larry Niven, Jane Austen, Robert Jordan, Jules Verne, Richard Wright, Agatha Christie. The last non-fiction was either Stan Lee's autobiography or Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel. If you like comic books Stan Lee's bio is a lot of fun I read that in one sitting. It was called Excelsior! : The Amazing Life of Stan Lee