Over the weekend I got into a conversation with a few friends about reading fiction vs. nonfiction.
This debate has been played out many times and is one that you have probably already been in yourself if you read regularly.
It usually goes something like this:
People who only read nonfiction tend to think that reading is for information, for education, for improving themselves, for learning, for being productive.
People who only read fiction tend to think that reading is for entertainment, for getting lost in other worlds, for great storytelling, for feeling emotions.
The irony is that both fiction and nonfiction can do all of these things.
Earlier today I finished reading the Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante, which is a series of four books that spans the entire life, from childhood to adulthood to old age, of two intelligent friends, Elena and Lila. It is an epic of sorts, and one that I think had a profound impact on me (in fact, I think I need to collect my thoughts on the series and write about it more later this week).
The truth is that this fiction series not only did all of the things that great fiction does (i.e., entertain, tell an amazing story, create an emotional response), but its effect also impacted me in ways that a nonfiction story typically would.
The main character of the story, Elena Greco, is a writer from Naples. Over the course of the four novels, the reader gets an incredibly vivid depiction of life in Naples. I could read a dozen nonfiction books about Naples’ history, architecture, food, culture, etc. and it still would not have given me a depiction as compelling as Elena Ferrante’s. In this sense, the story is pure education in the highest sense.
But beyond that, the Neapolitan Novels also inspired me to start writing because the main character is also a writer. It sounds silly, but when you spend months with a character, they become like a friend. And as good friends do, they influence you, they push you in the right direction, they show you how to act and how not to act. Again, I could have read a dozen nonfiction books on writing, but who would have given me the push to actually start writing?
And lastly, Elena Ferrante’s writing style—after reading it so closely over the past few months—has undoubtedly rubbed off on me. I feel as if this has helped me to be a more productive writer. By inheriting elements of her writing style, it’s given me a starting place, a voice that I can now mold and craft and shape into my own.
I strongly believe that certain lessons can only be taught through fiction. Labeling something as fiction only means: this didn’t actually happen in real life. But any good writer knows that in order to write a good story, it has to come from a place of truth, regardless of whether it actually happened or not.
The reality is that reading, whether you read nonfiction or fiction or both, is more rewarding for you than not reading. So instead of debating about which is better or more worthwhile, just go to a bookstore, pick up a book, and let it change you.
.png)
Over the weekend I got into a conversation with a few friends about reading fiction vs. nonfiction.
This debate has been played out many times and is one that you have probably already been in yourself if you read regularly.
It usually goes something like this:
People who only read nonfiction tend to think that reading is for information, for education, for improving themselves, for learning, for being productive.
People who only read fiction tend to think that reading is for entertainment, for getting lost in other worlds, for great storytelling, for feeling emotions.
The irony is that both fiction and nonfiction can do all of these things.
Earlier today I finished reading the Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante, which is a series of four books that spans the entire life, from childhood to adulthood to old age, of two intelligent friends, Elena and Lila. It is an epic of sorts, and one that I think had a profound impact on me (in fact, I think I need to collect my thoughts on the series and write about it more later this week).
The truth is that this fiction series not only did all of the things that great fiction does (i.e., entertain, tell an amazing story, create an emotional response), but its effect also impacted me in ways that a nonfiction story typically would.
The main character of the story, Elena Greco, is a writer from Naples. Over the course of the four novels, the reader gets an incredibly vivid depiction of life in Naples. I could read a dozen nonfiction books about Naples’ history, architecture, food, culture, etc. and it still would not have given me a depiction as compelling as Elena Ferrante’s. In this sense, the story is pure education in the highest sense.
But beyond that, the Neapolitan Novels also inspired me to start writing because the main character is also a writer. It sounds silly, but when you spend months with a character, they become like a friend. And as good friends do, they influence you, they push you in the right direction, they show you how to act and how not to act. Again, I could have read a dozen nonfiction books on writing, but who would have given me the push to actually start writing?
And lastly, Elena Ferrante’s writing style—after reading it so closely over the past few months—has undoubtedly rubbed off on me. I feel as if this has helped me to be a more productive writer. By inheriting elements of her writing style, it’s given me a starting place, a voice that I can now mold and craft and shape into my own.
I strongly believe that certain lessons can only be taught through fiction. Labeling something as fiction only means: this didn’t actually happen in real life. But any good writer knows that in order to write a good story, it has to come from a place of truth, regardless of whether it actually happened or not.
The reality is that reading, whether you read nonfiction or fiction or both, is more rewarding for you than not reading. So instead of debating about which is better or more worthwhile, just go to a bookstore, pick up a book, and let it change you.
