Poll: How much non-fiction do you read?

[AMMO Kid]

For years I have always had the impression that the escapist community doesn't host a lot of people who LOVE non-fiction like I do. I never really got around to posting a thread and finding out how right or wrong I am. So please, leave a comment and let me know why you love/hate/are indifferent to non-fiction.

 

[Tohru_Readman]

I read a little bit of non-fiction, mostly Popular Science, Psychology and world politics. I guess fiction just interests me more right now and I prefer to read about a fictional world/future rather than the one I'm currently in. Spend a lot of my time reading science fiction, graphic novels (various genres) and manga (again various genres).

 

[Marter]

I read a bunch for my schooling, but apart from that ... not a whole lot.

I just don't do a lot of reading in general.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I read a lot of non-fiction, and I enjoy reading it. Right now I'm on a non-fiction kick since I've read a few books that were fiction and I want to ground myself in reality for awhile.

I'm really curious about a lot of things and if something piques my interest then I will find a book about it and read it. Mainly Ancient Greek and Roman history, and some stuff about China, Russia, or whatever if I feel like it. I have quite a few philosophy books too, and I have stuff about sound re-enforcement, acoustics, and the like just because I want to know more about my field.

 

[Ryotknife]

Other than history, I dont think there is much non-fiction I would be interested in.

 

[SquidVicious]

I use to read a lot more non-fiction than I do now. I need to get myself a library card again and start getting out non-fiction books, cause some of my favorite reads were non-fiction.

Sperms Wars - by Robin Baker
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex - Mary Roach (one of the funniest books I've ever read)
This Is Your Brain On Music - Dr. Daniel J. Levitin
Guns, Germs, and Steel - Jared Diamond
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets - David Simon
Cosmos - Carl Sagan

 

[Labyrinth]

What are you defining as non-fiction? I read more than a dozen blog posts, news stories and opinion pieces a day. I read a lot of journal articles and textbooks. I find them interesting. I can't say I read much by way of histories but that's more a lack of them than anything else. I have read a lot of.. argument pieces? Guns, Germs and Steel, Dawkins, Hitchens, essays and various other sorts of book. I would have to guess that if you were to take all of the "fiction" as being that which expressly deals with imagined narratives, the vast majority of my reading would be non-fiction. Not sure how well that definition works however.

I suspect that one of the reasons you would probably find more fiction in recreational reading than non-fiction is because fantasy is so engaging, so tempting. We do love our imaginations.

 

[SckizoBoy]

For years I have always had the impression that the escapist community doesn't host a lot of people who LOVE non-fiction like I do. I never really got around to posting a thread and finding out how right or wrong I am. So please, leave a comment and let me know why you love/hate/are indifferent to non-fiction.

I have a fair clonk of non-fiction. OK, roughly 90% of my however many hundred books are fiction, but the majority of the books I re-read are non-fiction. Case in point... I cannot tell you how many times I've read Ab urbe condita (XXI-XXX).

You'll find that most of the stuff I have tnds to be military history related.

Mainly Ancient Greek and Roman history

Oh, hello! You more into the histories of antiquity or contemporary analyses?

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Mainly Ancient Greek and Roman history

Oh, hello! You more into the histories of antiquity or contemporary analyses?

Both, actually.

Contemporary analysis I find more interesting depending what they're talking about, but histories of antiquity are a fun read for me depending on who wrote it.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I read a bit of philosophy, not much and I doubt i'll ever remember all the names and theories but it can be pretty interesting.

Not sure if this is relevant but I first read "non-fiction" as "fanfiction..."

Fucking shoot me now.

Imma go back to Medaka Box, issue 1 to 100 in one sitting. I feel all nostalgic now... Like when I could rush an entire season of an anime in one go. I still feel Higurashi is best watched in one sitting. Maybe a small break if you're a bit squeamish.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

In the past week I have read 4 different World War II historical texts. I love historical non-fiction. I bought a history text book (worth 50 bucks) for a few dollars and went through all sorts 1800's politics.

 

[Moderated]

I have never read a nonfiction book without it being an assignment. However, if you include everything nonfiction, then yeah, I read articles and the news.

 

[MammothBlade]

I'm an anorak for non-fiction. I like history, politics, and crime the most. Want to get into philosophy too.

 

[Vault101]

not much...

I mean I used to (and still do) love non fiction if its somthing that interests me, my absolute favorite book in my school libary (when I was a kid) was a book about movie special effects full of pictures, also a book abour the history of films...

hmmm

 

[thesilentman]

Guns, Germs, and Steel - Jared Diamond

I would have loved the book if it weren't for the fact that he keeps repeating himself every hundred times. I still liked it immensely.

OT- Non-fiction done well is really awesome. Unfortunately, most non-fiction writers I've read tend to pander to the people whose attention span doesn't exceed five seconds. My personal favorite is The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. Physics never held any special allure before I read that book. Now, I see what happens when you truly understand what happens at the fundamental level of nature around us. I highly recommend it, but have some background knowledge of physics and some math if you'd like to see the calculations[footnote]The math confines itself to the appendix, a smart move given the subject discussed. [/footnote].

 

[Smiley Face]

For pleasure, I pretty much read fiction. However, I'm a student, so for my studies, I'm reading non-fiction all the damn time - but it's not Literature, so whatever way you want to call it. Though I've gotta say, if you find a well-written history book, it can be just as entertaining as some good fiction - and have stranger plot twists to boot.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

I'm a fiction author. I love fiction. I love stories.

Non-fiction is the research I do before I write fiction. Otherwise, non-fiction is canned boredom. Except it's canned with paper.

 

[Zhukov]

I used to read quite a lot of military history. Mostly the Eastern Front of WWII and Vietnam. A bit of Napoleonic stuff as well.

Just lost interest as I got older.

I also enjoy entry-level philosophy. The more esoteric stuff tends to lose me pretty quick though.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

'The Brain That Changes Itself' by Dr Norman Doidge is one of the best books I've ever read and it's non-fiction.

 

[Jfswift]

Occasionally I'll bury my nose in an autobiography or a technical book (I have one on designing electric cars).