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/lit/ - Literature

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8401352 No.8401352 [Reply] [Original]

Who else has trouble reading fiction because they feel like they're wasting their time while they could be learning something?

For movies and TV I don't feel bad about fiction since it's not a huge time investment, but when it comes to listening to books for most fiction I feel like I should be spending my time bettering myself or becoming more knowledgeable about something.

>> No.8401408

I learn a lot when I read fiction. I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on how the gentry lived in the 1800s in the UK and Russia, for example.

>> No.8401456

>>8401352
Do you even read fiction? Cause you really pick up on lots of stuff when you read fiction. It's not as specific as in non-fiction obviously but you really broaden your knowledge by reading it.

People always seem to be impressed by my general knowledge and all I do basically is read fiction

>> No.8401476

I feel the same way about talking to people who can't appreciate fiction, OP. Why waste my time talking to a person with no soul or personality?

>> No.8401508

>>8401352
I definitely have this and have had since I was about 13ish. I mostly read poems and short stories now because the expenditure of time seems more reasonable. If there is something deeply intriguing about the book or it is very historically important I'll read it, but I will probably read it in a haphazard fashion, just flipping through it however I want, jumping back and forth. I do this with essays as well actually, I often start them from the end. The storyline/plot has never mattered to me in the slightest bit in literature.

I will say though that there are truths you can't really get from non-fiction, and the very best prose or poetry is worth spending the time on.

I am completely incapable of watching television or movies, with rare exceptions. I feel a deep sense of urgency of not accomplishing anything. Why I don't mind spending my time on this board is a mystery, maybe because it feels like writing a diary to a bunch of people who don't care about me

>> No.8401509

A lot of 'non-fiction' is fiction anyway.

>> No.8401521

>>8401352
>For movies and TV I don't feel bad about fiction since it's not a huge time investment

I love how people will watch tv for 4 hours a day but reading a classic for half an hour is a huge waste of their precious time

Besides, fiction can improve you. It depends on what you read

>> No.8401527

>>>/adv/

>> No.8401596

>>8401352
>>8401408
>>8401456

besides learning about different time periods, reading fiction has the almost unique ability to teach you empathy, which is an under-valued skill. Learning to understand lots of different peoples' viewpoints, goals, motives in different situations? How can that NOT be valuable knowledge. It's not like being able to know what other people are going through, are thinking, or are going to do are important "in the real world" right?

>> No.8401954
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8401954

I guess I will ask in this thread instead of creating a new one:

Can anyone recommend some interesting non-fiction audiobooks?

I've never been much of a reader but I've found a new love in audiobooks, especially non-ficton, history or memoirs. So far I've only listened to The Disaster Artist, Masters of Doom and Get in the Van. I'm craving for more but I've no idea where to look for recommendations so I hoped I could get some tips here.

And to answer OP, yeah I feel the same way. Don't really have a good answer to why, personally I just find it super interesting to learn about new things or events. Sometimes I can get stuck on Wikipedia for hours, just clicking from article to article reading about all sorts of shit. I guess fiction doesn't capture me quite in the same way because the whole point that it's something that never actually happened makes it less interesting for me.

>> No.8401985

>>8401954
Wait fuck me I'm retarded I managed to overlook the recommended list of non-fiction on the wiki. I'm still up for some recs but I can probably find some stuff on my own.

>> No.8402007

>>8401509
Really made me think.

>> No.8402010

>>8401596
You can get this more effectively through meditation