Some time ago I had an interview with a writer who said he never read fiction. He didn’t like fiction. He wanted to read true stories and obviously thought fiction a waste of time. I have no idea why he was interviewing me since he felt that way. I do write fiction, after all.
Anyway, he asked me why anyone would want to read fiction. What is the purpose of reading made up stuff? I gave him a few reasons I read fiction. One reason is entertainment. I have to wonder if he never watched movies or television shows with the made up stuff. Perhaps he only watched the history channel or reality shows. But most of us do like a little entertainment in our day and reading is a great way to to find that entertainment while maybe learning some things along the story road. I think reading is fun and being caught up in a story is great. Even Sumo in the picture up top seems happy to stick his nose in a book. Nice of him to pick one of mine. 🙂
But there can be more to fiction than an entertaining story. I told my truth only reader that sometimes fiction can be truer than non-fiction in the way it touches the reader. You can be the characters in a fiction book in a way that you can’t in a book about a real people. Those people have already lived their stories, and you’re just along for the ride in the back seat watching the real events unfold. While that can be good, a fictional story is different. You can jump right inside that character and live the story along with him or her. You’re not just riding along, observing. You’re driving.
Here are a couple of quotes I found in John Bartlett’s Quotations that give a viewpoint on fiction that I can go along with. The first is by William Makepeace Thackeray from The English Humorists (1853).
“Fiction carries a greater amount of truth in solution than the volume which purports to be all true.”
The second is Ernest Hemingway quoted in Hemingway: The Writer as Artist by Carlos Baker.
“All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was. If you can get so that you can give that to people, then you are a writer.”
And so that’s what I aspire to do – write a book that lets my readers own it in their hearts.
I decided to talk about the pleasures of reading tonight since Sunday I’ve invited an avid reader and book reviewer over to talk about why she likes reading and helping authors get the word out about their books. I think you’ll like meeting Susan.
So what’s your answer? Why do you like to read fiction? Or do you?
Comments 14
In the words of a Calgon commerical: “Ann, take me away!”
Author
My younger readers might not know what we’re talking about, Connie, but I’m smiling. 🙂 And right now, in all this worry over the COVID, we might all like a little escape into a story.
I love fiction books, it takes me to their world for a little while, but, I also like Biographies and Autobiographies by certain people that I like to know about.
Author
I have to read plenty of nonfiction when I’m researching, Donna, and some of my favorite things to read to get to know an era or historical event are personal accounts. I’ve been fortunate to find some that really helped me while researching. But I’ve read some fiction to help me step back into a historical era too.
I actually love all kinds of books. History books, particularly Kentucky and early American histories are fun. The lives of our first settlers are as fascinating as any fictional characters. And historical fictions just naturally give my imagination a boost….like you did with Louis’ story in River to Redemption. Biographies are fun to read, to learn more about those historical figures. But I also love love love to fall into a completely “what if” story. I can’t imagine a world without writers that don’t use their imaginations.
Maybe that interviewer just wanted to see what all the fuss about fiction is all about. Hopefully he’ll treat himself to a good “what if” or “whodunit” book and get hooked! ☺
Author
I’m with you, Lavon, in loving a “what if” story. That’s actually how I usually start playing about with new ideas for a story myself. A what if question. For An Appalachian Summer, I might have said what if I have a young society girl go to the mountains to do menial tasks for a summer. And I did read personal accounts of some of those society girls who did take that trip.
I have actually gotten a few guys to read my books who had never read any books before. One of them became an avid reader who became a library patron to get more fictional books.
I love reading inspirational fiction because it gives me hope and is also interesting and entertaining. Historical fiction helps me learn without being bogged down in boring history books. Blessings
Author
What better thing could we have than hope? I love that you love reading inspiration fiction because it gives you hope, Lucy. The entertaining part is good too and I agree that reading well researched historical fiction can bring the past to life for us.
I’d rather read fiction than non-fiction any day. I do have a few of the latter in my library, but when making a decision on what I’m going to read next, 9 times out of 10 I’ll choose a fiction. I’m not sure why he wanted to interview you-perhaps he wanted to find out what he was missing. 😊
Author
As well as I remember, Karen, he was interviewing me for a piece in a local newspaper. So, I was simply an assignment or a way to write an human interest piece for the paper. Some reporters go the extra mile and read one of an author’s books before they do an interview, and then there are others like this guy that let you know he wasn’t interested in messing with his reading favorites. 🙂 I’m like you in that when I’m reading strictly for pleasure, I’m going to pick a fictional book.
Hi Ann!
Love to read fiction! That sweet Pup knows a good book when he reads,too. Those are my favorites of all mysteries I have read. still waiting for at least one more.
Guess everyone has unrealistic dreams that they know are not really who they are. In fiction you can live an interesting life for a few hours without actually being a different person or bringing your family into a world they didn’t choose.
With Christian fiction authors such as you Ann; we are able to realize the amazing ways God sees us in our weakest moments and loves us still. Hopeful we learn lessons about not making mistakes ahead of time.
Your characters are so real and true to life I feel as if I know them.
Thank you for sharing your gift with us. Even tho my favorites are fiction; I know God works in our lives today just as in the characters lives.
Author
Thank you for your kind comments, Gail. I am glad you feel like you know my characters when you read my stories. That’s has me smiling. And I do think we can sometimes work through our feelings about things in life by reading stories of people who have had similar problems or feelings. And for sure, I’ve written about historical events that I wouldn’t have wanted to actually live through myself when I’ve had battles and hard happenings in my stories.
Maybe someday with that new Hidden Springs mystery. I’d love to write one more.
I agree with you that reading fiction provides entertainment and invites the reader to participate in the story if he/she would like. I’m also inspired by Christian fiction; I see God’s principles illustrated and see how I should or shouldn’t act to be more Christlike. Fiction is often therapeutic as well. It shows me how people in certain situations handle those situations–for instance, if a character has been wronged by someone else in the story, what are ways in which that can be handled. Which is most successful? My daughter’s dog just recently died, and I’m sure there are many books where a beloved pet dies. If she were reading one of those books, she could then relate to the sad feelings those characters have and see how they express grief and eventually come to accept their new reality. Another positive feature of fiction is the descriptions of the settings. We don’t all have the time or money (and COVID has prevented it anyway) to travel much. However, I can pick up a fiction book set in another city, in rural areas, in another country, etc. and read a detailed description of that location. Your books about Quakers give us a vivid picture of a Quaker community in a particular location and time period. So, we can also learn about other cultures. Fiction is my favorite way to learn about history since I had difficulty memorizing lists of dates, events, etc., but after reading an historical novel, I remember much about the topic, the setting, etc. My reaction to that non-fiction-only reader is that he’s really missing out; however, if he sticks to non-fiction, that leaves more copies of fictional library books available for the rest of us to read.
Author
Great comments, Suzanne. And I agree with the pluses of reading fiction. I too have learned so much reading fictional while having the fun of living the story and being transported to other times and places. Christian fiction does have the plus of having faith journeys threaded into the stories.
I’m so sorry about your daughter losing her dog. That can be the saddest of times. I don’t know whether you’ll find a story in the Christian market sharing about the loss of a pet. Well, I’m sure there are some, but writers sometimes have a joke they share when they get together that you can kill off any of the characters except the dog. You never kill off the dog. LOL. That works for me.