# Do you primarily read fiction, non-fiction, both, or neither? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 21, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216 "2012-08-21T21:25:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/21 "2012-08-22T14:56:50Z")
For a long time, I was reading nonfiction almost exclusively – primarily books about music. But I always had this nagging feeling that I should be reading literature. A few years ago I finally realized that I was getting tired of the music books and decided it was time to put a literature-reading initiative into action. I’ve slipped back to something like 50/50 in the past year or so. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/22 "2012-08-22T15:07:33Z")
If I’m reading books it’s mostly fiction. SciFi and Fantasy. But the vast majority of my reading these days is Internet content, and even though most of it is supposed to be non-fiction I’d say it’s about 50/50! ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/23 "2012-08-22T15:26:38Z")
I used to be about 50/50 fiction and non, and have a large collection of “classic” fiction (~2000 titles) that I was working my way through several years ago at the rate of two or three a week. Then I started university, and my reading-for-pleasure habit disappeared (nearly every “for pleasure” hobby ceased over that span; video games, fiction reading, movie/TV viewing, dancing, music, puzzles, road trips, art museums, and so on). Instead, I read 2-3 books a week for classes for eight years, all non-fiction. I’ve been trying to get back in the habit since graduating, but haven’t been able to rekindle the old passions. Still read heavily, but now it’s almost all non-fiction, “heavy” reading, or purely academic stuff. One odd book genre I did take a liking to in school that has been maintained since graduation is the business biography. Most are pretty fluffy puff-pieces, but oddly interesting. I just finished an older book about the history of Dow Jones, and a newer one about Hasbro. Exciting stuff! ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/24 "2012-08-22T18:32:37Z")
I read everything; can’t help myself. If there’s nothing else handy I read the cereal box. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/25 "2012-08-22T20:26:24Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > (plucky submarine commander has the newest state-of-the-art boat and is the only man who in position to stop World War Three? Yes, please!) Do you have any particular recommendations? I love those sort of books myself, although its better when they _don’t_ stop WW3 or find themselves in the middle of it. Of course, its all fun and games until somebody loses a major population center. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![misling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@misling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misling)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/26 "2012-08-22T20:37:36Z")
I read mostly fiction, but with some non-fiction mixed in. The non fiction falls into a few categories: Science books and magazines, hobby books and magazines (weaving, knitting, sewing, fiber arts, etc), and histories of some specific thing - not general ‘history’, but ‘the history of \ activity or object’. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/27 "2012-08-22T20:45:23Z")
I like to joke that the main prpose of non-fiction is to provide raw material for fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/28 "2012-08-22T22:55:35Z")
Probably 95% non-fiction. I do occasionally read fiction if something catches my attention. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/29 "2012-08-22T23:02:39Z")
Mostly mystery/crime fiction, but right now I’m in the middle of _George Washington’s War_ by Robert Leckie on the recommendation of **Sampiro** , and finding it fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Tad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tad)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/30 "2012-08-22T23:08:41Z")
Roughly 50-50. I read a lot of theory, philosophy, science journals, medical journals… For pleasure I tend to read poetry, but I do read a lot of it. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/31 "2012-08-22T23:22:00Z")
I was going to say more fiction than non but then I realized that I don’t count a lot of my non-fiction reading as reading. Sure Salt: A World History counts as reading non-fiction and I read less of those kinds of non-fiction than I do fiction. I was putting myself at about 70/30 fiction. But then I thought of all the How To books I read: Handcrafting Wire Finds or Jewelry Art books: 100 Earrings-- which I never thought of as _reading_. I don’t sit down with a cup of coffee to immerse myself in a story. They are books, however, and I do read them from cover to cover (sometimes not straight through though). So it’s about 50/50. ---
**Author:** ![slm2955](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@slm2955](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slm2955)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/32 "2012-08-23T05:33:30Z")
fiction… ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/33 "2012-08-23T10:34:48Z")
About 90% fiction. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/34 "2012-08-23T20:08:22Z")
It’s not that I don’t read anything non-fiction, it’s that I consume it in different forms. I love reading about mysterious murders and other Unsolved Mysteries type material, but I just read about it online. I love the Crime Library site. I just don’t pick up and read Ann Rule-style true crime books. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/35 "2012-08-23T20:23:28Z")
I’m surprised and how polarized this poll is skewing – people seem to read either mostly one or the other, with only about a third at 50:50, which is where I’d imagine it would trend (and where I put myself). I read plenty of fiction. Not just current fiction, but much older stuff as well (I’ve got menander in my backpack right now), not to mention older genre fiction. Heck, I still haven’t read all of Verne’s works! But I read plenty of nonfiction, too. History. Science. History of science. Religion (I just got a new translation of the _Koran_), current affairs. “How to” books. Old Boy Scout manuals. Nature guides. And that’s not even including the many magazines I get. How can anyone read just fiction or just non-fiction? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/36 "2012-08-23T20:44:27Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > How can anyone read just fiction or just non-fiction? Not too surprising when you consider how many people only read one genre. My father, for example, reads nothing but westerns. And there are people who read nothing but romances or mysteries. I’m sure there are non-fiction equivalents. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/37 "2012-08-23T21:18:17Z")
I assumed you were asking about when I read for pleasure - so I answered 100% fiction. I read many books for my career - you really can’t stay on top in tech if you aren’t constantly keeping up, but I was kind of thinking that this was outside the intent of the question. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/38 "2012-08-23T21:39:44Z")
I guess I read about 2/3 non-fiction, 1/3 fiction. But it varies. Sometimes I go into a period where I read several novels in a row. This thread reminds me of a time years ago when a friend told me he never read fiction. He said, “Why would I read something somebody made up and pulled out of his ass?” ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/39 "2012-08-24T16:33:23Z")
I tend to ping-pong in and out of fiction / non-fiction. Sometimes I just want a good story or three, then I’ll burn out on fiction and feel like indulging in non-fiction topics of things that interest me. Then I’ll have my fill, and it’s back to fiction. But I’m always reading something. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216/40 "2012-08-24T16:35:31Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > This thread reminds me of a time years ago when a friend told me he never read fiction. **He said, “Why would I read something somebody made up and pulled out of his ass?”** He can’t be serious? Sounds like a BS excuse for not wanting/liking to read. Does he not watch TV or films unless they’re reality shows, documentaries or the news? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-primarily-read-fiction-non-fiction-both-or-neither/632216.md?page=3)