i get really annoyed at the people that say that reading novels is a waste of time. opinions?

Question

i grew up my whole life reading. thats how i got most of my education and culture, even if i was just reading fiction. people need to read a bit of fantasy from time to time, no? this is where i got my amazing imagination from :). so do you think its fair for people to penalize others for reading fiction?? i mean, we cant all by encyclopedias, and thats where were heading if we read only history!

Answer 1

its an opinion, do you get annoyed at everyones opinion, about everything, if you dont agree with it?

Answer 2

I have always enjoyed reading. As a child, I would go through phases where all I would read was science fiction or all I would read was mysteries, but eventually I fell in love with the classics. When I was in High School I read "War and Peace" for fun. That book was an eye-opening experience for me. I realized I knew almost nothing about Napoleon or Russian history. I went to the library and checked out some children's books on those subjects. Was reading "War and Peace" a waste of time for me? Certainly not. It sparked my interest to learn more about Russian culture and history.

Since I majored in the physical sciences in college, I often had little time to read anything other than boring textbooks. When I had 70 hours of class, homework, and research a week, yes, reading novels was a waste of time if I cared at all about my grades. When I did have time to read, it was usually children's books because they don't take as long to read and are not (generally) as taxing on the intellect, but it was a good way to relax.

I also think reading fiction is also a great (and pleasurable) way to learn how to write. I'm not sure I know anyone who loves reading and hasn't dreamed about writing something. Although as a scientist, I do alot of technical writing, and I can do it well because I have good intuition for basic grammar rules and sentance structure from reading so much.

Finally, reading can be a good way to build friendships. Many of my friends enjoy reading and we like to have discussions about books we have read and recommend books to each other.

Answer 3

People who disparage reading in general, do so for many reasons. They may have little education and feel inferior to readers; they may actually be trying to say "put the book down and give me some attention;" they may have a learning disability which makes reading miserable for them, this would apply to certain types of A.D.D.

People who disparage fiction may be snobs, show-offs or both, they may have scientific brains and do not comprehend the concept of curling up with anything that is not hard-core data. Be patient as may not even get the curling up part.

Fiction has a lot to offer in terms of education. Almost everything I know about history has come from reading historical fiction and period novels. The authors do a lot of research and I don't mind benefitting from it. The things I learn about history from the characters and places I like are things I will actually retain! Facts from a book or dry professor do not give one a sense of what it was like to live during a certain time, the vibe, so to speak, and that's what I want to know! Traveling to these different times and places is relaxing. Even if you only go around the corner, you still have gone to someone elses life and gotten out of your own for a little breather.

Good fiction, like any art, helps us to experience our humanity. It is full of philosophy and new ideas and values. It can help us clarify, and even form, our own values. Having a parent that wasn't present meant that I paid a lot of attention to how characters in novels dealt with various situations. I kept what I liked and discarded the rest. I don't even want to think about who I would be without fiction.

Answer 4

Reading is a beautiful experience no matter what the content. Obviously the individuals who would say such things never took the time to try to find themselves in another person's day to day circumstances, experiences and solutions. I read more non-fiction than fiction, but when I find a good novel, I LIVE it! I've learned "life lessons" and been touched to laughter and tears while reading novels, moreso than fiction, encyclopedias, et cetera. There is no shame and only passion in fiction reading. Keep it up and ignore those who criticize you about it.

Answer 5

reading is wonderful, there is so much great fiction to be read. Now, we live in a world where technology and science are so important that some persons view reading fiction as a waste of time. But good books will never be out of fashion and right now there is somebody writing or reading a great story.

Answer 6

Go ahead and read what ever makes you happy. You are the reader and should enjoy reading. Many years ago when I was in library school my library supervisor said that if you can get a person to read anything at all then you have a chance to guide them onto other reading. But first they must read and enjoy reading. Continue you. Even as a trained librarian my favorite reading is still fiction. So keep your nose in your favorite book and be happy.

Answer 7

Reading is food for the soul........you should come back with this: ask them if they like to watch movies.......if they say yes, then point out that they are watching a work of fiction interpreted by someone else...YOU are interpreting the same fiction from a whole different perspective..your own! Your mind can fill in the sights, smells, sounds, and all the details that these morons who criticize couldnt possibily come up with on their own....

I say forget them........I love books, and I always will.....they were magic to me as a child, and a wonderful thing just for me as an adult.......

Keep reading!

Answer 8

Nothing at all wrong with reading fiction, or non-fiction. Either kind expands your knowledge in more than one way. I think fiction is great! Anyone who criticizes reading fiction hasn't read any themselves. Fantasy, sci-fi, general fiction, it's all great.

Some of my favorites:

A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin
Dune by Frank Herbert
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I recommend all of them!

Non-fiction is great, too. I love reading history and such. It's true: sometimes, reality is even more awesome than a story!

Answer 9

Storytellers make us human.

Nonfiction can educate us about the facts of what happened, butstorytellers educate us about how it felt, and why it was important.

Fiction allows us to enter other people's lives in a way biography does not. One of the greatest writers of fictions, Shakespeare, took us into the lives of kings through lies, essentially. He made their stories great by including many things that were not true (see also Richard III and Henry V and Julius Caesar). Even his absolute fictions, like A Midsummer's Night's Dream still show us how people feel and react under trying circumstances. From his tragedies, like MacBeth, we learn the horrible consequences of going too far, of making bad decisions. I grant you, these are plays, but they are still read and performed after 500 years.

Novels are the same... they have a power to take us into what it means to be human: to be fallible, to pursue love, to lose love, to seek, and to dream.

Answer 10

Not every one has the same interest. Personally I can not find a minute of time to sit down and read. But reading (fact or fiction) is your thing. Do not let anyone change who you are or what you enjoy doing.

If you feel great reading and its educational , keep it up. Do not let anyone get you down.

Answer 11

Read as often as you want.

Speaking as an avid reader myself - I read books from all walks of life, Anne Rice and all her books (yes even the naughty books) Fairy Tales, Dragons and Warlords, Mysteries and whatever else I find interest in at the time -

This is my ME TIME - time for me to escape the real world and relax for a bit.

But - as far as those people who make fun of you - well chances are they have a very limited imagination, a dull life, and a very small vocabulary.... These are all the BENEFITS of reading!

Keep of the reading - its a way to travel the world and expirience new things without ever having to leave the comfort of your home!