What is the good in reading fiction?

Question

The Purpose of Reading Fiction?
What are your reasons for reading fiction? I am a busy adult who have very little time with reading "unnecessary" material, although I can imagine it would be nicer to read a fictional book than go to the movies. You just love to read stories? I never can understand people who read almost entirely fiction. Doesn't the reality orientation get messed up/affected?

I love to read nonfiction because it gives facts and I can utiltize it. I am always wary of fiction that it will mislead, if one doesn't research all that there is to a fictional book say, on genetic advances.

Please share how you feel fiction does/does not disorient you in terms of reality and why you read them. Thanks

Answer 1

The "good" may come if the book is looked at as a parable or a metaphor, and a viable, acceptable moral is taken from it. Of course, the same morals may be drawn from books of history or philosophy, so I guess it's just a question of taste. Some people simply don't have the patience for non-fiction that they may see as boring or tedious. I do think, though, that most of the benefit of fiction is reaped by the author, who has all the fun of playing God and creating his own little world, stocking it with people and scenarios he may find more to his liking than those he sees in the real world around him.

Answer 2

I find that fictional stories are a kind of relief from the every day drama. Why else would soap operas be popular? As for fictional books, I read so many of them. It's good to let your mind go to another time or place. Don't look at fictional books the same as nonfiction. People don't read fiction to get information the way they would from nonfiction. Of course the information on genetic advances wouldn't be accurate in fiction because the writer may use the idea of say, cloning, and write a story about an entire army of George Bush clones.
As for seperating reality and fiction, I think most people have that under control. Those that do not, have deeper issues that would effect them without reading fiction. Watch the movie 'Mazes and Monsters' with Tom Hanks for an extreme example of how fiction can result in disorientation, but with someone who has some kind of mental problem. The rest of us don't have that issue.

Answer 3

I read fiction as a break from reality. It's nice to see happy endings, to read of true love and overcoming evil in the world.

You seem to have very straight forward thinking. You want the facts and always have to be on the up-an-up about everything.

Some of us are dreamers who write poetry and create heroes to save the world in our minds.

I read fiction for entertainment. There's nothing better than curling up with a good book and some hot chocolate and a blanket for an all-nighter.

When the book is over, I go back to the reality of scammers, loan sharks, twisted politicians, tragic news headlines, and greedy companies. I think I know the difference between reality and nonreality. That is the beauty of fictitious books. You read nonfiction for knowledge, I read fiction for a vacation.

Answer 4

My main reason for reading fiction is to relax, get my mind out of this stressful world for a while. Books tend to be infinitely more enjoyable than TV because one in essence has a prompt for daydreams. One must imagine faces, surroundings, etc. but the plot, and twists and turns in the story are given. However there are also some benefits to reading fiction:

First, of all, there are two main types of fiction: based on reality, and complete fantasy.

The first is good for comparing to one's own life. One gets into the minds of semi-real people, and compare theirs to one's own. This makes one more conscious of his mind and heart, thus being able to judge situations better. Also, since different people see the world in different, ways, one can see more views of the world by reading this type of fiction.

As for pure fantasy, they too have their benefits. Some futuristic novels let us see what our future may end up being, while others, based on fictional worlds let us see humanity in a clearer light. For example, perhaps on a different world, there are completely different morals, which makes one think, where did the common morals of not killing, not stealing, etc. come in? Or a world where everything belongs to the community as a whole. That makes one wonder, could humanity ever get to that point, where everyone has enough, and no one is lazy or bad? Fantasy keeps one thinking about the world around him.

While by far, my reason for being an avid fiction reader is pure enjoyment, there are some discrete, underlying benefits to be had.

Answer 5

"Reading Books Can Help You Read Minds. In an article is based on research in the new Journal of Research in Personality, reading fiction is identified as a genuinely social process. That is, frequent readers of narrative fiction scored highter on tests of empathy and social acumen than did readers of expository nonfiction. And as one psychology doctoral candidate says later, the stories push the reader empathize with characters different from oneself and would lead to better understand the many kinds of people we come across in the real world."

-- By Lawrence

Answer 6

The use of fiction has been debated since Plato's time. And from that time there have been arguments that there are some truths that are best illustrated by fiction. There is technical fiction, like 'hard' science fiction, that is fact filled, but I turn to fiction to consider the human condition in general, to learn about myself, to utilize my imagination, and to learn about the authors. A biography will give facts about an author, but even the nonfiction writer puts himself and his interpretation of facts into the work. I would rather learn about Hemingway by his works than by reading someone's biography of him.

Answer 7

Fiction is a way to escape your daily routine, to be able to envisage another time, place, person and emotion. Fiction is not neccessarily useless infomation. Your mind NEEDS to be able to exceed not only in the realm of knowledge , but in fantasy, love, danger, drama, thriller.......

Reading in general fiction allows the person to imagine themselves as that object/person and use their mind to solve the problem/understand/reason/judge. Reading for me personally, taught me how to imagine and how to reason- im a big lover of nonfiction and fiction- take your time one day, take off your shoes and relax- lift up a fiction book and indulge yourself!!!!!

Answer 8

Fiction is good for putting across situations in such a way, that highlights certain thoughts that the author is trying to get across.

These situations may never occur, but they frequently serve as a powerful way to bring across a certain point of view, or make you think about something.

Answer 9

/Fiction is great because when you read, if you have a bad day, you can focus on something else. However, if you're not able to tell the difference between fact, and fiction- I would reccomend you stick to your facts ,_,

Answer 10

geeze have some fun and go to a new world it relieves stress Mr/ms working person. plus believe it or not you will learn a ton of new things that will help in real life from these fictional stories mr/ms. working person