Do you Read Non-Fiction?

[qspeechc]

Currently I am reading "Godel, Escher, Bach" by Douglas Hofstadter. I find the book totally absorbing; I can't tear myself away from it! Hosftadter tries to explain how animate matter can arise out of inanimate matter.

But anyway, do you read non-fiction? If so, how much, and what type? I guess roughly half the stuff I read is non-fiction.

[kiki1982]

Seldomly in fact. I can't seem to keep my head with it, being used to imaginative plots or wordings.

I do read non-fiction however when I need it. About philosophy or biographical works, but never too much, because like I said it can't keep my attention. I call that kind of stuff inbetweenies.

I am still waiting to start on the memoirs of Mr d'Artagnan. But I don't think that that has anything to do with non-fiction as they were written in 1700 and those times are not really known for their accuracy...

[Tsuyoiko]

I do read non-fiction. At one time I read it almost exclusively, until I discovered the classics. Now it's probably one in ten of the books I read. My favourite non-fiction genre is History of Science, particularly biographies of famous scientists. I also like books that look at something very specific in depth; for example, One Good Turn by Witold Rybczynski, which is a history of the screwdriver. Trust me, it's a lot more interesting than it sounds :p


Currently I am reading "Godel, Escher, Bach" by Douglas Hofstadter.

I've been meaning to read that for years.

[The Comedian]

I read a lot of non fiction -- mostly material that deals with the natural world: author such as Barry Lopez, Edward Abbey, E.O. Wilson, Rachel Carson, Bernd Hernrich, and others.

[ClaesGefvenberg]

But anyway, do you read non-fiction? If so, how much, and what type? Yes, tons of it. :D Most of my Non-Fiction reading is work related, but I also follow my whims very often. Inspiration from fiction often leads me to dig up facts... or the other way around.

Right now as an example, Conn Igguldens (fictional) Emperor series made me go to the library and grab Adrian Goldsworthy's biography Ceasar: Life of a Colossus, and a few books dealing with roman technology.

In a similar manner I frequently mix Science Fiction with Science Fact.

/Claes

[grotto]

I go through phases, In the last few months I started reading fiction again, the previous two years were nothing but non-fiction. I guess it all depends on where my head is at the time, I follow my wonder.

[wessexgirl]

I do read a lot of non-fiction, but at the moment it's more fiction. My favourites are history, art history, and literary critiicism and biographies. I also tend to have my interest piqued by something I've read, and rush off to investigate further. One of my recent favourites was Rubicon by Tom Holland, which I read twice, as I can't get enough of Roman history.

[ClaesGefvenberg]

One of my recent favourites was Rubicon by Tom Holland, which I read twice, as I can't get enough of Roman history....and there I got a good hint too. Thank's, I'll go looking for it.

/Claes

[semi-fly]

I read a lot of non-fiction books, granted a number of them are personal journals/narratives, court reports, religious text, and the like since I tend to focus on writing history related papers for school. If I had o give a number/percentage it would around 70-75 with other forms of writing taking the remaining.

[pagebypage]

I'd say 90% of what I read now is non-fiction. Most of it is science/science history, political philosophy, and general history. Which gives me little to post about here.:lol:

Right now I've been going back and picking up some classics I've missed reading over time such as currently The Revolt of the Masses by Ortega Y Gasset.

qspeechc, you'd probably like Douglas Hofstadter's I Am a Strange Loop also. He posits that the self-referent I (or ego) is simply a feed-back mechanism. I read it last year. It's worth a look.

[Janine]

Yes, sometimes I do. I read a lot of it online; research a lot of histories and stuff like that. I like explorer's first hand stories or their diaries. I found the Shackleton crew's diaries online - fascinating. I read Sir Ernest Shackleton's book "South The ENDURANCE Expedition" and loved it; the descriptions of the Arctic were stunningly beautiful. The book is wonderfully well written. I was in my library one day and browsing some back shelves and found this book called "The Mamouth Book of Adventure". I leafed through it and was immediately interested in the stories, some by famous explorers such as Teddy Roosevelt and again, Shackleton, writing about his first trip to Antartica. I loved all of this book. The account of the various explorers and adventurers was really unbelievable. I should go to my library and see if they have any other books of that nature. I also have read coffee-table books on various subjects such as "King Arthur" or "The Holy Grail", another picture book on the Shackleton expedition. I like to read biographies and have read a number of those non-fiction books in the past few years. I also read D.H.Lawrence's Italian travel books and loved them. The fact, all these stories were from real events, seem to make me even more interested in my reading. I have also read some of Lawrence's letters which are fascinating.

[mayneverhave]

I read a good amount of philosophical work (which one could argue is just as fictional as standard fiction), and occasionally some things on linguistics and amateur physics.

Ah, also, literary criticism - which takes up about half of my reading.

[Drkshadow03]

Sometimes. Not as much as I should. For a little while I was considering giving up fiction reading and sticking strictly to non-fiction. I would like to add more history into my reading, and perhaps some science.

[MissScarlett]

I read autobiographies, biographies, an occasional memoir, and business books.

Most of what I read is fiction, though.

[kilted exile]

probably more non-fiction than fiction.

a lot of historical stuff

[LitNetIsGreat]

Some but not much, a lot of the non fiction I do read is related to literature anyway, for example I am reading Dorothy Wordsworth's journal at present.

[BookBeauty]

Hmm... I read philosophical works, and historical works on ancient times..

[sixsmith]

Used to read non-fiction almost exclusively but would now be lucky to read two or three non-fiction works a year. I recently read 'The Fatal Shore' by Robert Hughes and i've been eyeing off Tony Judt's 'Postwar' for a while. Oh and "Sartre and Camus: The story of a friendship and a quarrel that ended it" is a great bit of glorified gossip but that was a couple of years ago.

[lyni]

I mostly read fiction. fantasy and crime fiction. but at the moment I am reading a book by Peter Marshall (an English Academic) called The Philosopher's Stone - A Quest for the Secrets of Alchemy. he travels to various countries, China, Spain, India, Egypt etc speaking to the various experts in this field. a very interesting book.

[Janine]

I read a good amount of philosophical work (which one could argue is just as fictional as standard fiction), and occasionally some things on linguistics and amateur physics.

Ah, also, literary criticism - which takes up about half of my reading.

mayneverhave, after, I posted I thought of these two areas of non-fiction I read often; especially the second. I study various authors to the extreme sometimes and read much critical analysis on their works. I forgot those would certainly count. I also read news world reports online, politics (just don't dare discuss them) and human interest stories. Geez, when you add it all up I must read 1/2 of my life away!

[Amethyst2010]

For me, it's about half fiction and half non-fiction.
For fiction, my favourites are crimes, mysteries and thrillers. For the past year or so, I have been paying some attention to classics, which explains why I am on this forum.
For non-fiction, what I read are mostly work related, also business and management, a bit of history and a bit of philosophy.

[Judas130]

Theres a lot more to see within fiction, the characterisations and the bits and bobs that allow a reader to analyse, interpret, and have fun indulging in real places yet also fabrications. Unless, that is, you read Sci-fi or Fantasy. I was reading adult fantasy fiction from an early age, to improve reading, and it was all my dad bought.
But whether its The Portrait of Dorian Grey, or Frankenstein, or pride and prejudice, Its easy to sink into. There's some innate coldness about non-fiction, as if it has been stripped of any art. I would argue philosophical writings as fiction, and its application in history as non-fiction.

Non-fiction is, on the other hand, fascinating ;)
i'm currently reading
'Genghis Khan' by John Mann - a very good book, the narration split with a personal journey of the writer as well as the history - the two supplement each other very well.
and also 'Mozart' by Eric Blom - which is a little bit musical, but a pleasant read

[Mariamosis]

Currently I am reading "Godel, Escher, Bach" by Douglas Hofstadter. I find the book totally absorbing; I can't tear myself away from it! Hosftadter tries to explain how animate matter can arise out of inanimate matter.

But anyway, do you read non-fiction? If so, how much, and what type? I guess roughly half the stuff I read is non-fiction.

I currently do not read as much as I used to in non-fiction, however, I have always been a HUGE fan of any and every book by Desmond Morris. (zoology, ethology, sociobiology)... 'The Human Zoo', 'The Naked Ape', 'The Naked Woman', 'Intimate Behavior', 'Manwatching', etc.

Alain de Botton's 'Status Anxiety' is another favorite, and I want to read more of his books.

[K.K.]

I read a fairly balanced amount of fiction and nonfiction. I am a student, so a large portion of the nonfiction that I read is related to school. The majority of the nonfiction that I read for pleasure is scientific-- though I should probably work on reading more history and philosophy.

[Akeldama]

I would say that my fiction:non-fiction ratio is somewhere around 4:1. Biographies interest me quite a bit (but none of the recent barrage of "personal memoir" junk that everyone from Bill Clinton to Paris Hilton to Dick Cheney's daughter has been putting out), and I've taken a strong interest in history, religion, and mythology lately, as well as an interest in the sciences (particularly evolutionary science).

[dfloyd]

why not read non-fiction Classics: The Histories of Herodotus, The Pelloponesian War, Livy's History of Early Rome, Suetonius' Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Caesar's Gallic Wars, and Carlyle's The French Revolution to name but a few.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Alain de Botton's 'Status Anxiety' is another favorite, and I want to read more of his books.

Alain de Botton is very cool, nice chap too, very friendly. I would recommend his Consolations of Philosophy as the best of his books, great little intro into philosophy and highly engaging.

[higley]

Lately I've been reading far more non-fiction. Mostly historical, mostly historical American politics. Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln; Founding Brothers, etc.

[Mariamosis]

Alain de Botton is very cool, nice chap too, very friendly. I would recommend his Consolations of Philosophy as the best of his books, great little intro into philosophy and highly engaging.

Thanks, I will have to get that one on order!

[Equality72521]

My current non-fictions:

Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch

I have been attempting to read both for the longest of time but keep getting stuck :p

Foucault is next on my list.

[Mr_Rayber]

I actually read allot more non-fiction than fiction. Although, when I do read fiction its mainly the classics. Most of what I like to read is religious thought, the development of Christian doctrine (as a spectator, not necessarily a participant), and Church history. Since I found this forum, however, I am sure that I will probably be getting allot of suggestions for classics to read.