Reading is more than retaining words on a page or screen; it is a bridge between what you know and what you don’t know. Often known as a way for us to learn and grow our comprehension skills, we overlook its importance. The millions of personal accounts, life lessons, and stories at our fingertips are a privilege. When we take the time to realize how much they impact our world, we appreciate them more.
The skill of reading comes second nature to most of us, causing us to take it for granted. But reading and print haven’t always been so accessible, and in some places, they still aren’t. Hundreds of years ago, only elites such as royals and clergy had easy access to education in reading and writing. Additionally, even now, communities throughout the world don’t have access to print, and/or they don’t have available education. When we realize how privileged we are to have a library just down the street, or online resources at our fingertips, we better cherish the gift of reading and writing.
Reading is not only foundational to ourselves, but it also reveals the beliefs, lifestyles, and attitudes of others. Nonfiction has a special way of doing this, opening our eyes to the unknown. Through biographies, memoirs, histories, and guides, we become more informed about those living around us. Nonfiction books are not necessarily guides to how we live our lives; rather, they challenge us to engage with the other.
Fact or fiction: Why can’t you just read fiction?
Lately, fiction has become increasingly popular due to BookTok. While fiction is a wonderful way to learn about different perspectives and life lessons, it potentially becomes dangerous if you completely avoid nonfiction. For example, reading too much fiction and too little nonfiction often causes people to overindulge in fantasy and illusion.
While being imaginative is a great thing, being overly immersed in fantasy causes false and unrealistic expectations. This is often seen on BookTok with romance novels, where readers commonly engage with unrealistic characteristics of romantic partners and situations. This often leads readers to harbor unrealistic expectations towards potential romantic partners, leaving them unsatisfied and unfulfilled. But we need to realize that these novels are fiction… they are not reality.
This not only relates to romance novels, but to any piece of fiction in general. The overconsumption of fictional content can lead to impractical expectations towards life, relationships, and yourself. More often than not, you will feel understimulated and unsatisfied with real life. When you have these false expectations, you have an even harder time navigating the reality set in front of you. Just reading fiction is not enough for your brain; you need some nonfiction to balance what you are consuming.
Again, fiction is wonderful and necessary. By no means should you stop engaging with it. This is not meant to be a fiction vs. nonfiction battle. Rather, if you are overconsuming it, you should take a break and explore the realm of nonfiction. Here’s why.
Rooted in reality: Nonfiction is practical
Do you want to engage more healthily with reality? Reading nonfiction is a great way to do so. Whether you are interested in nature, history, politics, etc., consuming nonfiction urges you to become more involved with the world around you. You are not only reading a book, but also becoming an informed citizen.
Nonfiction is typically more upfront about humanity, and while this may be uncomfortable for most, it is necessary for living healthily. It focuses on real-life application and encourages readers to make sense of our lives, no matter how chaotic or peaceful they are. Nonfiction doesn’t always provide happy lessons or main ideas; it roots itself in the uncomfortable reality of the world. It doesn’t exist to provide false expectations; it exists to help us navigate the unease and awkwardness we often feel in our lives.
This is why nonfiction is typically more practical. It encapsulates many subgenres that present practical tips for living our lives. In other words, this isn’t always done through self-help books. Other genres of nonfiction, such as biographies, memoirs, and history books, can show us how others have dealt with circumstantial stress. From these real-life stories, we learn what to pick up and what to avoid. For example, in the education department, we read history books so we are first informed, and second, so we don’t repeat past atrocities. Nonfiction gives us practical ways to exist in our chaotic world because it is a written portion of the reality we already live in.
Open your eyes: Nonfiction shares new perspectives
Similarly, nonfiction opens our eyes to different lifestyles, challenges, and beliefs. Through this, we step outside our own worldviews and into others. While reading, we must take a leap of faith and listen to points of view that we may not always agree with or understand. This is not easy, but when reading nonfiction, we can learn about different countries, cultures, and backgrounds.
Nonfiction challenges us to step outside our comfort zones and explore lifestyles, motivations, and habits we are unfamiliar with. For example, self-help books often promote unique practices and routines we can adopt to live healthier lives. Narratives often urge readers to engage with problems we might not experience personally, but others do. Expository nonfiction helps us to understand concepts and subjects that are fundamental to humanity. Clearly, nonfiction provides many ways for us to become more informed.
There is so much nonfiction out there; anything you are slightly curious or passionate about has definitely been written about. Instead of taking this for granted, use it as an opportunity to learn something new. Engaging with different perspectives is crucial to maintaining ethical relationships, communities, and countries. In short, nonfiction allows us to build a bridge between our own perspectives and those of others. From this, we are better equipped to exist and relate to those who live completely different lives from our own.
Intellectual pursuit: Nonfiction allows for critical thinking
Finally, consistently reading nonfiction trains your mind to think more critically. By interacting with different beliefs and worldviews, we begin to think more actively and critically about the world. No longer do we view the world solely from our own eyes; we take other perspectives into account. And through this, we can evaluate what is being written and engage in self-regulation.
While nonfiction forces us to analyze written ideas and draw logical conclusions, we also have to monitor and question our own thinking. In everything we do, humans create mental shortcuts to help us better fill in gaps where unfamiliarity and misunderstanding occur. But nonfiction teaches us to embrace the unfamiliar and unknown. Therefore, we must be aware of our own biases and emotional reactions when reading this content. More often than not, nonfiction introduces us to ideas that we were previously unaware of or ideas that we disagree with. Instead of closing the book in anger or confusion, monitor your own biases and actively consider the written viewpoints. After reading the book, you can come to your own conclusion.
Nonfiction allows us to reflect on our reasoning processes. While not all nonfiction is objective, it is a smart idea to maintain objective thinking (to the best of our human ability) while engaging with this content. Of course, we don’t have to suppress our own viewpoints, but we shouldn’t let them get in the way of pursuing different perspectives. As a reminder, nonfiction doesn’t exist to promote subjects at face value; it exists to inform and stimulate our natural curiosity.
In conclusion, if you want to learn something new, challenge yourself, step out of your comfort zone, or all of the above, reading nonfiction is a great start. There is a common misconception that nonfiction is boring, but it doesn’t have to be. Just like fiction, nonfiction has a variety of genres that cater to different passions and curiosities. You simply have to find what makes you curious and pick up a book about that interest. Whether you want to read about a historical figure, a complex concept, or how to live your life to the fullest, nonfiction provides many avenues.
Again, this article is not meant to deter you from reading fiction. In fact, reading a balanced amount of both fiction and nonfiction is the best route to go. Fiction engages our imagination and creativity, while nonfiction engages our rationality and critical thinking. They are equally important for our brains, and more importantly, our societies. We need a mix of creativity and practicality to solve real-world problems and provide sustainable solutions. If you want to read more, read a healthy balance of both genres.
The point is, you should read more nonfiction. Whether you only read fiction or avoid reading altogether, broaden your horizons and pick up a nonfiction book at your local bookstore or library. Having these kinds of books so easily at our fingertips is a privilege, and we need to start taking advantage of that. Scrolling on your phone for information is not enough; if you have print nearby, go to the source. Authors put so much work and research into their books, usually much more than a post online. So stop taking nonfiction for granted and read!
