Get Your Read On

The Daily guru’s are calling today’s Prompt “The Great Divide.”  Codswallop!  There’s no division in reading, that’s arithmetic – which I loathe like the dentist’s chair!  Just for that, I’m ‘dividing’ your two-part question!

When reading for fun, do you usually choose fiction or non-fiction?

Both.  I’ll normally choose fiction when I want to be entertained, get lost in another’s creative imaginings.  But…

When I’m extremely interested in something, I will read everything about that subject I can get my hands on! I find that equally as fun and/or fulfilling.  Not to mention, like most writers, I want my books and characters to stand out, so I research in order to try to find different ways to tell the same ol’ tales.

Now, have I ever found manuals/text books/articles/etc. that I’m ‘required’ to read fun?  Pfft, no!  Most people (aside from Literary students) don’t enjoy the things they’re forced to read, whether it’s for work or school.  My eyes cross, the words blur and my comprehension level drops to subzero.

Do you have an idea why you prefer one over the other?

Uh, hmm….  Well, I guess I started out reading fiction as a child, then progressed to researching.  I spent several years looking for the real Dracula, reading everything I could find on Vlad Dracul III, Prince of Wallachia, aka Vlad Tepes “The Impaler,” while simultaneously researching Ancient Egypt.  Mostly, I think I was driven by the idea of ‘discovering’ the answers to long-standing mysteries. (That was all pre-internet, too, when we used this funny building called a Library!)  In the interim I was breaking up the tedium with fiction books like Magic’s Pawn by Mercedes Lackey, Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice or The Secret Circle by L.J. Smith.  I saw one as learning and one as relaxing. I know now that that was a wrong assumption.

I will always prefer Fiction because I enjoy reading and writing fiction.  “Read what you write” – oh, I do!  And despite what some people believe, you truly do learn how to write by reading the things you enjoy most.  You learn how to structure sentences and hone your ability to discern styles.  You also expand your vocabulary – a lot!  Just, please, do not tell my kids that they’re learning or I’ll never get them to read again! 😉

I will always prefer Non-Fiction in the form of research, real-world topics that interest me, and genealogy.  “Truth is stranger than fiction” – boy, ain’t that the truth!  I never knew just how much, until I started doing my own family research.  I’ve even shared some of those stories with you all here.

As far as the great divide goes, I say “Read and let read!”  No matter what you prefer or why, reading is a vital tool for entertainment, inspiration and knowledge that everyone should have the right to enjoy.  I don’t really see a point in arguing over which is better, but I suppose if you have nothing better to do, then by all means…

…I have far too many books to read, subjects to research and manuscripts to write, myself.  Am I alone?  Let’s find out:

1. Fictional Facts | From Balderdash To Epiphany
2. Boring | Gut Honest Faith
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4. A Song A Day Keeps The Sadness Away #34 | Life Confusions
5. Non Fiction Is Not Boring, I Repeat – Not Boring | Really Just Words
6. Daughter Of The Ganges – Asha Miro | Our Gorgeous Chaos
7. Timeless Pleasure | My Daily Minefield
8. Fiction or Non-Fiction…it’s all the same | Ryan Erickson Writing
9. What’s Ur Poison? | Ripples N Reflections
10. Fiction! | Just Writing!
11. The Great Divide: Philosophical Non-Fiction | Rubber Tyres –> Smooth Rides
12. On Writing | Risingrave28
13. Adventures Neverending | Mojowritin’
14. The Great Divide | tnkerr – Writing Prompts and Practice
15. (NO)N FICTION! | The Undaunted Blue Madness Of My Life
16. 50/50 split | Designer Sophisticate
17. No Divide Here | Prairie Views
18. The Great Divide: Fiction Or Non-Fiction | Awake & Dreaming
19. Hail Fiction…daily prompt | Saya…D Poet…
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21. The Great Debate | Passion through Poetry
22. Of Fact or of Fiction | The Lark’s Roost
23. Why Else? | you ain’t special
24. Fact or Fiction | A Day In The Life
25. The Great Divide | A Little Fluff
26. Longest Reading Queue, Purely For Fun | TyroCharm
27. I love reading | Life as sirli
28. News Blues | Lifelessons – a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown
29. Fact or Fiction | Seeking An Enriching Life
30. My Fiction: functionally non-fiction | A Nameless Space
31. This is How I Read! | Sweat, Tears and Digital Ink
32. Stranger Than Fiction | Ginger Musings
33. Fiction or Non-Fiction? | My Creative Writing Log
34. Fiction For Me | Tony’s Texts
35. It’s Not the Genre That Matters | ROUND THE WORD
36. Fun but not Facts | Takeshi’s Flight
37. Fiction Rules | Musings of a Soul Eclectic
38. Fact – Stranger than Fiction? | agonyandecstacy
39. Give me Fiction or Give Me Facts | Monkebus
40. Fiction vs. Non-Fiction? Seriously? | I’m a Writer, Yes I Am
41. The Great Divide | A Penny For Her Thoughts
42. Fact or Fiction | Rideo, Ergo Supero
43. Fiction or Non-Fiction | My Simple Life
44. Faeries and Fiction | A Teenage (Poet’s) Life
45. This isn’t Real is it? | The Daily Blabber
46. NO GREAT DIVIDE | SERENDIPITY
47. JUST READ | jk109
48. LOST | A lot from Lydia
49. “Who am I?” – a bookworm’s introspection | Writer’s Abode
50. The Great Divide – let’s upload a book | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss
51. What Happens to Me | Flowers and Breezes
52. The Great Divide | Raven Haired Girl
53. ~Daily Prompt~ The Great Divide | My Book Self
54. The Bibliophile in me… | Berryduchess
55. The (non existing) Great Divide | Estelea’s Blog
56. I will carry your dreams.. | The Wandering Poet
57. Does it Matter? | joatmon14
58. The Great Divide | Vintage 1956
59. The Great Divide | Amanda Ho’s Blog
60. Non-Fiction Is My Bag | From Slacker To Scribe
61. No Frictions in Fictions? | Hardethaewoh’s Blog
62. Choosing Sides – The Great Divide | Thoughts of a crooked mind
63. I’m more like Archie… | djgarcia94
64. How To Tell Fact from Fiction – Five Tips | Emotional Fitness
65. Reeding is Gud! | The Brie’s Knees
66. Fiction Baby! | Giving Thought
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69. Post A Day: Fact or Fiction? | Corinthia Lynne
70. Over the other one | Pigeon’s Blood Ruby
71. Escape From Reality | The Sunny Narrative.
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74. Fact or Not-Fact | The Gad About Town
75. For non-fiction we have real life | Camembert & Chocolate
76. Page Turners | Thoughts From the Front
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78. Being Fictional! | All Things Cute and Beautiful
79. Fiction or Nonfiction? | Words from the heart
80. The Best President That Never Was | This Blog Needs A Title
81. The Written Word | Day to Spade
82. Fantastic Flights | Barryjack’s Place
83. The Big “What If?” | A Just Man Is Hard to Find
84. I read what I read | Willow’s Corner
85. I ♥ Grammer | wtf Am I On About Now?
86. Fun of the Fiction | Halfway Amazing
87. to Fiction or Not to Fiction? | brian writing
88. The Great Divide | INSPIRING MAX