How much do you enjoy reading fiction?

[Ink]

What kind of fiction do you read? How much do you empathize with the characters? Are we using our intuive-feeling functions when reading? Are all types doing that?

 

[TimeAsylums]

What kind of fiction do you read? How much do you empathize with the characters? Are we using our intuive-feeling functions when reading? Are all types doing that?

http://intpforum.com/showthread.php?t=16718 :

I used the entirety of my life up until 9th grade (freshman year), doing that stuff (24/7, almost literally)


I stopped playing videogames one day in 9th grade, not due to a lack of time, but i literally just stopped, and have never looked back. I believe it to be a possible 'functional burnout.' The same happened with literally all fiction books, which i stopped reading in 10th grade and have never looked back - can't complain though, when I stopped playing games and reading fantasy, I consume(d) non-fiction like crazy, consequently also lead me to the MBTI and Jung and psychology/philosophy etc, hoping I never burn out on reality haha.

It's not that I don't even want to read fiction/play games anymore, I'm simply disinterested(by a way I assume was burnout), they do nothing for me.

you can ignore the videogames part but since it has the fiction relevance.

Short answer: I don't, anymore.

However when I did:

I owned over 40 Dean Koontz books
a few Stephen King novels
a few more Michael Crichton ones
before that the Harry Potter series
pretty much.

I found the characters in Koontz the best to relate to, but yeah now about non-fiction.

 

[ℜεмїηїs¢εη¢ε]

I used the entirety of my life up until 9th grade (freshman year), doing that stuff (24/7, almost literally)


I stopped playing videogames one day in 9th grade, not due to a lack of time, but i literally just stopped, and have never looked back. I believe it to be a possible 'functional burnout.' The same happened with literally all fiction books, which i stopped reading in 10th grade and have never looked back - can't complain though, when I stopped playing games and reading fantasy, I consume(d) non-fiction like crazy, consequently also lead me to the MBTI and Jung and psychology/philosophy etc, hoping I never burn out on reality haha.

It's not that I don't even want to read fiction/play games anymore, I'm simply disinterested(by a way I assume was burnout), they do nothing for me.

That's really close to what has happened to me; I stopped being obsessed with fiction books at the end of 8th grade and then stopped being obsessed with video games in 11th grade. I'm currently obsessed with reality.

 

[defghi]

Romantic, scifi/fantasy. Usually if I don't find a relatable character I will read a different book, when I do I empathize with them a lot. I get my non-fiction fixes from the internet.

I've also been wondering a lot about reading functions

 

[Valentas]

I don't read fiction because I don't get anything from it. I read non-fiction books about this or that, at least I get useful knowledge.

Fiction is for time wasters. There are perfect novels but how often do you apply anything read in that book. I never did.

 

[defghi]

Vocabulary, society, imagination, philosophy, storytelling; all useful things to learn from fiction.

 

[Ink]

I've had a period for several years now where I haven't read any fiction at all, simply because I saw it as a waste of time. I've just recently gotten the interest back again, I really think it can be helpful in getting more in touch with my emotions (or the interest came back Because I'm more in touch with my emotions now)...

 

[Magus]

I've always preferred non-fiction. I still intend to get around to reading the Western cannon at some point or another. If I had a preference it would be for science fiction, but historical is alright too. I've never been able to get into fantasy.

That said, the idea of reading fiction in the abstract is very enticing, it just isn't something I do.

 

[Puffy]

I'm very cautious these days about my spare time and how I spend it. I read to critically engage, learn, and maybe in the process better myself as a human being. A lot of fiction at the moment is market driven and so orientated towards entertainment.

Reading a novel is such a long process, that I don't see it to be an efficient use of time mostly. I read a lot of comics and watch a lot of films, but if I finish a 2 hour film/ comic I don't feel like my time has been cheated as much if I don't like it. It's a quick learning curve discovering what you like in these mediums as they compress so much information in a timely manner.

That said, I do read prose, it's just more selective. I've been doing a concentrated reading of William S. Burroughs for a year now, before that Kafka. I'd like to read more Ballard, Sinclair, Self and Joyce in the coming years.

edit: to answer your question, I'm not generally interested in characters, I don't have much empathy in that regard (people are largely foolish ). One reason I prefer film/ comics is that I'm interested in visual design. I'm usually more interested in the structure, settings, themes, and the main ideas of the text.

 

[Rome96]

I read a lot of fantasy. I like getting immersed in a world different from ours, imagining what it would be like to live in that world. I also relate very strongly to the characters, a lot more than I do to real-life people. I guess I just dislike reality so much that anything different is enjoyable to me.

 

[Architect]

I've been reading Science Fiction since a young teen. I learned more about the practicalities of people and life from Robert Heinlein than probably anywhere else.

 

[Inappropriate Behavior]

Reading exercises one's brain more than watching video type entertainments tend to do. Even if what you're reading is fluff, you're at least keeping some of your neorons active simply by reading it. So I don't consider it a waste of time. That time could be better spent of course on more challenging things but most minds need a break from the challenging from time to time. I'm usually "in the middle of" 2 to 4 books at a time.

For fiction I read a lot of social/hard sci-fi. My reading habits are pretty evenly divided between fiction and non (both can be very entertaing fwiw). There's very few books I start that I don't finish. I have to get at least a sense of the characters if not identify/empathize with. If I like/identify/empathize with a character in one book, I tend to seek out other books by that author and especially go for books with the same character(s).

 

[nearfantastica]

I read fantasy frequently, and always have. It's nice to get lost in another world every now and then. Also, it certainly flexes the good ol' imagination.

 

[Pizzabeak]

At a certain point a few years ago I noticed I was drawn more toward non-fiction works. I've seen people recently say they don't like fiction because there aren't any real people involved and practically nothing of value to be found in them, therefore.
I mean, while I do tend to check out more non-fiction, I guess, and if the argument is that fiction provides no benefit, I'll still say there's value in fiction. The characters usually are relatable. It seems like authors put a lot of "them" in their work anyway, so you're still getting insight and whatnot from a presumably 'real' person.
No, I think fiction is still good and they aren't wastes of time unless it's like Twilight or something. I'm rather picky with my fiction though. Someone suggested I check out Ender's Game but I declined. PKD did fiction, and I'd consider it a crime to propose there is nothing of value in his works simply because the characters were never actually alive in real life.

 

[Brontosaurie]

i struggle paying attention to plot and characters. i am mostly into language in itself as an expressive craft, as well as the general ideas presented. i habitually pick up on other things than the intended.

 

[Duxwing]

I empathize with the characters too much to enjoy it, but ironically, I like to write fiction, painting pictures of people and places with words, honing my expressive skill. Unfortunately, my writing is still rather crude and 'jumpy': I don't show a movie, I put on a slideshow.

-Duxwing

 

[kvothe27]

I greatly enjoy reading fiction, especially science fiction and fantasy. It exercises my imagination to a degree I believe is useful for "real" life. My imagination has certainly come in handy when visualizing highly abstract concepts in mathematics or philosophy or computer science, for example.

Also, in my opinion, "real" life generally pales in comparison with my imagination. Dune wins out in comparison to my trip to Europe. The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov beats out skydiving in Hawaii. If I had to choose between another season pass snowboarding and a good science fiction series, I'd choose the science fiction series.

I've found reality somewhat disappointing, which is probably why I often limit most of my studies to concepts that are purely abstract. I often find myself getting bored whenever I have to apply something to reality or whenever I have to do something "practical."

I empathize with fictional characters more so than "real" people. I tear up when fictional characters are in pain, but I often remain indifferent when people I know are in pain. Fictional characters effect me in a way no one in "real" life ever has.

 

[Abe]

I like dark books where the characters are either crazy, on the verge of craziness, or something tragic happens to them.
Also futuristic/utopia books are good.
Also anything with dragons.
Really anything fictional that has to do with supernatural beings or anything else mentioned above.

 

[Amagi82]

I really enjoy reading sci-fi and fantasy, but it has to be relatively fast-paced, because my attention span and tolerance for 100 pages of painful worldbuilding is limited on a good day. I tend to prefer first person perspective to third, because you can see the character's thought processes better.

Favorite authors/books:
Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series
Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles series
Hugh Howey's Wool series

 

[JimJambones]

I've always had a love/hate relationship with fiction. On the one hand it is great to escape into a nice plot with a plethora of interesting characters, but on the other hand it sometimes seems like a complete waste of time as I generally don't learn anything new. Most books on fiction best seller lists rarely appeal to me. When I was in grade school, I devoured The Hardy Boys and then got into Stephen King by junior high. I was and remain an avid Stephen King fan, but now his stories are either hit or miss for me. I do like fantasy, and one series I started and like, but haven't finished yet, is called The Dark Elf Trilogy(The Forgotten Realms), by R.A. Salvatore. The image in my avatar is from that series. It borrows heavily from Tolkien-like characters in many ways, but it is still unique in its own right. Of course, I am a huge Tolkien fan. I was really into Marvel Comics when I was a teenager as well. Once in a while I still buy a comic here or there.

Mostly though, I read non-fiction: history, political science, philosophy, and science(mostly evolutionary biology), but still enjoy fiction every now and again(just not as much as when I was younger).

 

[Puffy]

Reading exercises one's brain more than watching video type entertainments tend to do.

I think I agree on the 'tend to' but it's not necessarily true. Film is more passive - you don't necessarily have to do any work, just experience the film. But it doesn't mean one can't be an active viewer, and it's what I generally aim towards. I find if one's an active viewer they often get as much out of a film as they would most books.

A lot of fantasy/ sci-fi here - interesting. I've started liking the latter more over the years, thanks to Burroughs and Ballard. I've never been a fan of fantasy, I've read LotR and a few other things. I don't think any text is purely escapist, any text was conceived in our world and hence has something to say about it. I do prefer stories placed in a world like ours though as I like art that takes the task of changing our perceptions.

 

[JimJambones]

I think I agree on the 'tend to' but it's not necessarily true. Film is more passive - you don't necessarily have to do any work, just experience the film. But it doesn't mean one can't be an active viewer, and it's what I generally aim towards. I find if one's an active viewer they often get as much out of a film as they would most books.

.

This is why I generally prefer to read a book prior to viewing the film. Otherwise, I tend to visualize the movie characters/settings instead of ones I would visualize on my own, in which I question why I would ever bother reading the book after seeing the movie first.