Languish.org

I was chatting to some people recently and realised I was the only man there who read both fiction and non-fiction. I'd always thought that was kind-of normal but apparently not.

So I was just wondering what's the rough proportion of your reading.

I'd say even split.

3/4 non-fiction I guess.

Quote from: garbon on April 28, 2014, 05:11:35 PM
I'd say even split.

Ditto.  I'm probably in the process of reading 2 fiction and 2 non-fiction books on any given day.

I read almost exclusively non fiction but every once in a while a fiction title catches my interest.

I'm about fifty-fifty myself. This board though leans heavily towards history readers, I suspect ...

Quote from: Malthus on April 28, 2014, 05:15:13 PM
I'm about fifty-fifty myself. This board though leans heavily towards history readers, I suspect ...

True. But I don't think it'd necessarily skew things. I was surprised that none of the guys there really read many novels and all the girls said that I was unusual because in their experience men prefer non-fiction :mellow:

Quote from: Sheilbh on April 28, 2014, 05:19:26 PM

Quote from: Malthus on April 28, 2014, 05:15:13 PM
I'm about fifty-fifty myself. This board though leans heavily towards history readers, I suspect ...

True. But I don't think it'd necessarily skew things. I was surprised that none of the guys there really read many novels and all the girls said that I was unusual because in their experience men prefer non-fiction :mellow:

Odd. I skew towards the fiction myself despite my reasonably expansive library of volumes on history.

Not too keen on the place, rather a dull commuter town now.

 :hmm: Indeterminate.

90% non.

BTW, your thread title is brutally uninformative.

Quote from: mongers on April 28, 2014, 05:25:49 PM
Not too keen on the place, rather a dull commuter town now.

heh!

Closer to 3/4 non-, I'd say.  It has fluctuated over the years, but the trend recently has been towards non-fiction, away from heavy novel-reading; although I've had different fiction resurgences in the meantime (detective fiction, contemporary short stories, etc).  However, I've always read both, since I was a teenager at least.  I don't draw a sharp boundary in my mind.

I went with 3/4ths non-fiction.  Non-fiction interests me more then fiction does.  I've been trying to read more fiction though.

Just about everything I can get my hands on. So 50-50.

When I was a kid, my mom had a box of books that some friend gave her to use in the library book sale. She stored the box in my bedroom while waiting for the sale to come along. Apparently, the friend was pretty much into fantasy and sci-fi sexy fiction. I read about half of them before my mom figured out what they were and stopped me.

I remember some of them still but I have no idea what the titles were. One was about some queen of Atlantis that liked to have naked slaves everywhere and punished people by burying them alive and building an obelisk on top. Another was about some people who lived on Mars and the style of Mars was to always go topless. They had a lot of sex too.

The book she gave me to read after taking those away was Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies. It has no sex. Or furries.

I dunno.  Last novel I read all the way through was The Map and the Territory, about three years ago.  It soured me on the whole thing.

To the extent I read books, it's mainly non-fiction these days.

I don't read anymore, but usually fiction when I do.

When it comes down to books, I mostly read fiction. Most of the nonfiction I read are books about film and screenwriting. I do read the occasional history book, but I admit not as often as I used to.

The underlying issue is that I'm too obsessed with the notion that everything I read has to, somehow, be "useful". I read fiction books because I'm a writer, and you can always learn (or rip off) from a good book. And I read film/TV books because that's my trade. I need to flip that switch off and start reading for pure enjoyment/general edification.

Quote from: Barrister on April 28, 2014, 05:11:57 PM
3/4 non-fiction I guess.

Me too.  I prefer to read non-fiction, but I'm loyal to some specific writers; for the most part I prefer short story collections, anthologies and the occasional well-reviewed work when it comes to fiction.

Besides, it's hard to catch up with new fiction when there are still so many classics to read first.

Nothing wrong with reading purely as a sleep aid.

Quote from: MadImmortalMan on April 28, 2014, 07:23:49 PM
Nothing wrong with reading purely as a sleep aid.

Dear Penthouse Forum,

I've been an avid reader for some time, but I never thought I would be writing to you...

Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 28, 2014, 07:25:30 PM

Quote from: MadImmortalMan on April 28, 2014, 07:23:49 PM
Nothing wrong with reading purely as a sleep aid.

Dear Penthouse Forum,

I've been an avid reader for some time, but I never thought I would be writing to you...

Very few actual letters to Penthouse actually begin like that.

It's my letter and I'll write it the way I want, so fuck off.

Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 28, 2014, 07:28:44 PM
It's my letter and I'll write it the way I want, so fuck off.

Oh, it's you writing.  Well maybe that's the wrong venue then. 

where's the i don't read them books option  :mad:

Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 28, 2014, 07:22:56 PM
Besides, it's hard to catch up with new fiction when there are still so many classics to read first.

Almost all of my fiction reading are classics. I very rarely read new fiction unless it's something trashy when I'm just looking to switch off.

I was thinking recently that this is probably the biggest difference the Kindle's made to my reading habits. The number of free books available means I'm very Victorian in my novel reading now.

My split comes in at about 42% to 36%

My fiction reading has declined rapidly in the past few years.

Quote from: Ed Anger on April 28, 2014, 08:37:06 PM
My fiction reading has declined rapidly in the past few years.

Mine has skyrocketed with my insomnia.

Because knocking yourself out with booze should only be an occasional thing.

The problem with fiction for me is that I don't impulse buy anymore. I stick with authors I know(glen cook, Abercrombie, David Drake) and am totally out of touch with newer stuff.

So far this year, 6 fiction and 9 non-fiction.

That's more fiction than I thought it would be, but mostly classics.

Usually fiction, but I still read nonfiction now and then.

I guess like 3/4 fiction.

2/3 fiction by book, 50/50 by volume.

70% of my non-fic is hiistory or historical biography.

About 70% of my fic is post-war, although the availability of free classics on kindle is pushing me towards the Shelf approach.

Almost exclusively Fiction. The non-fiction are usually Hockey History books.

Practically all non-fiction.  Maybe 1 in 10 is fiction.  Novels just don't do it for me the way a good history does, though some notable exceptions are there (Yiddish Policeman's Union, for example).

Mostly non-fiction. 80%?

Please don't send me to reading gaol.

Quote from: The Brain on April 29, 2014, 08:21:14 AM
Mostly non-fiction. 80%?

Please don't send me to reading gaol.

You are sentenced to read Ayn Rand.

Quote from: Ed Anger on April 29, 2014, 08:24:45 AM

Quote from: The Brain on April 29, 2014, 08:21:14 AM
Mostly non-fiction. 80%?

Please don't send me to reading gaol.

You are sentenced to read Ayn Rand.

If she writes as well as she looks... :wub:

That's non-fiction.  That's what the 50s were like.  Eisenhower taxed people and made them pay for massive stretches of concrete in violation of their rights to not be taxed for anything.