Nonfiction doesn’t teach you anything

The importance of being a fiction reader.

A: “What do you like to do for fun?
B: “Oh, I read a lot”
A: “Really? Me too. I mostly read nonfiction. You?”
B: “Fiction.”

As a lover of a good fiction book, I lost count how often I’ve had this type of conversation.

The funny thing is, when someone loves to read memoirs (nonfiction), they will tell you: “Oh, I really enjoy reading memoirs.” Or if someone loves history books (nonfiction), they will tell you about that era of history they are fascinated by. When someone is really into science books (nonfiction), they will passionately explain that weird scientific theory to you that they cannot stop thinking about.

But when someone says, they read nonfiction, well … what they really mean is they read productivity, mindset, self-help, career, and/or personal finance books.

What most people would consider to be a very vast genre of books, this particular type of person sees it as an exclusive genre for people of higher intellect.

And we all know the type. I will probably piss some people off with this statement, but the type who says that they “love nonfiction books” are (not always, but mostly) the hustling, career-obsessed people.

And insecure men who adore Elon Musk.

And sadly, I was one of them many years ago (the hustling, career-obsessed one - not an insecure man).

For years, I only ever read nonfiction books. I graduated high school in 2011 and entered the workforce at the height of hustle culture. The girlboss was born and later died, then self-improvement girl was born - and now she died too.

This is the only way I know how to describe this phase: everyone was reading these books (”The 4-Hour Work Week”, “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, “Atomic Habits”, “Getting Things Done”, etc.). And I had huge FOMO and joined the cult. Every book on productivity or improving your life: I read them all. Then, I bought a cute new notebook to follow through with all the productivity tips.

And guess what, none of it stuck.

And then, productivity and being a girlboss were suddenly out of fashion. Becoming “aware” and healing your inner child was cool. I donated all my career books and filled my shelves with self-help books. Like everyone else.

Unsplash, by Toa Heftiba

You have to understand: the pressure to do this was HUGE back then. I, as a college-educated woman, felt like my intellect needed to be seen in every aspect of my life. As if I could only be truly smart if there wasn’t an ounce of stupidity within me. Since that is impossible, I overcompensated by showing the world “how smart I am” by constantly learning and improving through “complicated books”.

But then a shift happened, at first slow, then incredibly fast, and I went from reading only nonfiction to reading 44 fiction books in one year. It is a shift so drastic that it’s worth asking: How did that happen? And also: Did it change anything?

The answer to the second question is simple: Yes, it did change everything. My life changed, and I changed too. And I would like to think that it all changed for the better.

So, what made me a fiction reader?

The honest answer: TikTok.

Like many people, I downloaded the app during the pandemic. I was a little bit late to the game and joined in 2021. The pandemic had given us another lockdown in Germany and I was bored out of my mind. Working from home was new, never leaving the house was weird, and the daily news was depressing. I longed for “stupid entertainment” like many others and downloaded the app.

My FYP ended up being full of book content. Great, you’d think. But booktok was all about fiction books, something I never truly considered ever since “outgrowing this silly reading hobby from my teenage years” (so I thought back then, please don’t judge me - I’ve grown since).

The trending book back then was “The Hating Game” by Sally Thorne. I tried to pay it little to no attention, but the algorithm gods were strong. Not just them, the advertising gods had their hands in it too. In that time, I got more ads for e-book readers than ever. And one was marketed to me with a 100% money-back-guarantee. What could possibly go wrong, I thought, and … add to cart.

Once it arrived, I bought “The Hating Game” e-book, wondering what all the fuss was about. I was confused about how this “silly little” romance book could move the masses so deeply that everyone was raging about it online.

The nonfiction supremacy

If it seems odd to you that I was so taken aback by this, please consider the following: You are surrounded by friends who exclusively read nonfiction books. Conversations over dinner or drinks always end in book recommendations and this “brilliant nonfiction book” someone just read that taught them so much. The people you follow on social media are all about self-improvement too, they emphasize constant learning and almost exclusively recommend nonfiction books.

On top of that comes the tone people have when talking about “fiction readers”. The nonfiction surpremacy is real, because a lot of people in my life back then had this almost obsessive need to broadcast their intellect to the world. And they did that, by talking and obsessing over nonfiction books that “changed their lives”.

And then comes booktok, and all of a sudden people are recommending books so far out of your comfort zone that the only natural reaction is: what on earth is happening?

Reading for fun? Impossible!

What happens when you read the first fiction book in 15 years

I am a curious person, always have been. I need to get to the bottom of everything and I love to learn things. I guess that’s why I was so captivated by the nonfiction cult. It is one that puts learning and improving on a pedestal.

What I didn’t know, and didn’t even consider, is that fiction books teach you more than any nonfiction book could.

When I started reading “The Hating Game” I felt weird at first. It somehow felt wrong, like I was betraying my smart self.

But a few chapters in, a movie was playing in my head. I was hooked, not just on the story, but the feeling it brought: entertainment, relaxation, disconnection. I didn’t look at my phone, didn’t compare myself and my worth on social media, and didn’t feel any pressure to improve, to learn, and to be better - I just enjoyed existing and being entertained.

More importantly, I learned so much.

See, when you read a fiction book, you enter someone else’s mind. That someone has lived a completely different life than you, they bring a completely different perspective to the story than you would. This could be anything: different gender, different culture, different generation, different socio-economic background, or all of the above. By reading through someone else’s eyes, you learn more about yourself, the world you live in, and more about why people do the things they do than any nonfiction book.

Reading how the main character navigates a difficult relationship got me in touch with my own emotional intelligence, and improved it significantly. It helped me understand people more. Their motives and behaviors. Reading fiction made me a more understanding person, someone who can more easily adapt to different situations.

And the absolute irony of it all: Being capable of managing different situations and understanding people’s behaviors are key career qualities. And guess what: My career took a very positive turn. And yes, I credit fiction reading. These types of qualities cannot be learned by reading a career book that simply says you have to be an understanding person, but then only gives you a little exercise on how to get there.

Making the connection that reading fiction books improved my emotional intelligence and got me a promotion was the starting point of it all: I embraced everything I denied myself before because “it is not what smart people should enjoy”. I started watching reality TV again, something I did as a teenager and loved it, until someone pointed out that “only stupid people” watch “stuff like that”. I started painting and illustrating again, something I stopped because “what is the point if you don’t monetize it?”.

You see, the snobbery around nonfiction books and the so-called “smart and complicated books” really doesn’t help anyone. I think my point is this: It is important to read a lot - of all genres. But most importantly: read what you enjoy, not what you are “supposed to”.

XOXO
Annika