Comments on: How to Get Fiction Lovers Interested in Nonfiction

By: Rebecca:)

Rebecca:) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:11:42 +0000

Great post. I am actually both a fiction and a nonfiction reader. I do tend to gravitate more towards NF though just from my desire to learn and my insatiable curiosity. However, I have been challenging myself to read more fiction this year and have found there can be things to learn from fiction, too, especially historical fiction (if you know what is fact and what is story).

By: Tif

Tif — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:06:45 +0000

I like the reminder that nonfiction books do not need to be read cover to cover! We can pick and choose, browse, study, etc., unlike fiction! Thank you!

By: John Richards

John Richards — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:59:14 +0000

Why don’t we do a survey?

By: Jen Robinson

Jen Robinson — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:10:55 +0000

I would agree that to say that this is a gender divide is a bit of an overgeneralization (though there are certainly tendencies in that direction). Me, I’ve always been all about fiction – the bigger and more complex the story, the better. But I do appreciate the tips!

By: admin

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:31:06 +0000

Thanks for posting your experiences, Janelle and Terry.
John, I disagree that it’s separation of the sexes — that is overgeneralizing. I know a large number of grown men who read graphic fiction novels and women who only read non-fiction.
Lasonya, thank you for your kind words.
Susan, as always, you’re such a thoughtful reader, thank you.
We are fortunate to have such a nice literacy community here! Thanks, everyone who has commented so far.

By: Janelle

Janelle — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:16:53 +0000

My brother and I were definitely opposites when it came to reading as children. He preferred non-fiction and especially enjoyed reading informational magazines like Popular Science and car magazines. He devoured my parent’s Family Health book and learned all about strange diseases. I spent all of my time reading fiction…although some of the historical fiction I read was based on true events and could almost pass for non-fict.

By: John Richards

John Richards — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:22:47 +0000

It’s one of the differences between the sexes.
Men will happily read an instruction manual about internal combustion engines while women will prefer a story about relationships.
Research with juvenile monkeys shows that the males will choose to play with a toy car and the females with a dolly. Ignore this at your peril!

By: Book Chook

Book Chook — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:22:44 +0000

Great point about what I call “the white space” aspect of a book. Wonderful nonfiction for kids has interesting snippets that add to the main feature, in text boxes as you said or woven onto the page in interesting ways. Readers who are daunted by dense text in say a middle grade chapter book might be much more inclined to try a nonfiction book or magazine.