My huge preference is non-fiction...it's always been like that! The books I would choose from school libraries were always informative...the only fiction novels I can get into at all are fantasy and sci fi...that's not very often though anyway

 

I like them, but never pursue them. Freakin' love video games though.

 

Never liked reading unless it was about science and facts.

 

I mostly read non-fiction. I read to learn and to have something about which to think.
The only fiction series I liked was the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, it was amazing.

 

I like fiction and non-fiction equally, and have an equal number of each in my book collection.

 

I rarely read fiction. I'll sometimes watch it, depending on my mood and how interesting it looks. Most of my reading is non-fiction.

 

i'm generally not attracted to fantasy, but i do read fiction. it tends to lie to tell the truth. though i also hate long vomitous streams of details in fiction or any genre for that matter. i get impatient for the important information to be conveyed. and i'd rather imagine the characters' physical appearances myself than have them described to me.

 

I find most fantasy novels to be overly wordy, overly stereotypical and they all seem to worship at the feet of J R R Tolkien.

I do like fiction that has an underlying message or meaning to them, something that is pertinent to modern life. That's probably why I like satire.

 

i'm curious to what non fiction books you read then? i often see people make some pretentious claim like this, but i'm never really convinced. also, the line between fiction and non fiction isn't as clear as many seem to think. i mean, do you really believe everything that's in a biography, a news magazine, and further, do you hold every scentific theory for the truth? ney, it's all fiction, just more or less intelligent (a story can be more enlightening than a scientific article imo).

 

Me too prefer non-fiction, because it is more informative and has good connection to the real world. Non-fiction speaks of facts and some valuable information about, unlike fiction that is only a product of imagination and wild fantasy. For now, I need to know more the facts than occupying my mind with insignificant thoughts about an odd, inappropriate, unacceptable explanation to a particular scientific phenomena in fantasy.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

i always loved fiction and fantasy...it was my main means of escaping from reality before i found substance abuse.

stephen king FTW,

 

I love fiction and fantasy of all types, but then I also read a lot of non-fiction. To be honest, I'll read just about anything I can get my hands on, and I devour books in hours that would take other people days.

 

I love non-fiction, but have found fiction to be the most useful to me in dealing with reality. Because of, you know, humans. Interacting with them and all that jazz. Without books, I would be lost, because it's not like people make any sense. Because of fiction, though, I actually have quite passable social skills and a good knowledge of language, psychology, sociology, history... obviously I read good fiction, not Stephen King or Twilight or any of that. I suppose you could learn from that if you were desperate, but I'd rather not.

 

Seriously, what would life be worth without S. Lem and Terry Pratchett? :wink:
Having said that, I admit that most of sci-fi/fantasy literature resembles glib with not much worth to it (imho). And even while reading my favorite authors the "wait, that contradicts reality!" alarm tingles in my head. Except they actually make up for it with depth of thought, scintillating ideas or brilliant humor.

 

Fiction is alright. Sometimes I might like them and sometimes I don't.

Fantasy however is probably my most favorite genre (along with science fiction) in fiction. I also like adventure novels and novels about anthropomorphic animals.

However, I do have to say that I read more nonfiction than fiction novels especially in the past. When I first come to a bookstore or the library, I go straightaway to the nearest nonfiction section to grab a book to read. I neglect any fiction I come across unless someone pushes or suggests me to read them.

 

I enjoy books, mostly fiction. I like nonfiction, too, but mostly i like how-to books, and i think an ounce of theory is worth a ton of practice, so it's hard to find a subject where i can read a lot of nonfiction without feeling like i'm wasting my time.

W/r/t fiction - i tend to read the more highbrow books, because they have the most dense character development. (I find most popular novels exhaustingly verbose while saying very little.) I think fiction gives us an excellent mirror to understand the human condition without getting hurt so much ourselves. And they help me develop my underdeveloped Fe.

As for fantasy, i enjoy magical realism (sort of like a "grounded" form of fantasy). I have more trouble with genre fantasy: it seems too open-ended, and authors often seem to work too hard there crafting their worlds rather than building strong, believable, relatable characters. But this isnt a hard-and-fast rule, it's just common among my experience with the genre. Science fiction seems like a great place for an INTP, but often i struggle with characters who are emotionally distant, incredibly angry (but not interested in confronting their issues), or with authors who create interesting characters but spend all their time crafting their scientific ideas and very little time focusing on the people who "live" them.

Hey, those of you who dont read fiction, do you ever dislike fiction on TV or in movies? Or is it just a book thing?

 

I find the best fantasy is stuff like Borges. It's hardly even fantasy - I mean not sword and sorcery or anything - he'll just take a philosophical theory about time or memory or something and turn it into a story.

 

I don't dislike fiction in movies or television. Maybe the difference is I read for knowledge but don't watch movies for knowledge.

 

I definitely prefer non-fiction to fiction!

I actually do enjoy fiction when I'm put in a position where someone gives me a good book and tells me to read it, but I rarely seek it out for myself. Probably about 95% of the books on my shelf are about science, philosophy, etc.

 

I enjoy reading both though probably read more fiction than non-fiction. Ever since I was young reading has been my preferred mode of escapism and losing myself in a new world inside a book is something I'll never tire of. I also love to read about subjects that interest me and digest new information or develop new ideas from what I read but there are also times I'd like to escape into something completely different. Also, just because a book might be fiction does not automatically mean it's completely devoid of thought provoking ideas or pieces of information about the subjects the plots revolve around.

Sci-fi and fantasy have never been my favorite genres but do enjoy several authors - Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams, William Gibson, Kurt Vonnegut (if you count him), a few others.

 

I enjoy reading both though probably read more fiction than non-fiction. Ever since I was young reading has been my preferred mode of escapism and losing myself in a new world inside a book is something I'll never tire of. I also love to read about subjects that interest me and digest new information or develop new ideas from what I read but there are also times I'd like to escape into something completely different. Also, just because a book might be fiction does not automatically mean it's completely devoid of thought provoking ideas or pieces of information about the subjects the plots revolve around.

Well said. Although I was hooked on Sci-fi when I got my hands on a Heinlein Jr. Series novel in 2nd grade (Red Planet). I enjoy mystery, Sci-fi, and Fantasy the most. I do read a lot of non-fiction but it tends to be How-to or History.

 

Don't like fiction that is devoid of logic/real-world physics. Believable stories spun in a sci-fi world are okay, provided things aren't explained with a "Wizard did it" blow-over. Favourite book is the Great Gatsby, largely because I enjoyed writing out all the metaphor/literary devices etc and feeling as if I'd mastered the book.

 

I love fictions books (mostly mystery, thrillers and comedy), but depending on how good the book is, I tend to really dislike fantasy titles (out of all the ones I've read so far) mostly because the stories are the SAME.

I all starts with some regular joe-shmo person and then all of sudden, some magical people/race comes to them and tells them they are their last hope and ONLY THEY CAN SAVE THE WORLD, yada yada yada, some random shit happens, insert main character uncovering their super powers which are so strong that they can all of a sudden take out the bad guy after almost losing against them and being killed and thus the world is saved. The end. Yay... but not really. :dry:

Maybe I've just read some really shitty fantasy, who knows..

 

Nope, you've pretty much called it for 95% of the stuff out there. Some of it is better quality in regards to the setting and the character development though. Anne McCaffery does a pretty good job of leaving the readers some mystery to figure out as they go along. I used to like Marion Zimmer Bradley and Andre Norton as well. If you are looking for humorous fantasy then Robert Asprin and his Myth series or Douglas Adams and the Hitchhikers Guides are pretty classic.

 

Humm, well I like fiction (mostly sci-fi or mythical I guess), but obviously, as an INTP, I do like real science very much.

 

Book recommendation

I recommend Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. The character development is psychologically enthralling and key to the book. One of those one's you can't put down. Even better, it has excellent sequels!

 

I recommend Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. The character development is psychologically enthralling and key to the book. One of those one's you can't put down. Even better, it has excellent sequels!

I'm almost sure Ender is an INFJ.

Also, I <3 fiction and fantasy.

 

I have to say, I read either genera for completely different reasons. If I'm trying to nail down some silly nuance of how reality functions, I certainly won't reach for Frank Herbert. And when I'm looking for inspiring metaphors of the struggle for human existance, I don't pick up Nishitani.