I can't read fiction

[bricolage]

it's strange but I used to get totally engulfed by novels and the like but now I just can't get through any, the last one I read was post office by bukowski which I have to say I loved but I started reading snow by orhan pamuk a while ago and even though I enjoyed it stopped about halfway through and haven't got back into it. I tend to just read history books now. does anyone else have this problem?

[RedMarxist]

I was totally engulfed in How Few Remain, by Harry Turtledove, then put it down for a month or two. I can't stop reading on the other hand The Red Flag: A History Of Communism. Its neutrally written, and gives one and insight into why Communism had its success, and why it had its failures. Its on amazon or at your local bookstore.

[Thirsty Crow]

it's strange but I used to get totally engulfed by novels and the like but now I just can't get through any, the last one I read was post office by bukowski which I have to say I loved but I started reading snow by orhan pamuk a while ago and even though I enjoyed it stopped about halfway through and haven't got back into it. I tend to just read history books now. does anyone else have this problem?
I have had a similar problem, but the strange thing is that I study world literature :confused::laugh:
However, it turned out that all I needed is an engulfing novel, one which can grip you by your throat at its very beginning. Though, there still are periods when I hardly read any fiction, and if I do, it's not a fullfiling endeavour. It just comes and goes.

What are your favorite genres/themes/authors? I'd suggest that you search something similar and give it a try.

[Sixiang]

I haven't read a work of fiction in months. I've been reading a steady stream of non-fiction for the past 3 months. I used to love fiction, but I'm trying desperately to learn more about the world. I've especially been reading Marx and Engels so I can become more well-versed in economics and be able to destroy any argument by right-wingers for capitalism.

[thesadmafioso]

Yeah, I am the same say. If I ever do read anything fiction, it basically has to be something tied in a very direct sense to politics or history. Why bother dealing with made up stories when history has plenty of great material as is?

[NoOneIsIllegal]

I find fiction incredibly boring. I read about 30-35 books a year, and I always make it a point to read at least 1 or 2 fiction books. They always happen to be the most boring.

[bcbm]

i almost exclusively read fiction, not sure what to tell ya. there is lots of good historical fiction out there though which might give you the best of both worlds

[Tenka]

Yeah, I am the same say. If I ever do read anything fiction, it basically has to be something tied in a very direct sense to politics or history. Why bother dealing with made up stories when history has plenty of great material as is?

One could take the same position regarding films; it's not a position I agree with, but I was exposed to fiction in books prior to any inkling of real history, as were I think most people. I guess some of us (e.g., you) find the particulars of history far more entertaining than some good fiction.:) (alt. history can be awesome fiction though... Harry Turtledove anyone?)

[bricolage]

my favourite books have always been things like midnights children, everything is illuminated or hundred years of solitude, that whole magic realism genre where fantastical stories are set against historical reference points. anyone else know other good ones like this?

[Jimmie Higgins]

Personally I need a balance and try and read fiction while commuting to work on the subway and before I got to bed while I also read history or radical journals and news in a less causal way (like read a chapter or two or an article when I get home from work).

I like literature as well as escapism and graphic novels. IMO diversion either escapism or something a little deeper and artful along with more overtly practical and useful readings are an important part of a healthy radical diet - but people are different, so whatever works for you is good and you shouldn't feel weird if you just aren't into reading lit right now.

[La Comédie Noire]

I used to read fiction all the time, but now I get impatient with it and feel it's a waste of time, which I know is a crappy attitude to have.

Non-fiction has ruined me. :(

[I.Drink.Your.Milkshake]

Yeah I get this. I feel it (fiction) distracts me from the real world which, as I get older, I feel the need to engage with as much as possible. Ive decided to limit my fiction reading for the rest of my life to only reading the stuff considered classic - all the greek stuff, Shakespeare, Dickens etc. No need to read modern stuff, really. Maybe some of it's great, maybe not, but there's no way it'll ever have the opportunity to affect the world in the same way as older stuff so... yknow... fuck it.

Currently reading Orwell, a bunch of third reich stuff, a book on the rise and fall of communism by some UK conservative, the bible and Keith Richards Autobiography :D.

[Rakhmetov]

it's strange but I used to get totally engulfed by novels and the like but now I just can't get through any, the last one I read was post office by bukowski which I have to say I loved but I started reading snow by orhan pamuk a while ago and even though I enjoyed it stopped about halfway through and haven't got back into it. I tend to just read history books now. does anyone else have this problem?


Maybe you need to eat a well-balanced diet so you can concentrate. Hmmm??? :confused:

[Thirsty Crow]

my favourite books have always been things like midnights children, everything is illuminated or hundred years of solitude, that whole magic realism genre where fantastical stories are set against historical reference points. anyone else know other good ones like this?
Good to see that our tastes overlap to a significant extent :)

If you don't have much time for fiction, I'd suggest that you go for Garcia Marquez's short stories, most notable being Twelfe Pilgrims (the title actually refers to the stories themselves and their strange life journey). Also try going for some other of Garcia Marquez's novels, especially The Autumn of the Patrairch.

[thesadmafioso]

One could take the same position regarding films; it's not a position I agree with, but I was exposed to fiction in books prior to any inkling of real history, as were I think most people. I guess some of us (e.g., you) find the particulars of history far more entertaining than some good fiction.:) (alt. history can be awesome fiction though... Harry Turtledove anyone?)

Film generally requires a much lessened investment of time though. I can stand to watch a movie for 2 hours, but reading a work of fiction is far more time consuming. Time which could be more effectively applied towards other pursuits.

[x359594]

If you can't read fiction try poetry.

[Thirsty Crow]

Shit, how could I've forgotten to mention Lanark by Alasdair Gray, one of my favourite fiction works of all time :blink:

Anyway, the novel is pretty demanding both in lenght and in necessary engagement with the complexity of the text.
It is divided into two "sections": a realist one, depicting the life of a Glasgow youth who strives to become a painter, and a fantastic, pretty much dystopian one, which is related to the first one but to say in what kind of way would be to spoil the reading experience. They aren't chronologically ordered.

Both "sections" share the general "grim" atmosphere.

[bricolage]

If you don't have much time for fiction, I'd suggest that you go for Garcia Marquez's short stories, most notable being Twelfe Pilgrims (the title actually refers to the stories themselves and their strange life journey). Also try going for some other of Garcia Marquez's novels, especially The Autumn of the Patrairch.
I wasn't a big fan of 'the autumn' to be honest, all I seem to remember at the moment is that there were sentences going on for half a page or something!
I've found a copy of the god of small things which I'm liking at the moment.

[MarxSchmarx]

How do you fare with nonfiction narratives like memoirs and biographies? In my experience, those tend to read a lot like fiction with characters and drama and all just without the dialog. Maybe read a few good ones to get you back in the groove? Some like Angela's Ashes actually have quite a bit of dialog and in fact do read like a fiction writing.

[L.A.P.]

I was never able to read novels, I honestly can't stand them. I always just watched the movie if the novel seemed interesting. Every book I own is on philosophy and other related things, I don't know what it is about me.