The Importance of Fiction and Why It's NOT Pointless!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ค. 2024
- A brief conversation expressing my beliefs about the importance of fiction, and why we enjoy it so much - whether it's books or other formats.
After recording this, I realised that I'd made a similar video a few months ago, so my apologies if I'm repeating myself a bit here, but I do think it's worth saying again!
If you'd like to see my original blog post from which I've taken the main points of this video, you can read it here: www.rosamundebott.com/the-imp...
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I met a retired high school librarian that revealed to me that she thought fiction was pointless and a waste of time. I couldn't believe my ears! Then I thought of all those high school kids that she led astray. My only consolation was that she was retired so she couldn't influence the kids anymore. My own grade school librarian pointed me to mysteries and I am so thankful for her. She was so supportive and encouraging.
The other question is why such a person becomes a librarian in the first place
I know. I was so speechless when she admitted that statement to me. It did not compute. Here I thought, after learning she was a retired librarian, that we were going to have a nice long conversation about books and she made that statement. It was like someone saying the world was flat and they were convinced of it. It just didn't make any sense. How did she ever maintain a librarian job I'll never know.
So nicely said. How empty our lives would be without stories, whether it be books or movies. There are books and movies that I still think about even though I enjoyed them a long time ago.
Many thanks for this most enjoyable discussion. I have met over the years, several people who are highly educated I might add, who have stated "Oh, I never read fiction", with an. air of superiority in their exclamation and they have left me bewildered. How can they live without imagination? Stories in all forms are the colour in my life.
I had a fellow teacher at university many years ago and he was a world renowned professor in psychology. He told me that if you want to educate yourself then read good fiction.
If I didn't have a story/a book on the go, I don't know that I could manage in life.
For me it's like having a very long film running. It's a world inside me and I live in it. I think constantly about the book I am reading. I go to work and cannot wait to get back to the story when I get home. I savour the hour first thing in the morning.
Authors are earth angels ❤
As for TLOTR .. its been an ongoing book I listen to and read at the same time. I do so alongside any book I have on the go.
One of the most beautiful parts of this story is when they all stay over at Bombadils house and the hobbits are fed so well, with such delicious descriptions of food and they are told that nothing can harm them inside the little cottage. They then sleep the most peaceful sleeps.
This makes me realise how protected they all were on their harsh task and how Tolkein injects a sense of God being all around them and within them ❤
** I may have spelt the kindly man's name incorrectly **
What you just said is so true! As a fiction and non fiction reader, I love to alternate between these two genres. I have great admiration for anyone who can write well and keep me turning the pages.
This topic is so important. I feel like fiction has a unique ability to heal people. Through a VR-like process (a process which I feel is more realistic than modern VR technology), you simulate situations in which you feel you are the center of action or at least very close to the center of action. And through these experiences, you become transformed. Complexes and traumas you might have had could be healed through an experience like that. I say this because it happened to me!
Thank you - very well put.
What a sad world it would be with no films, plays, musicals, art, and yes books etc that are not just factual accounts. Wouldn’t that be boring!
I have read fiction all my life since i learnt to read and can't imagine life without a book 'with a story' to hand. It would be a very sad and boring existence.
I have Autism. Reading fiction is the best option I have to understand other people. Human motivations are often illogical and ego driven so I can't relate until I have a fictional comparison. I really couldn't function without fiction to explain to me how very differently other minds work from mine.
Such a beautiful video and wise woman. This conversation made me feel very happy.
On my way to work this morning, reading EH Young' s The Curate' s Wife, I was noticing in domestic moments how oerceptive she was and how I'd not noticed or thought of that before Now!! How helpful had I read this or many other books sooner-- as I often come by these thoughts decades too late! So it' s right on! What you' re presenting today! Hip Hip Hooray for you! Fiction is slower and more aware than some action film.
Excellent explanation/rationale for reading fiction. I read both fiction and nonfiction and I must confess that I HAVE indeed wondered what the point was in reading fiction--other than keeping me from the doors of dementia a bit longer! 😄
You are correct; stories are so important. In working with students aged 11-12, I see the effect of of not reading. They struggle to connect ideas and to think. Many have not been exposed to the flow of a good story. This year I am selecting a piece if literature for our listeningpleasure. I believe it will impact their writing and connection to themselves and others. On a personal note, I used to favor nonfiction. Then at work there were so many readers of fiction. I felt left out of the loop, so I began reading more fiction. I now read more fiction than nonfiction. Thank you for the topic. I recently found you and enjoy your content. Kim
Thanks so much Rosamunde for this video. Reading is a huge joy in my life, and I read all different things but I love fiction. I totally agree that it adds so much to how a person views the world. I have a close friend who feels guilt when she reads and thinks she should be working. I asked her to take a break with a tea and try and read for 15 minutes. She's enjoying it so I'm hoping she will continue to read. I love my books and you've given me so many ideas for new reads. Hi Tilly!
I have had kurt remarks about my collections of novels hurled at me. That i should use my time learning truth and factual details, not stories.
Thank you for your video!! I now have an intelligent response.
Think it was sci-fi/fantasy author Neil Gaiman who once said..."fiction is the lie that tells the truth."
Excellent! I wish I'd remembered that quote, I would have used that!
very interesting topic - I've never stopped to consider that some may not care for Fiction reads -- but cannot understand why some would find it a 'waste of time'. What a world they are missing out on! Reading is such a huge part of my life -- can't wait to retire 🤣
Thank you! Love this! Especially the dog. So very clever! ❤❤
You've thrown me for a loop on this one. Fact and truth are two different things? I'm going to have to think on this for a while.
Facts have truth, but whose truth? Who writes and tells the facts? The media and the government. It's more of perspective. The fact is this, but the truth experienced by the people who go through that fact may be different than the narrative pushed to the masses.
@doreene11 yeah, I don't think truth is the same thing as experience and perspective, though. But that's just my opinion, not a truth.
Reading fiction saved me when I was a child. It was my escape from an abusive environment. I could not live without my books. I read fiction and non-fiction. Fiction has taught me so much and is good for my mental health. If anyone says reading fiction is a waste of time, I would ask if they like the cinema? Most films are fiction. I love your top. The colours really suit you.😊
I'm so glad to hear how fiction has helped you.
Thank you - that top has my favourite colours in it!
Another excellent video Rosamunde! Don’t worry about repeating yourself. It can never be said too often. Wishing you and adorable Tilly a great week!
So well said! Thank you😊
Wonderfully said. I agree 💯
I have always loved fiction and mythological stories.
I think that the distinction of nonfiction being about facts, and fiction about truths is a very good way to describe it.
I would just add, that while nonfiction also has enjoyment, I believe fictional stories do offer much more enjoyment.
👏👏👏
Thank you so much for this video! I agree with you one hundred percent! Everybody should read fiction! It makes me crazy when someone says to me that they don't read fiction because they can't be bothered! Plus I find that I don't even want to read the same kind of stuff all the time! It's nice to change it up now and again! Plus you can still learn so much from reading fiction! But you just put it so well, there is no need for me to write an essay here!😂 hello to Tilly! She is as cute as ever!😍
As Groucho Marx once said...outside of a dog a book is a man's best friend...inside of a dog it's too dark to read!
😂