Why do you think some people only like to read fiction books and some only like to read non-fiction?

Cause it’s their personal taste.

Personality. Some read to learn more, some read to escape from reality.

Some people like to be able to believe what they’re reading.

I read non-fiction when I want to learn about history, or science, or other REAL subjects. I read skeptical magazines to stay one step ahead of the pseudo- and junk-science believers that try to convince me that the paranormal is real. I read fiction to pass the time when nothing much is going on. But it has to be good fiction, not just some silly crap.

Because, thankfully, everybody is different.

Simple. Variety is the spice of life. And in the words of the scholarly @MacBean, everybody is different.

I don’t mind that some people prefer to read only non-fiction, but I surely do mind if they look down on fiction readers. FWIW, I read both.

I think some people want to read books to get away. They are probably also the same people who like fiction in movies and so on. Others find fiction in general stupid, since it’s not real. Even if they do watch fictional movies, they prefer the ones that are set in the real world. You can easily see that with LotR: there’s nobody in the world that thinks “it’s a good movie”. People either love it or hate it. It’s the same people usually who’ll also read fiction/non-fiction books respectively.

@augustlan. I read both also. There are merits for each category. =)

I also read both and am baffled by people who don’t. But, then again, I also like men and women (and more ambiguously gendered folks) and don’t understand people who only like one or the other. Variety is awesome.

I personally read both. I read non-fiction for the knowledge and I read fiction for the entertainment. I read more fiction than non-fiction, but that is because I am not as familiar with authors in the non-fiction genre. Which is odd, because that is what I am currently writing.

I prefer to escape into another world when I have the time to read. There are some non-fiction books that have caught my attention, but they are few and far between.

@MacBean I like the way you think, seems we have a lot in common. Variety is the spice of life, and putting ketchup on everything is boring.

This is an interesting question. I personally read almost exclusively non-fiction. I get my “escapism” fix from tv and movies, but when I read I like to learn and gain insight into interesting topics (probably why I like Fluther). That said, I’ve read some fiction that is absolutely phenomenal – like Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, even some Keats, Woodsworth, and TS Eliot to name a few (Prufrock is one of my absolute favourite pieces of poetry.)

Even still, whenever I get a craving to read, I almost always feel like reading non-fiction and learning something fascinating. I guess it’s just the way I am.

I find non-fiction to be too much work. The non-fiction I’ve had to read is written in a boring style, and it just doesn’t keep my interest. A lot of non-fiction writers don’t feel like they have to tell a story. It’s just the facts, ma’am.

I think that people who prefer non-fiction enjoy the facts more. They may even feel that it is a waste of time reading anything that isn’t about facts; that doesn’t teach them about the real world (or so they believe).

I like stories. In fact, I about can’t keep up any interest in anything I’m reading unless there is a story to it. I like reading the New Yorker because they do tell stories in their non-fiction. So, too, does The Sun. Fiction, of course, is usually about stories and plot. Some fiction is about style and language, and I don’t really enjoy those kinds of fiction. I need my plot!

I also tend to learn a lot of facts about the world through fiction. Perhaps that’s because I read science fiction the most. However there are many facts about relationships that one can learn from fiction in other genres, as well. Understanding relationships and human interaction have always been important to me. I think fiction is the best place to learn about that, although I do read some social science. Generally I prefer to get my social science from talks, rather than reading. I can interact with people and ask questions—something you can’t do with written information.

I have no idea if I represent the thoughts of anyone else who prefers fiction to non-fiction. I’m sure others are different. So really, I’m speaking for myself, and, unfortunately, I can’t answer the question. I hope that an explanation of one person’s thinking is useful.

I guess in my spare time what I read is mostly fiction. As a university student, I spend so much of my time reading articles and textbooks and analyses, etc., that when I want to read to unwind, I reach for a fun fictional book to take me someplace other than where I am and to give the analytical part of my brain a rest. Ever since I started at my university, each summer I read through the entire Harry Potter series as a treat to myself. During the year, I’ll read funny chick-lit, historical novels, adventure-type novels, etc. The only non-fiction book I’ve ever read for pleasure during the school year was about Dewey, the library cat from Iowa…it’s non-fiction, but not exactly Stephen Hawking-type of non-fiction.

Why do some like chocolate and some vanilla? Why tomayto rather than tomahto?