American author and journalist Tom Wolfe once said, “The problem with fiction is that it has to be plausible. The Benefits of Reading Non-Fiction Books. That’s not true with non-fiction.” and I think it’s a great argument!
Much of our focus on reading in the classroom, especially reading for pleasure, is often on fiction, and for good reason. Fiction stories draw readers in with amazing worlds, fantastic beasts, and relatable characters. But today I want to think about how non-fiction should take pride-of-place on everyone’s reading list, too, and show you a few of my favourites from the BookLife collection.
We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid. In fact, majority of us likes to polish our ignorance, isn’t it. But, books can struck that ignorance with a heavy blow that it will start showing the signs of cracking. Especially, nonfiction books.
Take this, for example, A person is born in India. So, he or she will grew up seeing the face of Mahatma Gandhi. In India, Gandhi is everywhere. But, that person will not understand the importance of Gandhi until someone tells her about him or either she read about him on her own.
Here, comes into the picture, nonfiction books. A good biography or an in-depth Book On Gandhi will help that person in gaining knowledge about the father of the nation of India.
The same we can say about any topic which a person wanna know about it. The nonfiction literature on that particular issue will help you in gaining knowledge.
Better understanding of the history:
We often used to hear this line here and there, What comes around goes around. Whatever happened in the past will surely repeats itself but in different shapes and sizes. And those who are aware of their past can tackle the unforeseen circumstances better than those who don’t even know anything about it.
For example, India was enslaved by the British for almost 150 years. And those people who’ve studied the reasons and circumstances which led the British to colonise India can tell the posterity so that they will not repeat the same mistakes which their forefathers did hundreds of years ago, isn’t it.
Some of you might be thinking how can nonfiction literature helps in this. So, if you’ve read good nonfiction books on the history of British Empire in India then I’m sure you will get an ample amount of idea about the reasons and causes behind the enslavement. In a nutshell you will get good understanding of the history, isn’t it.
Able to connect the past with the present:
Nonfiction books helps a person in connecting the past with the present. But, the question arises how? In the previous point we’ve discussed that how nonfiction literature helps in understanding history.
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Similarly, if you are aware about the history of your country or the important historical incidents and if you see the same situations and circumstances in and around the society then you can easily able to connect the past with the present.
For example, Fascist forces and Religious extremism were some of the many reasons which led to the partition of India in August 1947.
Whenever these forces on the rise you will see social disharmony and chaos in the society. So, if you have read about the partition of India and you see the same circumstances around the society then you will be able to connect the past with the present.
How Modern Non-Fiction Books Waste Your Time and Why You Should Read Them Anyway.
When I first discovered non-fiction books, I thought they were the best thing since sliced bread. Whatever problem you could possibly have, there’s a book out there to help you solve it. I had a lot of challenges at the time, and so I started devouring lots of books.
I read books about money, productivity, and choosing a career. Then, I read books about marketing, creativity, and entrepreneurship. I read and read and read, and, eventually, I realized I had forgotten to implement any of the advice! The only habit I had built was reading, and as wonderful as it was, it left me only with information overwhelm.
After that phase, I flipped to the other, equally extreme end of the spectrum: I read almost no books, got all my insights from summaries, and only tried to learn what I needed to improve a given situation at any time.
So, do self-help books work? As always, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
The right book at the right time can make a profound difference in your life. At the same time, you’ll never read nor need 99% of all books in existence, and with the exception of a rare few, you probably won’t miss anything.
I finally have a more balanced approach to reading, but for years, there’s been one notion in particular that kept me from reading non-fiction at a healthy yet not excessive pace: “Non-fiction books are a waste of your time.”
With book summary services by the dozen, podcasts and Youtube videos galore, this opinion has gained a lot of traction in recent years. Its main argument is that most books contain one good idea wrapped in 200 pages of filler. Why spend five hours reading when you can get the gist in five minutes?
In this article, I’ll show you exactly how modern non-fiction books waste your time because to some extent, they do. I’ll also make a case as to why that shouldn’t deter you from reading them in the slightest. I’ll use one particular book as an example: Meet The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.
Why This Book?
The first time someone mentioned The One Thing to me was in 2014. A fellow coach said he used Keller’s concept a lot and promptly sent me a 3-page summary of the book’s core thesis which, to be fair, is simple enough.
In essence, Keller suggests you use a singular “focusing question” in your life and work to determine your number one task at any given moment and in any given area. Then, you work only on that task until it’s done. As a result, all other tasks should become easier or unnecess
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