Last week on MM Diane asked if we read non-fiction differently than fiction. I said that I didn’t read a great deal of non-ficiton and that the only real difference was that I tended to take more notes.
Apparently I lied.
Well, okay, I didn’t really LIE. I simply forgot a critical fact that came crashing back to me when I decided to rectify the ‘I don’t really read non-fiction’ statement. I had to go pick up some research books for my assignment so I figured that, while I was in the library, I’d pick up something interesting and non-fictiony to read.
Then bam! it hit me. I actually read quite a few books of essays. Mostly essays about science fiction (my not-so-secret secret love). At the moment I’m reading Investigating Firefly and Serenity: Science Fiction on the Frontier, a collection of essays edited by Rhonda V. Wilcox and Tanya R. Cochran.
So there I was happily reading away when, bam! a bus*. No okay, not a bus, I realised the number 1 reason WHY I don’t read non-fiction for fun. Any guesses? No? They all come with a big list of MORE BOOKS in the back. And, after all, I am a sucker for lists.
The reference list frequently gets photocopied and I cross them off as I get to them or lose interest. See, non-fiction reading a is dangerous business for me…
* F.R.I.E.N.D.S. fans anyone?