Nonfiction doesn't have to suck
I recently read a piece on reading fiction instead of self-help. It's great and you should read it. But it also got me thinking. Is "self-help" really an alternative to fiction?
Good nonfiction feels like the real alternative to fiction.
To most people, nonfiction is either those pseudo-psychological ramblings, or dense academic gibberish. A lot of nonfiction really is bland and story-less. And a lot of it really does sacrifice any humanity by prescribing over-optimization and quick fixes. But there exists a whole world out there of writers who can craft a compelling narrative out of the truth.
While I do love fiction, I wish more people would appreciate nonfiction for what it is. Nonfiction can put you in the shoes of people you never would have known existed. But people who do exist. And it can uncover the most fascinating stories in what feel like the most mundane aspects of the world. A world you occupy, not a fictional world.
Right now I'm reading Waste Wars, and not only is it great from an academic perspective, it also weaves together a story that I can't put down. To give you an example of how wonderfully strange nonfiction can be, take this passage I highlighted the other night. It describes the spiritual remedy a local priest in Ghana has given to an online-scammer in order to more effectively catfish an American: page 173
[He] was to find a small white marsh bird—the type that liked to land on the chunks of Styrofoam that drifted throughout the Korle Lagoon—and release it at the shore of the ocean, so that it flew out in the direction of the setting sun.
The bird would eventually reach the other side of the Atlantic and convey [his] wishes to Pennsylvania.
Finally, [he] was to sacrifice nine roosters—those, as well as the animal that a lion cannot kill. The priest was quiet for a moment before the creature’s name came to him. “A porcupine.”
Fiction can make you think and feel wonderful things. It can shape your perception and judgement. But stories like the one above can only come from real life.
You should read nonfiction. It doesn't have to suck.
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