It’s time the productivity gurus started to notice the value of fiction.
Yes, I’ve read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. I will not deny that I learned many things from reading the book, or that I put some of Covey’s ideas into practice (while simultaneously feeling self-righteous as I criticised its ability to speak into niche areas of my own life). I am (or, at least, once was) an avid reader of self-help literature.
My bookshelf has a dedicated space for non-fiction, with a generous portion occupied by self-help volumes I accumulated over time. I read David Goggins’ Can’t Hurt Me when I was still in High School, obsessed over 12 Rules For Life by Jordan Peterson (back when it was trending), and when I graduated, I acquired Christian versions of Self-Help, such as Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper. From all these books and more, I learned much, criticised much, and grew some.
I won’t deny the impact of Self-Help on my life, but reading fiction has had an impact decuple that of Self-Help.
It has only been in the last 12 months that I began to consider reading fiction again, after spending years pretending it didn’t exist as valuable literature. Many people, particularly young men, find it “impractical” to spend time reading something “purely for entertainment”. Even the 75 Hard Challenge requires participants to read 10 pages every day – but it must be from a Self-Help book.
But, who said that reading Self-Help is more practical than fiction? What if fiction is much more helpful, much more fun, and much more easy than a self-improvement book?
Here are my thoughts:
Reason 1: Exploring is better than being told what to do
Prescriptive non-fiction (by definition) is not imaginative. It states facts (or purported facts) and expects the reader to determine their veracity and their usefulness to themselves. The goal of self-development writing is to arrive at a conclusion. Authors want you to feel as though you have learned how to be more disciplined, or happy, or emotionally healthy, money savvy… the list goes on.
This may seem quite beneficial, but fiction helps you arrive at conclusions, too, but in a much more profound way. Fiction doesn’t impose conclusions on you, but allows you to explore ideas that go beyond the visible. You can wrestle with the consequences until you finally realise truths about yourself or the world which were previously unarticulated.
Let me illustrate this point with an example.
When I first started reading Crime and Punishment, the protagonist Raskolnikov intrigued me. His eccentricities and ideas seemed fascinating to me, and I found myself frighteningly in support of him as he goes on to attempt to evade capture for his crime.
I wrestled for some time with this inner conflict as Raskolnikov’s life falls apart around him as he stubbornly holds on to his pride. Had I read a well-meaning article or book on pride, I’m sure I could have learned lessons about how to stop being prideful, or the consequences of pride. But the experience of almost living the life of the protagonist caused much deeper reflections on my own pride and guilt.
That’s what fiction does. It gives us a person or a story to wrestle with, rather than a lesson. Self-Help, on the other hand is like a university lecture. Asking questions and exploring concepts independently are discouraged, so instead we have to either agree or criticise the content.
Here’s one more example:
There’s plenty of Self-Help and Christian Self-Help that talks about judging others. One could read a handful of these and become armed with tools and a bunch of head knowledge on pride.
But when I read Pride and Prejudice, I discovered judgement in my own heart much more severely. I spent three quarters of the book hating it, hating the characters, frustrated that this was “supposed to be one of the classics of all time”. It was only as I got to the last 100 pages or so that my perspective was completely flipped. In exposing my judgement of the characters and the book, I learned a lesson on prejudice which no self-help volume could accurately teach. P&P pointed out the internal issue that I needed to deal with. Pride was more than a concept to be grasped in my head, but a failing that was deep within me. I discovered that I was awfully like Elizabeth Bennet, much more than I’d like to have believed.
It’s amazing how much more profound the lessons are in Fiction literature.
Reason 2: Enjoying life is better than trying to enjoy life
For so many adults I know (including me, not that long ago!), reading is something that we have to do, or at the very least, should do. Hence why 75 Hard includes required reading. Countless online gurus post about their reading lists, or write their own Self-Development books for this same reason.
But all this just takes the joy out of reading. If you read either to impress someone else, or tick off an arbitrary box (that doesn’t actually exist!), you will never (a) truly love reading, nor (b) truly learn the lessons that come from reading!
Now, you might come at me at this point, saying something along the lines of “but I don’t know what sort of fiction I like”. Or worse, “but all fiction is boring to me”. To which I will respond that you will find something you like, I guarantee you!
If you’re just starting out, my first recommendation would be to read the classics. But, you must stick through them (as I did with Pride and Prejudice)! Additionally, browse a second-hand book shop to see if there are any titles that jump out at you, and only buy that one.
The alternative that helps keep me motivated to keep on reading is to read a novella.
I read Train Dreams by Denis Johnson earlier this year and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. It was just over 100 pages and took me less than a week to power through it in short nighttime reading sessions.
It was incredibly profound to contemplate the brevity of life in so little pages. Johnson’s techniques sent my mind spinning each night before bed, and I felt immersed in the world of 19th century America. I loved it! What’s more, in under a week, I had added a new book to my ‘completed’ list. This gave me a sense of accomplishment, ready to take on my next major book.
Whether you read a novella, a classic, or a title that stands out to you – remember this: the book you are reading was meant to entertain you. Self-Help books don’t do this. It’s not their purpose. In fact, you’ve probably had enough informative reading in your life from school, university and work combined that it’s time to read something for the sake of leisure and nothing else. Who cares if it’s not practical? It’s fun, and that’s better than constantly trying to optimise everything to the tee.
Even books you might dislike can be enjoyable in their own way. I rate The Good Shepherd a solid 3 out of 5 stars (at best) yet I still exploring the poor leadership displayed by Captain Krause. Sure, the book dragged on for much longer than it should have, and doing naval trigonometry in my head during my nighttime reading was less than fun, but I learned much more about good and bad leadership from it than if I had have read a book dedicated to teaching principles of leadership. I also had the added benefit of reading through it with friends, which meant we all slogged through it together.
Bonus: Read my fiction!
If you’re a reader of my blog, you might notice that on occasion I publish poems or short stories.
I have been working on a crime-fiction series, purely to entertain myself, which I hope can serve as entertainment for some others, too. It would be incredibly meaningful if you checked out my stories, and let me know what you think!
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