I've been on a fiction kick lately. Some of my recent reads (Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia, and my in-process read, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride) have expanded my horizons on creativity and storytelling.
I think the winter season is another factor in my fiction kick. Reading in the winter makes it especially cozy to dive into a make believe world and immerse in story. As a lifelong reader, turned freelance editor, I usually toggle back and forth between reading nonfiction and fiction; often reserving fiction for times when I want my brain to wander, without the pressure of learning something specific.
And as I've been thinking about the power of story lately, I thought I'd explore the fiction/nonfiction toggling further.
In this blog article, I'll explore the benefits of reading nonfiction and fiction genres.

Nonfiction or Fiction? (That is the Question)
I often hear people say they prefer either nonfiction or fiction. For the nonfiction'ers out there, it's usually something along the lines of "why would I read anything where I don't learn something—what's the point?" And for the fiction'ers out there, I'll hear something like "nonfiction is boring, I just want to read a story."
And while I can see both sides, I tend to be in the "why choose one?" camp. For me, it's all about balance. I feel different on different days. Sometimes my energy level is low and I don't really want to read something serious or cut and dry. And sometimes my attention level is high and I want to soak in all the knowledge from a nonfiction book. Sometimes certain books come off of hold at the library at different times, so I read what is ready for pickup. Whatever the reason, I eventually need to switch off to another genre after several books of one side, or I'll start to feel out of balance.
Let's explore each genre.
Nonfiction
According to Merriam-Webster, nonfiction is defined as "writing or cinema that is about facts and real events."
So, what nonfiction pieces are people are reading? Well, ISBN noted the top 10 most popular nonfiction genres are the following:
Biographies, Autobiographies, & Memoirs
History
Philosophy
Self-Help
Health & Wellness
Religion & Spirituality
Personal Finance
True Crime
Cookbooks
Relationships
I have to admit, I have a soft spot for self-improvement, memoir, and personal finance books. These books help me learn how I can improve myself and learn from other people's lived experiences. I've tried reading true crime, but tbh I get too scared reading that genre (though I do enjoy watching shows on true crime—go figure). I'll dabble here and there in other nonfiction genres, such as health & wellness and relationships, so I'll ultimately learn a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
And as a freelance editor, I only copyedit and proofread nonfiction. I love me a business report, academic paper, and a side of healthcare topics to edit :) For some reason, my brain is wired to only want to edit facts and real events. Maybe because it's like a down to business mentality for scanning grammar and flow and technical details? Not sure, but the thought of editing the imaginative worlds of fiction seems to take the fun out of the work I suppose. However, when I do authenticity reading, anything goes—fiction, nonfiction, I'm game. For whatever reason, there's a line in the sand for me with my editing practice and genres I work on. But with reading, both are on the table.
Just as in life, I try to find balance in my reading. I think because much of my career and education have been heavily left brain-centric, too much nonfiction can weigh heavy and I'll eventually feel out of sorts if I don't balance it out. So while I love me a nonfiction read, at some point I gotta dive in the waters of make believe and story time.
Fiction
According to Merriam-Webster, fiction is defined as "something invented by the imagination or feigned... specifically: an invented story."
ISBNÂ noted the top 10 most popular fiction genres are:
Fantasy
Science Fiction
Romance
Thriller
Horror
Mystery
Literary Fiction
Action & Adventure
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
Out of these genres, I mostly gravitate towards literary fiction and historical fiction (a novel set in WWII Europe? yes please; a focus on the inner workings of the characters? sign me up!).
I occasionally dabble in sci-fi. And I do read other types of fiction, but not as often. For example, thrillers and mystery are fun, but, horror gets a little too scary for me haha (I'm noticing a pattern here with reading scary things).
When I read fiction, some of the characters are so complex and well-developed, these books often deepen my empathy. The human experience is universal with so many complex emotions involved. I appreciate when authors explore emotional and situational complexity, as it is so relatable.
Through fiction, I also learn about different groups of people or customs in different time periods, which is cool to imagine. For example, I had never heard about the group of people from the Appalachian region called Melungeons prior to reading Demon Copperhead. That was interesting to do more researching (aka Google searches) on.
All to say, with fiction, I can be transported into a world I would have normally not been exposed to. And I think that is pretty cool.
Which One Do You Prefer?
As with anything, different strokes for different folks. I'm not trying to say one genre is better than the other. You can learn different things from each.
For me, I think the most important part of reading is that you enjoy it. Dare I say, that it feeds your soul... And that might look different for everyone, because people like different things.
Lastly, each genre may help you flex different parts of your brain. Perhaps reading both nonfiction and fiction can help you get the full use of your left and right side of your brain. The logical and creative.
So, there's no right or wrong, I think just different offerings for different interests, moods, concentration levels, and openness to experiences. Whatever the case, I hope you're exploring your interests, finding great books to read (or listen to), and perhaps balancing out both worlds of the written word.
Happy reading!