For some reason people in this thread seem to think non-fiction is about abstract topics and fiction is about the human experience?! There are bazillion non-fiction stories that read like or better than novels. Like literally any non-fiction story about people who did things. Anything.

So for me, I learn more from these types of books because it’s actual human beings who did or went through somemething. It motivates me to no end because they are actual humans who have walked the earth.

Novels on the other hand are too abstract for me in their lessons. There’s too much flowery shit for that one nugget of wisdom that I don’t think is worth it discerning. And when I do I shrug it off because it doesn’t have the emotional weight because it’s a figure made up by a depressed 20-something dropout who’s father wanted him to be a lawyer.

So contrary to what people here are saying it is actually more difficult and boring and less poignant to learn from fiction than non-fiction.

Don’t misunderstand. I love novels. But I don’t read them to learn about lessons or the human experience because that’s not how it feels to me. Then again, I’m currently reading Steppenwolf by Hesse and that actually has a lot of insights for my life.