A nonfiction addiction

@wwaycorrigan

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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, A Christmas Carol, Animal Farm, Brave New World, Crime and Punishment, Great Expectations, Heart of Darkness, Metamorphosis, 1984, Steppenwolf, The Brothers Karamazov, The Handmaid's Tale, The Man with Two Left Feet, War and Peace.

It's an addiction that our writer feels he should be doing much more of. 

Those are a selection of the fiction books I've read over the last few years. I currently have another few on the go, but I've yet to finish them, hence they're not included.

I refer to them to point out that I do read such works. Yet, I'm usually more content delving into nonfiction, with history, politics, biographies and memoirs being my particular favourites.

Fact crazier than fiction

One reason for this preference is that the writing style of nonfiction is usually, although not always, a little more straightforward than novels. Or at least nonfiction doesn't tend to go into overdrive just to describe certain everyday activities or sights, such as supping on a cup of coffee or staring up at the sky.

I'm not a fan of what I consider to be overwrought text, of overly descriptive prose. Or, to try to put my own creative touch on it, passages that are a fog of flowery language. A little alliteration can work well, after all.

Some novels are more guilty of this descriptive debauchery than others. The ones mentioned at the start are generally in the clear on this charge. And, thus, they are clearer and more enjoyable to read.

That I'm not a follower of flashy fiction matches with my fairly minimalist lifestyle and overall personality, I surmise: 'Keep it simple, stupid.' Being mostly economically inactive these days means I've little choice but to live a simpler existence.

'Digitised versions of books on a device are far inferior to having a real copy in hand, where you can physically turn the pages.'

This isn't to suggest that nonfiction is prosaic compared to other genres. Stories about events that are happening and have happened, about people who are living and have lived, are just as compelling as, if not more compelling than, those that people have concocted in their imaginations.

Another factor for my nonfiction preference is that in my younger days, I was more of a newspaper man when it came to reading. I was generally too restless to sit down for long periods with a novel or something similar. When I did start to read long-form literature, I gravitated more towards nonfiction, largely because, I figure, it was like reading a newspaper, just one with a higher word count and a more focused theme.

There's nothing too revelatory in that. As the great English writer Dr Samuel Johnson put it, 'a man should read whatever his immediate inclination prompts him to.' He does qualify this by stating that those who wish to expand their knowledge will most likely have to read material that isn't always to their inclination. But when it comes to reading for enjoyment or relaxation, then obviously it makes sense to go with material that matches your likes.

Digitised dilemma

One of the biggest impediments I have to reading more these days is in getting access to the books I want, in physical form that is. Digitised versions of tomes on a device are far inferior to having a real copy in hand, where you can physically turn the pages.

The chief reasons why I'm forced into the inferior option are, for one, that it's hard to get hold of English-language books in Colombia, particularly in peripheral regions. Additionally, as a mild rover with no fixed abode, it's not that practical to be hauling books around with me from place to place.

Digitised versions weigh nothing, bar the memory they take up on my phone and on cloud storage. And with a restricted budget, the availability, for free, of thousands of classics at gutenberg.org is quite the resource.

So, whether it's nonfiction or fiction, having material to read isn't my problem, even if it isn't in my preferred format.

That I don't get through as many books as I'd like to is more to do with my being what I'll term a ruminating reader. My mind is guilty of wandering, not necessarily in an easily distracted sense, but more a case of thinking about what I'm reading and applying it to situations in my own life. I assume that's a normal enough practice, isn't it?
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A brief history of reading

One measure of the positive development of a country is its literacy rate. The more people who are competent in reading, writing and arithmetic, the greater chance of a better quality of life — that's the general belief.

In the not-too-distant past, such abilities were the preserve of a select, influential elite. The invention of the printing press gradually began to change this as the written word became available to a greater number of people. 

This more rapid diffusion of texts coupled with an increase in the audience for such works saw this medium rise to a position of prominence, arguably greater than that of the spoken word and images.

You still have to be able to read a bit to play Mario. (Image from web.)

Over the last century and a half or so, a host of interlinked technological developments together with greater access to education have seen a dramatic upturn in global literacy levels, further enhancing the importance of the written word.

A brighter Dark Age

Yet, what we have seen of late is not a 'triumph of text' but rather a return to what could be viewed as more ancient times where the image is king for the masses, in a very different format albeit.

For some, this is portrayed as a dumbing down of society. Examples given to support this viewpoint are YouTube videos of very little, if any, educational or social value that go viral, 'silly' TV soap operas and even computer games. In this sphere, it's very much a case of following the money trail.

Nonetheless, however dismissive we may be of the above, it can't be said that they represent a return to some sort of Dark Ages. They are part of an age where people have access to a vast array of information at the touch of a button — empowering or otherwise as this may be.

Indeed, thanks to the internet, self-education capabilities have increased exponentially, be that with videos and commentary via YouTube or simply having access to an enormous amount of written sources in seconds. 

Of course, there's no guarantee that such learning will be completely balanced and impartial, especially considering that we tend to find material that compliments our own biases. Then again, the same can be said for more traditional educational outlets.

What's more, given the changed landscape as regards where and how people source information, even if people are reading fewer books (a US study this year suggests a slight fall in the last number of years), this doesn't mean they're becoming 'less enlightened/intelligent'. 

For one, in the majority of the world literacy rates have never been higher.

So, while not all of us are reading voluminous tomes, our understanding of issues is — or at least should be — better than in previous times. 

In this regard, at least the foundations for a questioning, more forward-thinking human race are there, however individuals and distinct societies might actually turn out given whatever other conditions are at play at the time.

That last point still carries much weight. We'd like to think that with high literacy rates alongside the ability to self-educate and question long-held yet flawed beliefs, the acceptance to wage war along religious and ethnic lines would be on the wane significantly. Alas, despite the world being as interconnected as it ever has been, this isn't quite the case.

Perhaps that simply comes down to an innate human trait: we'll always find a reason to go to war, no matter how educated, enlightened or well-read we may be. And there'll always be people ready to fight those wars.

So while the power of the book is perhaps waning, the return with a vengeance of images/pictures as master of the masses is not necessarily a backward step. 

They are being presented to a more knowledgeable population in what are obviously much-changed times. What haven't changed that much are our debilitating animal instincts.
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