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[deleted] t1_iufuzvm wrote

[deleted]

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whocaresfuckthisshit OP t1_iufv7mw wrote

I’m having the same problem with other genres. Lately it’s been happening with movies too. I’ll think, “none of this is real… they’re acting, it means nothing…”

Maybe I’ll have to stick to reality tv or based-on-true-stories works? (although reality tv is pretty fake too..)

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esdebah t1_iug39c9 wrote

Sounds like it's time to learn to read more critically. It may not be for you, but imagining the author's intentions and passions and what they were trying to add to the great literary conversation is what keeps books and a lot of art interesting to me. What were they trying to express? How did they express it? Was it cool?

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removed_bymoderator t1_iufwljy wrote

Read Zero: A Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seifre. It's the history of 0 and how it affected the world.

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World And the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford

I go through the same thing some times. Sometimes you want chocolate, sometimes you want vanilla. Go explore other genres, or find a new pastime.

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ActonofMAM t1_iuhkwwv wrote

Good points. There's a lot of nonfiction out there that tells stories. I've been addicted to the history of the Tudor dynasty in England since my teens. As a general rule, when people fictionalize those parts of history they become less interesting. Truth is stranger than fiction, fiction has to make sense.

I'm also a big fan of Simon Winchester, whose nonfiction books take a set of historical events (the volcanic explosion of Krakatoa in the 1800s, for example) and always put them in an interesting and thought provoking context.

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Merle8888 t1_iugfz9s wrote

You might try reading history, biography, memoir…. tons of ways to read (and books that tell stories) while also getting things that really happened. If you’re not in a place in your life where you enjoy fiction right now, I’m not sure trying to force it will have any benefits for you. But there’s a whole world of nonfiction and memoir out there!

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