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CMulgrove t1_j1omgbu wrote

I spend my work days eyeball deep in logic and binary thinking. I probably love imaginative children's books about magic more now than when I was a child. It gives me something that's otherwise lacking in my life.

If straightforwardly informative is what you're craving, why fight it? My advice is read what you want to read and just enjoy the journey.

If you really want to get yourself back into fiction though, maybe try re-reading a fiction you really loved. See if it still has anything you enjoy/value. Assuming it does, take note of what and search for a book that has those elements. Take note of what you do/don't enjoy from that book, choose the next book based on that data, and just repeat until you find your groove or decide fiction is just no longer your thing.

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disruptivelychill OP t1_j1oo723 wrote

Great question (and advice). So let me think. I guess I fight it because I don't want to become one of those people that everything has to be functional. Also, as you said I want to nurture my imaginative side. It's also about language. I don't want to unlearn more creative/imaginative forms of language. (In part, i try to do this by reading poetry.) After a while my way of writing becomes too dry if I don't read fiction I'm afraid. I'm an academic and I relate to what you said, don't want to get stuck in this hyperlogical code I already engage with in my work on a daily basis. But your strategy seems promising.

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CMulgrove t1_j1p06ob wrote

Aah, that all makes sense. I wish you luck on your journey!

Have you ever read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell? If not, I wonder if you might enjoy it. It's definitely imaginative and well written. It's set in a world where magicians are academics and the book is riddled with "historical" footnotes. One of those fiction books that's pretending to be non-fiction.

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