[SolaceQuantum]

I disagree heavily with the author's understanding of fiction and absorption of ideas in fiction. Fiction IMO is best viewed as an exploration into a concept and not a presentation the way non-fiction is. In the way nonfiction describes the shape of a phenomenon, and is excellently riveting in its placement of the reader in the backdrop of whatever it describes- fiction walks the reader through edge cases and underbellies of the same world.

As an avid reader of nonfiction and fiction equally, the two cannot be read with the same eye to gain the most. If one were to continue with the consuming metaphor- it's very possible to eat fried rice with a shallow, metal spoon- but some authenticity is lost in the experience of eating even when it still reaches your mouth and your gullet just the same.

[hinkley]

In college I let my roommate borrow a copy of a fairly long fantasy novel with a lot of scene building and heavy on foreshadowing. He returned it the next day and asked for the sequel, which is how I learned he was a speed reader.

I was appalled. Part of the book was wondering what every obscure comment five hundred pages ago meant and whether it would come back to bite people. It was like a murder mystery without the murders. If not for the anticipation, other bits if the story arc were actually a bit weak (like many authors, they don’t want an editor but desperately need one).

I never did figure out what he was getting from the story when he was getting through them in three or four hours.

[gibspaulding]

I like the idea of fiction "as an exploration into a concept". I've seen a lot of people complain about Cixin Liu's Remembrances of Earth's Past trilogy because of plot holes or unrealistic elements, but I just appreciated the exploring how humanity might respond to an extra terrestrial threat, or what effects future technology, or disastrous climate change might have on human cultures. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land and Neal Stephenson's Anathem also come to mind as unique "what if" explorations.