Why I Read So Much Fiction

After my 40th birthday, I started reading fiction. I was influenced by leaders in business whom I worked with and admired. They were reading fiction, so I decided to give it a try.

I used to think that fiction was a waste of my time. I was a young general manager. My goal was to read everything I could to help make me successful. As my career progressed, my reading list included CEO biographies and management books. I traveled a lot back then, and as I looked around the plane’s cabin, I noticed I was in good company. We were all dedicated to getting better by reading nonfiction.

Now my reading selections are more of a blend. If I hit on a title that addresses something I’m struggling with, I’ll pick it up as a nonfiction book for context and new ideas. Otherwise, I read fiction.

I seek out fiction that has strong character development with a compelling storyline. Fiction feeds my interest in people. All my life, I’ve been fascinated with people’s lives and why they do what they do. What motivates them? How do they overcome the challenges of life? How has life changed them through this crucible experience?

Good writing is insightful. It helps me see who I am. Great authors have fantastic observation skills. They see the truth in people. They see through the facade we create, live behind, and they describe us for who we are. The writer digs deep and exposes our innermost thoughts, our unspoken fears. Great authors help me discover the real me. And equally important, show me I am not alone.

And great fiction, like great movies, has great characters. Characters who are flawed. They are people I know in my life. Maybe one of the characters is me. I can always relate to them. I may not like them, but I do understand and appreciate them. And then I walk with the writer as he takes them through the challenges he creates, the storyline. I am part of their development, their failures, and their transformations. Some characters make a unique and surprising transformation, while others don’t. But in either case, they all learn and become better at life. And by reading these stories, so do I.

My 2022 Fiction Favorites

“The Bear Town Series Trilogy” by Fredrik Backman

This is a young Swedish author who is a master storyteller. Better yet, his characters make me feel like I’ve known them all my life. I have trouble keeping up with who’s who in some books with many characters, but not in this series. Each character, and there are many, plays a critical role in the story.

The story takes place in a fictional small town in the middle of a forest in a freezing place. The focus of the town’s existence is its hockey team. Even if hockey isn't your thing, you won’t be able to put these books down.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

The main character is a woman who is a Ph.D. in chemistry. Her goal is to become a professional researcher. She is a science geek with little interest in people or relationships. She is all about chemistry, the periodic table, and her research.

She struggles with how women are viewed in the 1950s and early 1960s. This time in American history was a cultural transition for women. Being a woman with professional ambitions was enormously complex. This character is a strong woman who is the Joan of Arc of that time.

This story hit home for me because my sister had this struggle. My sister was born in 1942. She was told there was no need for her to attend college. She should go to a secretarial school. She should get married and have kids. She followed none of this advice. Her life was a fight that many women seeking to be professionals had in the fifties and early sixties.

I looked up the age of this author. She is sixty-six. I’m sure she patterned this character after someone like my sister. She captures the character’s struggles beautifully.

The Winds of War by Herman Wouk

This book, published in 1971, was so rich in characters, true to history, and well-written, it became a mini-series on TV in 1983. Those were the days when you could not record a show. If you missed it, you missed it. This series was so good we scheduled our business trips around it.

The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom

As I said earlier, I still read nonfiction. I read it for the same reasons I read fiction, to learn more about people. I am especially drawn to completely transparent authors. They share their most significant challenge in life. They share who they were at the time, what happened to them, their journey, their failures, their successes, and most importantly, what they learned.

More reviews are coming soon. Have a fiction book you love? Please share it.