Do you enjoy reading a novel? Because I don’t.

[Hotteok]

 

Do you enjoy reading a novel? Because I don’t.

This sounds self-contradictory because some time ago, I made a post about writing a novel as a Christian.

 

I used to, when I was a teenager.

Now, I don’t, because to me, a novel is just endless words to describe events that never even happened on Earth. It all comes from one’s imagination. However well it’s put, it’s just a made-up fantasy.

Besides, what they are talking about in the stories are just plain boring to someone like me who knows the truth. When the theme has zero relevance to the truth, I start to lose interest and even if I do find them entertaining, I end up feeling extremely empty and hollow

 

Then why not just read the Bible and the Bible-based publications? I do, but sometimes I need other material to just.. you know, refresh myself and take a mental rest. And often, the Bible and its content are too ‘real’, if you know what I mean.

 

If I could find a multitude of Christian or JW novels, I would love to read them. (A setting could be.. um.. a story of a Christian who fell in love with a fellow Christian during 1st century and how he escaped the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome with the lover.. or a story of how angels started to rebel against Jehovah in the heaven)

 

But the irony is that I’m in love with the ‘idea’ of writing a novel. I haven’t enjoyed reading novels for a long time but somehow, writing a novel feels like lots of fun, as it’s a very intensive creative work, and that process of ... letting your creative self out must be very self-rewarding and satisfying.

 

I’d like to ask if me feeling this way is understandable and natural as a JW and if you also have started to find most entertainment being created in the world is somewhat boring.

[Musky]

Have you ever heard of "historical novels"? Google it, you might be surprised at what's available.

[Thesauron]

1 hour ago, Tryin'SoHardToBeSpiritual said:

Now, I don’t, because to me, a novel is just endless words to describe events that never even happened on Earth. It all comes from one’s imagination. However well it’s put, it’s just a made-up fantasy.

Besides, what they are talking about in the stories are just plain boring to someone like me who knows the truth.

Yes, novels comes from the imagination of an author. When they are really good, though, they explore the inner working of the human mind. They might explore possible other ways of thinking and reasoning.

[well]

Though fiction, the emotion that is described in the novel must be real... I was touched many times by how it was worded...

 

Same with movie, I was amazed and touched by some actors... Yes, they are acting and it's not real... But the emotion that shown during some scene must be real...

[Stormswift]

I love reading - read all kinds as a teenager, but now, I'm only interested in historical or New World Novels.

[Qapla]

I do not really enjoy "reading" novels. When I was younger, I had a tendency to remember everything I read ... it cluttered my mind too much.

 

However, I do like "listening" to novels ... audio books. For some reason, even though I can picture the story while I am listening to it, what I take in this way does not stick like it does when I physically read it.

 

Now, as to those "historic novels" ... Ken Follett has written some very good books of this type. He has based some of them off of "actual events in history" that happened, at times with no "reason" for those events. He has devised a very believable, logical story that "could" explain the historical event, even though many of the people in his story are made up.

 

A some of his stories are :

• Hornet Flight
• The Key To Rebecca
• Jackdaws
• Night Over Water

[Dages]

There are very good Paradise novels by brothers... 

[Myew]

Was waiting for Dages to comment.  Most of these are free, on brother's blogs. You can read a chapter, see if it intrigues you. You might be surprised.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Katty]

I don't really find fiction to be boring. I find it interesting to explore the universal themes often represented in fiction and literature. In most human societies, there is the same idea of a "hero" for instance: A paragon of virtue who makes good decisions based on prudence, a lot of what is considered virtue is typically in agreement with what the scriptures view as virtuous, although without the relationship with Jehovah. But it's interesting to see how a lot of the best literature reflects what Paul stated that, even those without law have had a law within their hearts, as a conscience. There are universal themes that are typically explored in fiction and literature,  typical kinds of plots that are typically expressed, and the idea behind fiction is typically growth in some way. I think the interestingness of a narrative is often in the suspense of wanting to know what happens to a character. It's no different from a movie or TV show that draws you in by presenting a situation that happens to a sympathisable character, making you wonder how the character deals with that scenario.

I like fiction for this reason. There are a lot of experiences and scenario that I may not face, but reading about a character facing this scenario, gives me a way to experience something vicariously and think about my own decision making. Would I have made the same decision the character would have, or a completely different one? Reading about fictional situations helps me work out my own sense of identity and my own decision making process, and helps me to consider things from a perspective I may not have considered otherwise. I don't think that we should replace reading the literature with reading fiction, of course, but it's good to be balanced. I find reading fiction is a good way to spend leisure time, however.

[Hotteok]

On 2/15/2020 at 10:53 PM, Tryin'SoHardToBeSpiritual said:

 

Besides, what they are talking about in the stories are just plain boring to someone like me who knows the truth. When the theme has zero relevance to the truth, I start to lose interest and even if I do find them entertaining, I end up feeling extremely empty and hollow

 

I've changed my view recently.. thanks to one book I read. 

It was a real page-turner.