Unpopular opinion: Fiction teaches more about history than non-fiction does

I was reading this study last week from the University of Toronto that said readers of historical fiction remember 30% more details about a time period than people who read straight history books. I found it looking up stuff for our club's debate on The Nightingale vs. actual WWII accounts. Which camp are you in for book club picks - do you lean more on accuracy or emotional pull?

2 comments

2 Comments

butler.shane16d ago

Haven't you ever finished a textbook and felt like you learned nothing? I'm with that study 100%. Give me a novel any day over dry facts. The emotion is what makes the history stick in your brain. It's like the difference between memorizing a recipe and actually tasting the food.

cole_mitchell815d ago

Held up a textbook I just finished last week and couldn't remember a single thing from chapter three. You're telling me I could have just read a novel and gotten the same history lesson? That's almost insulting.