Recently I heard an avid reader say that they don’t read fiction. That surprised me. I thought about how I would not want to do without fiction, especially science fiction.

Last year I read 125 books, 43% of which were audiobooks. 68% were fiction. (Thanks to TheStoryGraph I have these stats.) I listened to audio format while doing chores. At the beginning of this year I realized that I had a lot of enriching podcasts piling up with not enough time to listen to them. I considered listening to podcasts instead of the audiobooks, but that would lower the number of books I read. Then I realized that my number of books read was a source of pride and not of much real worth. I decided to make the “sacrifice” and listen to podcasts instead. This has been a source of helpful, enriching information and true-life stories.

So, what about my fiction reading. I have many nonfiction books about things I’m interested in. Today I ordered 4 more. As I began reading a novel this afternoon I became bored with it. I realized that this month I’ve tossed 6 of the 7 fiction books I began and the one I finished was mediocre. These were possibly good books, but I was not interested in being entertained. So it’s time to read the books I really want to read, the books I’ve been accumulating. Something is changing for me and I feel good about going with the flow.