We Need to Read More Fiction

Earlier this month I finished Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and was absolutely enraptured by it. I loved both Recursion and Upgrade, and decided it was time to read the book that put him on the map.

On Bluesky, I shared that immediately following Dark Matter, I decided to read Seth Godin’s This is Strategy, which I can most generously describe as the writing equivalent of snake oil.

It was a stark reminder of the reason I put a moratorium on business books in 2023. Seth Godin is a critically acclaimed author, who has written some number of helpful books. But This is Strategy is recycled 350-word blog posts he tries to convince us is a cohesive story.

But even beyond that, it keys in on something I said almost as a throwaway line 18 months ago:

…any homogenous reading defeats the purpose of reading: to introduce new ideas.

Before Dark Matter, I read The Coming Wave, which was a wellspring of ideas and thoughts (even if the authors are a bit alarmist).

This is Strategy, like many business books, doesn’t advance new ideas. It barely promotes critical thinking at all.

However, fiction, almost by definition, forces us to think of a world unlike ours…at least in some aspect.

Post-apocalyptic. Technology that can never exist. Different plans. Magic. Monsters. An impossible scenario that plays out perfectly.

It’s interesting, energizing, and most importantly, it’s not work. When we read books related to work, it feels like work.

Despite what the hustle culture tells us, our brains need breaks. Fiction is a way to give our brains a break from work, while also delivering a different experience. A different perspective.

Something new to add to our arsenal.

I will be happy to continue reading very, very few — like 3 or fewer — business books in 2025.

Bring on the fiction.