Abstract
This study investigated readers’ experiences of critical thinking and reading, comparing fiction and nonfiction. As previous research has shown links between fiction reading and increased social and cognitive capacities, and such capacities are argued to be necessary for critical thinking, this study sought to explore a potentially unique relationship between reading fiction and critical thinking, as distinct from nonfiction. In depth interviews were conducted with participants who self-identified as readers ( N = 12). Each reader was interviewed twice, first in a general discussion of their reading and critical thinking experiences, and secondly with reference to a text they selected to read. An open, iterative coding process yielded 10 codes from the data, forming five categories. These show links between reading experiences and critical thinking, the integration of critical thought into the reading experience through transportation into the text, and also differentiate fiction from nonfiction influences. Nonfiction was valued for its directness, assessable authorship, and questioning. Fiction was found to uniquely drive critical evaluations through the subtle and circuitous way it presented ideas, its complication of veracity, as well as giving rich and deep understandings of the real world. These findings suggest fiction reading experiences are connected with critical thinking in ways distinct to nonfiction, and as such could be an avenue for promoting critical thinking across society through public library provision.
Highlights
By seeking commonalities and differences between readers’ fiction and nonfiction experiences, in relation to thinking critically, this study aimed to identify ways that fiction may play a unique role in critical thinking
This study found that for readers, reading experiences were connected with ways of thinking critically
The experience of being transported into reading was inherently evaluative, integrating critical thought into the reading experience, as readers’ built connections and integrated what they read into their settings and experiences
Summary
By seeking commonalities and differences between readers’ fiction and nonfiction experiences, in relation to thinking critically, this study aimed to identify ways that fiction may play a unique role in critical thinking. Cataloguing fiction has been argued to post unique issues (Ward and Saarti, 2018), though this approached in terms of cataloguing different genres of fiction rather than fiction versus nonfiction. Readers recognise the authors’ intentions, and respond to the text (makebelieving in the case of fiction, and believing or disbelieving in the case of nonfiction), which is how fiction and nonfiction are differentiated for Currie. As readers make judgements on authors’ intent and are adept at distinguishing between texts intended to be believed or make-believed (Sutrop, 2002), this approach offers a naturalistic distinction between fiction and nonfiction. The intentional approach to defining fiction chimes with calls for library classification to acknowledge different readers understandings (Ward and Saarti, 2018). Nonfiction has been strongly focussed on in previous information literacy (IL) research, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 00(0)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
