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Our Favorite Fiction and Why We Read It (Ep. 169)

Last Updated May 23, 2023

We talk a lot about nonfiction on this podcast. We’ve covered The Procrastination Equation, Deep Work, The Productivity Project, and many others. But is there a place in our busy schedules for fiction? Do we read for fun?

Absolutely.

Few things make me as happy as reading. I grew up a voracious reader, even going so far as to flip through and read sections from an encyclopedia set my Dad got me. Obviously that’s an example of nonfiction writing, but I read plenty of fiction — I actually still have a trophy I won for reading 100 books in 1st grade.

Unfortunately, not everyone is so immediately drawn to stories and words. It’s easier to sell the idea of a productivity book — who doesn’t feel like they’re on the verge of something great if they could just focus a little better? I’ll read some words if it’ll make me more money somehow, but what good’s a story?

We’ll talk a bit about the more “productive” benefits of reading fiction in this episode, and to make it a little more fun we’ll go over a few of our favorite books and what they mean to us. No spoilers though, I promise!

Things mentioned in this episode:

Tom’s Books:

Martin’s Books:

Other links:

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Our Favorite Fiction and Why We Read It