Do S's like reading fiction?

[A Schnitzel]

I mostly read non fiction.


Do Ns read non fiction too?

I actually rarely read fiction. It takes a lot to interest me.

I find it's much easier to find quality non-fiction.

The whole idea of the thread is hogwash.

 

[Sniffles]

The whole idea of the thread is hogwash.

I agree. I meet plenty of Sensors who enjoy reading. This is especially true at the historical roundtables I attend.

 

[wolfy]

I actually rarely read fiction. It takes a lot to interest me.

I find it's much easier to find quality non-fiction.

The whole idea of the thread is hogwash.

hogwash I like that word.

bullshit is my favourite.

 

[placebo]

I think if you're more specific on the types and not just the S/N divide you might find a relation to which types read more fiction than non-fiction or which types read more non-fiction than fiction. I like both. Lately I've been reading more non-fiction, but I definitely like my share of fiction.

 

[Geoff]

I don't know if there's a correlation or not. Most NTs I know read a lot more nonfiction than fiction.

I find it comes and goes in waves. I have times when I need fiction, and times when I need nonfic. Wait, I'm NX. Oh well.

Lots of S's read fiction though, I know enough who love it.

 

[The Ü™]

I think reading is more of an introvert activity than anything.

 

[Amira]

Another fiction reader here - I do tend to prefer fiction to nonfiction, although I enjoy how-to books (mostly in the animal category) more than, say, a biography. Everyone in my family reads voraciously - the librarians all knew all of our names as kids.

 

[raz]

re the "Gifts Differing" quote...


NONE --I repeat--NONE of the people who prefer Sensing in my family think it's "exhausting" to read. In fact, my sister (SJ) and I are both librarians, and we read all the time for pleasure, and my SJ dad reads all the time for pleasure too. And a lot of my librarian coworkers prefer Sensing too, and they all read for pleasure. Seriously, if I believed it was "exhausting" for Ss to read, then I'd have to believe that every single library patron also prefers Intuition, which is totally and completely out-of-this-universe ridiculous.

Jeez, I'm so TIRED of all the nonsense about what it means to prefer Sensing!

Well, given that the quote comes from a book written by the person who created the Myers Briggs, I'd think the actual quote has validity. That's not to say though, that what I said is true. Apparently, I've misinterpreted the quote. The idea of Sensing isn't from Isabel, or Katharine, though. It's from Jung. I understand you getting frustrated with the misinformation. I'd like to say that the word exhausting isn't a good measurement. However, from the quote, I just took from it that the act of reading, the "translation of symbols," is a simpler task for Intuitives.

Would you care to elaborate on the quote?

 

[wolfy]

I thought raz made some good points in the earlier post. seemed balanced to me.

Especially this
Sensors can definitely find something to read that they like and zip right through it.

I read if I see a practical use. Even if that use is simply impractical.

Oh and raz you might like warfighting You can download it free at the link. It's the US Marine Corps' basic military philosophical manual.

 

[Mort Belfry]

Is it just me or do S's typically enjoy nonfiction, history and stuff of that nature, as reading material.

In terms of reading I read more non-fiction. If I just want pure escapism I already have my own imagination.

 

[sarah]

Well, given that the quote comes from a book written by the person who created the Myers Briggs, I'd think the actual quote has validity. That's not to say though, that what I said is true. Apparently, I've misinterpreted the quote. The idea of Sensing isn't from Isabel, or Katharine, though. It's from Jung. I understand you getting frustrated with the misinformation. I'd like to say that the word exhausting isn't a good measurement. However, from the quote, I just took from it that the act of reading, the "translation of symbols," is a simpler task for Intuitives.

Would you care to elaborate on the quote?

I could read fluently by age 4, and my SJ sister was reading fluently by age 3 and a half, so I don't think Sensing means you have trouble reading. Translation of symbols (as far as the mechanics of reading is concerned) never bothered anyone in my family, regardless of type preferences.

I can't believe Isabel Myers actually thought that. She MUST have meant something else by it. As it currently reads, it makes no sense. Even if I decided based on that alone that I must be an N (and then I'd have to believe that everyone in my family and all my friends ALSO prefer N), it's still crazy to assume that the hundreds of people who come into my library every day and check out fiction and tell us they enjoy it all prefer Intuition.

So I take it it had something to do with translating symbols IN literature, although I know plenty of people who prefer Sensing who enjoy symbolism, as long as it's not too vague. I can't honestly say I "get" some of your more esoteric poetry --T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets comes to mind-- (my NF mother loves those poems) so I don't read that for pleasure, but ther'es an awful lot of quality literature that isn't that hard to read and is enjoyable. I still think that many SPs and SJs enjoy reading classics as well as modern stuff, and poetry, and nonfiction. So I can happily read Jane Austen, Steinbeck, Hemingway, etc. for fun, whereas my INFJ mother would rather read either nonfiction related to spiritual living and/or novels with a lot of spiritual depth to them. She's partial to Russian literature -- Dostoyevsky especially.

The only noticable N-S difference I've noticed is that often the people who prefer Intuition that I know will tend to read fiction for depth and meaning so much that it's as though it's nonfiction, and they tend to spend more time discussing the themes and symbolism and meaning than the plot and characters. For example, the main part of The Brothers Karamazov that interests my INFJ mother is the Grand Inquisitor chapter. She actually doesn't care for much of the book -- that chapter is the reason the book interests her. My SJ sister and I have both read the book too, and can happily discuss plot, characters, their actions and motives, etc. for quite a while, while my mother would rather talk about themes of redemption, discourses on the nature of good and evil, etc.

 

[sarah]

I think reading is more of an introvert activity than anything.

Reading fiction for pleasure and then not discussing it much with others may be related to Introversion.

My ENFJ husband reads a lot of nonfiction for his job, but he doesn't often sit for hours with a novel by himself. In fact, when he does get involved in reading fiction, he wants us to read it aloud to each other. Or if I don't feel like doing that, then he still wants me to read it too so we can discuss it. He craves the interaction, whereas I don't really think to do that until I'm asked to share my opinions.

 

[wolfy]

Reading fiction for pleasure and then not discussing it much with others may be related to Introversion.

My ENFJ husband reads a lot of nonfiction for his job, but he doesn't often sit for hours with a novel by himself. In fact, when he does get involved in reading fiction, he wants us to read it aloud to each other. Or if I don't feel like doing that, then he still wants me to read it too so we can discuss it. He craves the interaction, whereas I don't really think to do that until I'm asked to share my opinions.

I feel I have to talk about my current reading too. I want to entertain.

 

[Cimarron]

This doesn't look like we're finding any trends at all. None of the trends look consistent.

 

[wolfy]

This doesn't look like we're finding any trends at all. None of the trends look consistent.

I think you'd have to look below the surface at motivations to find trends.

 

[raz]

snip

I could've also misinterpreted Isabel talking about reading when in fact she was talking about listening. It was just that she threw in references to textbooks that I jumped to reading. What are your thoughts on that? It's just that quote stood out to me when I read it.

 

[sarah]

I could've also misinterpreted Isabel talking about reading when in fact she was talking about hearing. It was just that she threw in references to textbooks that I jumped to reading. What are your thoughts on that?

Oh, so the quote is originally from Jung --

Communication from teacher to student begins with the spoken word in the classroom, where the student must be able to listen effectively, and later includes the written word in textbooks, which the student must be able to read. Because words, the necessary medium of education, have to be translated from symbols into meaning by the listener's intuition, the translation is naturally easier for intuitives than for sensing types. Intuitives use their favorite kind of perception, but sensing types have to use their less-liked, less-developed kind of perception, which takes more time and effort, especially when the words are abstract.

I've never had a problem with reading per se, but reading purely abstract thoughts in essays and textbooks does wear me out. I'm not going to be reading essays by Kant or Schopenhauer for fun, but that isn't literature. That stuff is basically a lecture in the form of writing.

There is a lot of literature that is written by people who prefer sensing (Hemingway, Steinbeck, etc.) and is enjoyable and potentially meaningful for people who prefer Sensing. The language and dialogue is full of sensory words, sensory terms, vivid characters and dialogue. Reading stories is pleasurable.

 

[raz]

No, the quote is from Gifts Differing by Isabel Briggs Myers.

Take for instance, an MBTI book I bought 2 days ago. I want to read it, badly. However, even though I'm interested in it, it contains so...many....abstractions. I get through 2-3 pages and I need a break, and then I usually don't go back to it.

 

[wolfy]

I could've also misinterpreted Isabel talking about reading when in fact she was talking about hearing. It was just that she threw in references to textbooks that I jumped to reading. What are your thoughts on that?

Communication from teacher to student begins with the spoken word in the classroom, where the student must be able to listen effectively, and later includes the written word in textbooks, which the student must be able to read. Because words, the necessary medium of education, have to be translated from symbols into meaning by the listener's intuition, the translation is naturally easier for intuitives than for sensing types. Intuitives use their favorite kind of perception, but sensing types have to use their less-liked, less-developed kind of perception, which takes more time and effort, especially when the words are abstract.

She seems to be saying that
Intuitives have a better grasp of the abstract than sensors.
Language is abstract.
Therefore intuitives can better absorb the spoken and written word.

That fits within the MBTI model.

 

[wolfy]

Sensors are concrete.
Intuitives are abstract.

We all know this.

Sensors are concrete. So they prefer reading that stimulates the five senses.
Intuitives are abstract. So they prefer reading that stimulates their mind.

We all enjoy reading. Especially me.

This is why I feel MBTI is useless as a way of understanding others. You have to generalize too far.
It's a great way to reflect on yourself though.