Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons To Read Historical Fiction


Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Today, we’re talking about why readers love historical fiction. History has always been one of my favorite topics. Even as a young reader, I was drawn to historical books. (Though I preferred historical nonfiction as a kid. I read everything about Arctic exploration.)

I’ve noticed that there are a lot of historical fiction fans on Twitter, so I asked them to chime in on this post. Here’s a list of reasons why I (and Twitter) think you should give historical fiction a try.

*This post contains affiliate links. I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.





Reasons Why Readers Love Historical Fiction





You’ll learn stuff without feeling like you’re learning stuff. Were your history classes in school as boring as mine? I mostly remember dry textbooks, long lectures, and a billion names and dates that I needed to memorize. Historical fiction isn’t like that. The books focus on a few characters who are living through historical events. You’ll learn about the events, but you’ll be so invested in the characters that it won’t feel like school. There will be no exam at the end.








Fiction makes history less abstract and more personal. Reading about events in a textbook can make history seem distant and impersonal. Why should you care about some boring, complicated thing that happened 300 years ago? Seeing history through the eyes of a character brings it to life. You’ll see how events changed the lives of ordinary people.








You’ll come closer to understanding older generations. The way people act is shaped by the world they grew up in. Did your grandparents (or great grandparents) live through a major economic crisis? A famine? A war? A refugee crisis? Or were they isolated in a small, boring town where nothing dramatic ever happened? Reading about their experiences can help you understand how they see the world.








You’ll feel fortunate to live in modern times. We have so much cool stuff that people didn’t have in the olden days. I’m especially grateful for modern medicine. It’s comforting to know that I can take a pill if I get a headache. I don’t have to call a doctor who will slice open my guts with a rusty saw to remove my “poisonous excess” organs.








There’s variety. Are you curious about a certain part of the globe? Or about a specific event or group of people? If you look hard enough, I bet you can find historical fiction that satisfies your curiosity.








It can spark a new interest. Sometimes, while reading historical fiction, you will come across a surprising fact. Then you’ll have to Google it to find out if it’s really a fact. Then you will disappear down an Internet rabbit hole and emerge hours later with loads of new esoteric knowledge.








You can escape to a different “world.” Obviously, historical fiction takes place in the real world, but it’s a different real world. The technology and rules of society aren’t the same as what we’re used to. The characters sometimes have problems that we’ve never experienced. The world is real, but it’s different enough to feel unfamiliar and fascinating.








Authors rock at world building. One of the first historical novels I fell in love with was Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. It’s about a woman who’s in jail for murdering her boss, but she says she doesn’t remember committing the crime. I was astounded by how much research went into this book. All the tiny details bring 1840s Ontario to life. The story feels so real that I couldn’t put the book down. I needed to know if Grace was really the murderer!








You’ll realize that history never dies. The characters in historical fiction are relatable because we’re all dealing with the same crap. Some problems have been around forever, and sometimes history repeats itself. Events that happened before we were born have formed our modern world. History is definitely still relevant. You become very aware of that when you’re reading historical novels.

















Do you read historical fiction?







27 comments:

  1. You used the wisdom-of-the-crowd to write this great post. Fabuloso.

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  2. Historical fiction has been on several lists this week from what I've seen so far! I love that genre, too.

    My TTT .

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  3. I’m definitely a fan of historical fiction, for all the reasons above, except I dont care for the costumes because very few authors are honest about facts like those pretty ballgowns usually stunk because they couldn’t be cleaned

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  4. These are all fab reasons to read historical fiction. I don't read tons and tons of it, but I do have some favorites - I especially love WWII era fiction. It's always intriguing to see how the past and the present are similar, and sometimes different, and I like learning facts about various time periods and getting a sense of what it would have been like.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  5. Great list! I completely agree - I love those pieces of historical fiction that end up sending me down a Wikipedia black hole until 3 in the morning. One of these days I really need to cross Alias Grace off my TBR!

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  6. I don't read a lot of historical fiction because I can never really find any that are about historical eras that I'm interested in. But I'm always willing to give it a shot because there's definitely something out there for me :D

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  7. All of these are great reasons to read historical fiction!

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  8. I don´t have many historical fiction books on my shelves but Diana Gabaldon is the first name that comes to my mind when thinking of that genre. And her books are on my shelf *smile* Thank you for sharing this with us and happy reading.

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  9. The person, who said we would appreciate modern times was on to something. We definitely have it a bit easier these days, though I sort of like the simplicity of back when.

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  10. I love historical fiction, and I totally agree with all these reasons! I love experiencing different times and places and learning more about what life was like during those eras, while also getting a good story.

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  11. When I was younger, I learned so much about history by reading historical fiction books. At the time, my teachers and the textbook made learning history boring and dry, but reading historical fiction was fun!

    Here's my TTT list.

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  12. I'm a huge fantasy reader (and more recently, YA contemporary), so historical fiction isn't a genre that I read very often. When I was in school, I remember reading so much children historical fiction, most of which were based around WWII. We were taught about that in school, of course, but never about the Aryan children kidnappings, which was a shock when I learned about that through reading. I think that was around the time I realized I liked learning about history from books much better than in class. This post makes me want to return to some childhood favorites, as well as find some new historical fictions to read!

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  13. I agree with all the reasons you mention. I've really come to like historical fiction ... I was a history major in fact so historical fiction to me is really interesting. I liked Alias Grace too .... there are so many good ones

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  14. Wonderful list!! Getting to experience a time period through the eyes of a character actually living it is such a refreshing way to understand what that time was like - in comparison to how history is taught at school. I definitely want to read more historical fiction than I do, but the TBR is a little out of control! ��
    Happy Reading! <3

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  15. Love this! Fun that you made it a group effort. The one about being an old-timey doctor made me laugh and I agree with your point that it makes us appreciate the times we live in!!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  16. So glad you have such a love for historical fiction. I don't read it a lot, but I do enjoy it when I do pick it up.

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  17. Ooh, I love this post!! Absolutely agree!!

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  18. I love this list -- I am coming around to appreciating the genre, and this list is like the cherry on top that I didn't know I was looking for!

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  19. Great post! I love nonfiction too, but historical fiction can make things come to life. It also can sometimes make you realize that history often rhymes... humanity makes the same dumb mistakes over and over and over again. Maybe because they don't read enough historical fiction!

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  20. Great post! I definitely need to read more historical fiction because it always sounds so good and then I never get to it or get to distracted by other genres. But I love learning about history so it should definitely be a more read genre for me!

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  21. As much as I love Tudor fiction, I'm glad I live in the modern era! I don't much fancy their medical situation!

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  22. Yes! All of these! These are all the reasons I love to read historical fiction.

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  23. My Top Ten was about Historical Fiction too!

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  24. I do love historical fiction. It is great to learn about events from the past while being entertained. So much more powerful than history class in a lot of cases.

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  25. Love this! And I totally agree! I think it's great because it is a way of keeping the past alive, and just like, reminding us of other people throughout history. And it DOES make me feel thankful that it isn't like, 1172 and I'm not peeing in a shack in the forest or whatever.

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  26. Great job on this post! I am a big historical fiction fan.

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