Everyday Canvas

On Reading: Characters' Lives

Prompt: Which do you enjoy more, reading about the lives of characters in fiction or non-fiction? Do you enjoy reading a book or a series of books that cover the entire lifespan of the main character or do you rather prefer only one or two impressive stories within a life?


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Even as a child, I enjoyed reading biographies, and not much has changed over the decades. If the biography is an interesting one, revealing both the internal and external growth and changes in a person, I'd still prefer that, but nowadays even autobiographies are written with a purpose, usually a political purpose, which makes me shy away from them. On the other hand, the lives of characters in fiction, depending on the prowess of its author, are more wholly and boldly developed. So I guess it depends on how the author writes and how much of the character he or she brings out and exposes.

As to a series that have the same person as their main character, this may be habit-forming because readers become used to that person like a family member, well almost, and her or his life does interest them. Still, this depends on how the author writes and constructs the plot and the stories.

Yet, at times, such series become redundant and boring when taken on a ride throughout a life just to elongate the same story or to publish more books for profit. I, in that case, would prefer one or two impressive stories in a life, especially if that life has something in it that attracts me and means something to me.

The bottom line is, it depends on how good the author is.