Not sure where you are going with that. Im a long way from 70 and recognize that life is far too short to waste on fiction.
This is the point where I launch into a rant about how worthless public libraries have become and why they should be shut down then get all irritated so Ill stop now...
I make sure to read both fiction and non-fiction. I couldn’t imagine a life immersed completely in fantasy, anymore than I could imagine one in which there was no ‘le morte d’arthur’, ‘Tale of Two Cities’, or Tolkien.
To each their own.
For me, well-crafted fiction is a vacation for my mind. I’m 75 and have read so many novels that have expanded my world view, I could never count them all.
Who even needs public libraries? On-line pdfs of great works, free indie and established traditionally published authors, full length works available electronically (even at the libraries!) for $1-$3/each, hard-cover/trade paperback works available for $3.50/ea from Thrift or Half Price books, fifty-cent copies at used book stores...no shortage of reading material even on a budget.
With all due respect, what a goofy thing to say.
Fiction is wisdom, philosophy applied through the telling of tales. It is messaging.
There are a handful of people that get off on reading textbooks. Those are the same people who resent any sidetalk on these threads. The majority of a population sat around the campfire listening to tall tales, historical fiction, fables, and myths. Fiction.
The least entertaining and socially apt were the nerds, who sat off in their tents talking to each other in the languageyou seem to be more interested in. Nobody much liked them.
Fiction is necessary and good. Fiction is based upon and reflects reality, and often shapes it. Fiction is philosophy.