--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't like fiction, I like reading…" description: "\"I don't like fiction, I like reading proper history.\" — Tony Pulis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/tony-pulis-5053_fiction_i-don-t-like-fiction-i-like-reading-prop_1911825.png" --- # I don't like fiction, I like reading proper history. ![“I don't like fiction, I like reading proper history.” quote by Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/tony-pulis-5053_fiction_i-don-t-like-fiction-i-like-reading-prop_1911825.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/tony-pulis-5053_fiction_i-don-t-like-fiction-i-like-reading-prop_1911825.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/tony-pulis-5053_fiction_i-don-t-like-fiction-i-like-reading-prop_1911825.png) > “I don't like fiction, I like reading proper history.” [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical facts provide concrete lessons, unlike fictional stories that may mislead. **In simple terms:** Prefer real history over fiction. Key Takeaway Learn from true events. Themes history accuracy learning Mood analytical inquisitive Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - education - strategic planning - leadership development Key Concepts historical analysis critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What can fiction teach you that history cannot? - How do you verify historical claims? A Different Perspective Fiction can inspire imagination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) ## Related quotes > [“Doesn't every previous era feel like fiction once it's gone?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/doesn-t-every-previous-era-feel-like-fiction-once-it-s-gone/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [I read certain things about history. I don't like fiction. I read about stuff that's real, stuff that's goin' on in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prodigy/i-read-certain-things-about-history-i-don-t-like-fiction-i-read-about/) [Prodigy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prodigy/) > [“I like to think about how my parents' lives once shimmered in front of them, half hidden, like buried gold. Back then the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/i-like-to-think-about-how-my-parents-lives-once-shimmered-in-front-of/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [I think part of what I like about being a fiction writer is that I can inhabit something that's beyond the limits of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-offill/i-think-part-of-what-i-like-about-being-a-fiction-writer-is-that-i/) [Jenny Offill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-offill/) > [Several members of my family have, or have had, one form of dementia or another. I really wanted to explore what it might like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-healey/several-members-of-my-family-have-or-have-had-one-form-of-dementia-or/) [Emma Healey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-healey/) > [I like books steeped in the quotidian - details about work and place. You can learn how to run a chicken-and-waffle restaurant by reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lippman/i-like-books-steeped-in-the-quotidian-details-about-work-and-place/) [Laura Lippman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lippman/) > [“I do believe that you can never know yourself let alone the person next to you let alone the person halfway across the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/i-do-believe-that-you-can-never-know-yourself-let-alone-the-person/) [Nam Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/) > [I think one of the reasons that I like fiction versus nonfiction is that I myself can kind of disappear from the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/i-think-one-of-the-reasons-that-i-like-fiction-versus-nonfiction-is/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this-2/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Science Fiction properly conceived, like all serious fiction, however funny, is a way of trying to describe what is going on, what people actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/science-fiction-properly-conceived-like-all-serious-fiction-however/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/a-film-is-or-should-be-more-like-music-than-like-fiction-it-should-be/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) > [I was in my senior year of high school when I read 'Notes From Underground' by Dostoyevsky, and it was an exhilarating discovery. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-was-in-my-senior-year-of-high-school-when-i-read-notes-from/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [“Write non-fiction like fiction, so the reader is constantly turning the page to find out what happens next, and write fiction like non-fiction, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-robinson/write-non-fiction-like-fiction-so-the-reader-is-constantly-turning/) [Jeffrey Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-robinson/) > [“I love fiction that sound like fact… and fact that sounds like fiction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/i-love-fiction-that-sound-like-fact-and-fact-that-sounds-like-fiction/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) ## More by Tony Pulis > [You have different characters in the dressing room. If you have a go at someone, someone might answer back, other people will take it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/you-have-different-characters-in-the-dressing-room-if-you-have-a-go/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [Players live a different life. They've been blessed. They live in a bubble and they live in a world where they get everything really.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/players-live-a-different-life-they-ve-been-blessed-they-live-in-a/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [I've been happy at all the clubs I've been at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/i-ve-been-happy-at-all-the-clubs-i-ve-been-at/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [I find rowing very boring, I've got to be honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/i-find-rowing-very-boring-i-ve-got-to-be-honest/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [When you lose a game you still get as disappointed, 24 years on. Losing a game of football, even when you have played well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/when-you-lose-a-game-you-still-get-as-disappointed-24-years-on-losing/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [I've actually carried the Olympic torch through Stoke-on-Trent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/i-ve-actually-carried-the-olympic-torch-through-stoke-on-trent/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [Referees will make good decisions and bad ones. But when they make decisions actually affecting a game of football, it's disappointing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/referees-will-make-good-decisions-and-bad-ones-but-when-they-make/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [If you're hiring a manager for two to three years, you need to get it right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/if-you-re-hiring-a-manager-for-two-to-three-years-you-need-to-get-it/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [People talk about me being a firefighter, but I have also been very successful. It annoys me that in this country you get pigeon-holed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/people-talk-about-me-being-a-firefighter-but-i-have-also-been-very/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [I hope Darren Moore is a good manager, when he was my captain at Portsmouth, he could lead battleships out of water, he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/i-hope-darren-moore-is-a-good-manager-when-he-was-my-captain-at/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [I'm amazed to find those countries are in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/i-m-amazed-to-find-those-countries-are-in-europe/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [That's management. It's a social job as much as anything else, finding out what people are like, seeing through them. There have been good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/that-s-management-it-s-a-social-job-as-much-as-anything-else-finding/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [I've always been bloody single minded, which is probably why I've been in the game so long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/i-ve-always-been-bloody-single-minded-which-is-probably-why-i-ve-been/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [What people don't talk about is I've been promoted out of every division and been to the final of an FA Cup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/what-people-don-t-talk-about-is-i-ve-been-promoted-out-of-every/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [I accept that in life and football you have good times and bad, and it's how you deal with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/i-accept-that-in-life-and-football-you-have-good-times-and-bad-and-it/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) [Explore all 103 Tony Pulis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) ## More Fiction quotes > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/) Coheed and Cambria > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/) [Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/) > [In early drafts, one of the trickiest things for me to do was to realize that the techniques and devices that make readable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rooney/in-early-drafts-one-of-the-trickiest-things-for-me-to-do-was-to/) [Kathleen Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rooney/) > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) [Browse all 7,410 Fiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't like fiction, I like reading proper history.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tony Pulis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/i-don-t-like-fiction-i-like-reading-proper-history/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fiction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/i-don-t-like-fiction-i-like-reading-proper-history/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/tony-pulis-5053_fiction_i-don-t-like-fiction-i-like-reading-prop_1911825.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/tony-pulis-5053_fiction_i-don-t-like-fiction-i-like-reading-prop_1911825.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/tony-pulis-5053_fiction_i-don-t-like-fiction-i-like-reading-prop_1911825.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't like fiction, I like reading proper history.” — Tony Pulis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tony Pulis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't like fiction, I like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/i-don-t-like-fiction-i-like-reading-proper-history/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/i-don-t-like-fiction-i-like-reading-proper-history/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```