I definitely believe that you came out as a more knowledgable person and I certainly commend you for getting so much factual information. I never said it was a bad thing, did I? [img]smile.gif[/img]
I actually enjoy atlases, encyclopaedias, non-fiction scientific books as well.
What I objected to was your statement that books don't teach you anything.
Your description of novels as sources of simple entertainment to me sounds an awful lot like the description of a fantasy or romance novel. Most of those DO provide nothing more than easy entertainment.
Literature however is absolutely PACKED with information about the widest range of topics imagineable. I certainly would not say that its first purpose is simple entertainment. Enrichment is a much better word. The books I read gave me a world of information about anything from the life of Indian immigrants in London, the anthill-building practises of red ants, the social position of women in the 16th century, Jungian psychoanalysis, Greek mythology, the lost works of Aristotle, a Canadian murderess from the 18th century, the dilemma entailed by the conservative belief in predestination, the order of Templars... I could go on and on.
Also, reading major works, like Shakespeare, Dostojevski, Voltaire, Sartre, Nietzsche, Plato, Petrarch and loads of others IS a source of information in itself. That's what I meant [img]smile.gif[/img]

Arledrian - Honestly, if you look for it, just about everything you read can be educational; even comics. Or at least inspiring. Some of the books I've read inspired me to read more mythology and do reasearch on other things just to see if the book was somewhat accurate. Some can inspire people to draw or paint. I have to admit that a little can even be learned from those disgusting romance novels. You just have to really open your mind to it.