ASD associated with not liking fiction?

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I dislike fiction except for some science fiction.

A few people were recently discussing this on another thread. It's significantly enough "a thing" that it's considered common to adults with Aspergers.

I'd be interested in hearing from others on the spectrum why they have a dislike of fiction. It was suggested that it has something to do with Theory of Mind, but in my case it doesn't.

I've wondered if it has to do with how non-AS people, who actually do read, tend to prefer fiction...while many AS people like to read a lot of non-fiction because we have intense interests, like to learn, etc. So it's not exactly that we don't like fiction at all, just that there's a noticeable difference in how much we like non-fiction compared to the general population.

Also, somewhat related, is that while I like fiction, I am much more motivated to read non-fiction because it's going to answer a question I have burning in my mind...whilst fiction, who knows what you'll get out of it? If you're hungry for knowledge, you might pick non-fiction over fiction a lot of the time, even though you enjoy both.

Love fiction, pretty much only read fiction, and books are my real obsession. I do have an unwritten rule that if there is anything in the story that could not possibly be real (space ships, goblins etc) then I stop it immediately. I am the same with films and watching telly, the second someone says they are going to fly off to a new planet I switch it off. drives my wife mad.

my favourite books though are post apocalyptic stories, though I only enjoy ones where the reason for the PA situation is irrelevant and the story is actually just about survival and how communities come together after an event like that.

I tend to not read fiction books such as novels. I rather do not watch movies. In my life i preferred rather encyclopedias or maps. I like to read about chemical substances (appearance, melting point, boiling point, colour, odor, density, chemical composition). I like statistics and records.

one man's fiction is another man's truth. that said, I tend to not read fiction.

I enjoy reading fiction books and non-fiction books. I love movies, even though I don't always understand them. As far as writing, I can write poems and reviews fairly easily. But fiction is harder for me to write, for some reason.

I like fiction, mostly fantasy and sci-fi.

I like fiction fine in movies and TV...not so much in books. I much prefer to read non-fiction.

I also enjoy reading fiction. However, it has to be something I'm interested in.

I love fiction ! I've been obsessed with science-fiction since I was a toddler ! And also fairy tales. Especially the old ones that can be really scary or strange.

I now love literature, but I was practically an adult before I started to seriously read fiction, despite being an avid reader when young (of non-fiction). I regret not turning to literature earlier.

98% I read non-fiction. Every once in awhile there is a fiction book I really enjoy and get into. One problem I have identified for myself in reading fiction is that I do not get a mental image of characters. They are just vague blobs as far as a visual goes. If there is a description of the person in the narrative, then that fills in something, but my ability to conjure up a face is not good. Also, I do not get people's motives often, in real life or in fiction. So I often can't "fill in the gaps" about why people are doing what they are doing. Then, I can't keep the characters straight, who is who, how are they connected, why does it matter. If there are more than a couple of characters, forget it. So this gets in the way of enjoying a tale, even if I can appreciate the writing. All of this also applies to watching fictional movies.

NT's think we're not supposed to like anything that isn't real because it's most illogical. Actually I feel NT people these days want *too* much logic in fictional things, like cartoons. Like we can't have cave people and dinosaurs existing together like on The Flintstones even though it's perfectly acceptable for prehistoric humans to be driving cars they push with their bare feet and speak perfect English (modern stone-age family, now I get it).