Reading fiction vs. non-fiction

So right after I finished Slouching Towards Bethlehem I started reading another of Didion's books, The Year of Magical Thinking (I bought it at a used bookstore in Minneapolis a couple of summers ago), and have just finished that as well. It was great--heartbreaking, but a great read. I'm not sure there's anything I want to say about it here, but having read these two books in the span of a few days, I remembered something that an English grad student told me once, back when I was in undergrad. She said that she had reached the point where fiction was easier for her to read than non-fiction. I can't remember her elaborating on this point (if she did, it wasn't much), but I remember being shocked at it.

Now I think I'm starting to understand, though I don't think I'm anywhere near the point where she was. Maybe I'm just a little thrown because I haven't read a literary novel all year. I did start Don Quixote about a month ago, but I haven't really gotten very far and since then I've read other things. The "literary" (or what have you) books have been non-fiction, while the fiction have been pretty easy reads, one trashy, one children's/YA. Of course, Don Quixote just may not be the thing for me right now--I did note in my list that it was maybe "ambitious" of me to start, and it was "not bed reading?". I can't think of any other fiction I want to read at the moment though, and I have stacks from which to choose. Meanwhile I've put a piece of non-fiction on my hold list at the library and eagerly await it.

Anyway, I'll see how it goes. Maybe it's just a phase. In the meantime, I think I will attempt another chapter of Don Quixote and try not to fall asleep.