I have kind of cut down on reading fiction for that reason. The problem is that I seem to engage with factual material in shorter and more ad-hoc forms (e.g. while researching something) than reading entire books. A good balance for me would be fiction with a strong factual background. I'm looking out for recommendations of books of authors that does exactly this. In other words, recreational reading that accidentally expose me to useful facts and concepts.

I would be wary of cutting out too much fiction as some great minds put down their thoughts and ideas through fiction. e.g. Hemmingway, Orwell or Steinbeck - there are probably many others. But yes be selective.

sbarlster makes a good point. Plenty of world-changing inventions came out of science fiction, for example, and I know that my attitude in life has changed for the better based on inspiration from such sources.

Evolution wired our brains for storytelling at a deep level. I would encourage you to take that desire for more factual fiction and turn it into some actual drafts. Having done the same in NaNoWriMo several times now, I highly recommend the learning experience.