Monday, May 13, 2013

What is Your Genre?


{This post, like most of my posts that discuss books, contains affiliate links.}


We talked about our reading quirks and how we choose the books we read aloud to our kids.  We've talked about whether we quit books we hate or soldier on  and whether we prefer fiction or non-fiction.  Today let's talk about the types of books we read -- not simply fiction or non-- but our favorite specific genres.  

I admitted last week that I am not a fan of historical fiction.  On further reflection, though, I'm afraid that's not true.  The best book I've read so far this year was historical fiction.  The Secret Keeper was set primarily during The Blitz in England during World War II, but it was also so much more than historical fiction.  It included intrigue, suspense, and drama.  One of my all-time favorite authors, Lynn Austin, writes historical fiction.  She covers a wide range of time periods, from the Biblical kings of Judahto the Civil Warto the Great Depression, but I love her writing because of the strong characters and the can't-put-down plots.  I guess I read more historical fiction than I think, but it needs to be more than history to captivate me. 

So what is my favorite genre?

When I'm reading fiction, I like
            medical drama (think A Heartbeat Away),
                      a good  suspense story (think The Thirteenth Tale or Deeper Water),
                                  or modern character-driven drama (think Watch Over Me or The Shape of Mercy).

With non-fiction, I gravitate towards
                      memoirs (think Midwife's Here! or I Still Believeor The Year of Learning Dangerously).




   




I hit a dry spot with classics recently.  Unless Sherlock Holmes is considered a classic (is it?), I had not read a classic I enjoyed for a couple of years.  At the end of the week, I'm going to share what classic book finally broke the dam. 

What you tend to navigate to one particular genre or all you a well-rounded reader? 




5 comments:

  1. I gravitate towards nonfiction. I like fiction as well, especially historical fiction.

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  2. You know...I like it all unless it's boring. Lol!

    The one genre that I do NOT like is really scary/creepy stuff. I like a good mystery, but I don't like it when it's over the top creepy.

    Also...I don't think I'm much of a sci-fi fan. But I suppose if it was a great story, I could be persuaded. :)

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  3. I'm almost strictly non-fiction and definitely gravitate towards memoirs, self-help and how-to genres. Here's what I've read so far this year.

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  4. I've never heard of The Year of Learning Dangerously, was it a good read?

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  5. It was very interesting and a fairly quick read, but it was written from a secular perspective and some of it went against my personal philosophies and beliefs. Aside from the spiritual aspect, it was fascinating. It chronicles a family as they try homeschooling as an experiment. They sample various methods of teaching/learning for a year, immersing fully in each of them before drawing conclusions and making decisions for another year.

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