Selecting something different

I have a question for readers. How often do you try new genres? Do you ever think, ‘I’ve never read a book like that before. I’ll give it a go’ or do you tend to stick to genres you know you love?

There are certain genres I know I’m likely to love when I read them. Definitely romance. Science fiction. Fantasy. Historical fiction. Young adult books of difference subgenres. But I must confess I usually stay within the same confines. Sometimes it’s for reasons of self-preservation. For example, I steer clear of horror because I know they will disturb me and that’s not a good thing. Gratuitous violence or sex are other things I avoid. But I sometimes wonder if I’m avoiding some genres simply out of habit. I don’t usually read crime books. Perhaps I’d love them if I tried more of them. I bought one from another author at an event I attended recently. When my TBR pile starts to diminish, I hope to get to it!

I know a lot of people refuse to read my trilogy because it’s science fiction. However, so many have, upon reading it, amid rolling eyes and saying, ‘All right. I’ll give it a try.’ have then said, ‘Wow! I love it!’ A fellow author at this same book event bought The Heir to support me, even though it’s not a genre she’d normally try. I was surprised when a rave review from her was up on Amazon within 24 hours of the event! I was even more surprised when she purchase The Crown and The Reign on Kindle and had reviews of both of them up the following week! It was great too see, and was a reminder to me that I should occasionally think outside my usual genres.

Have you ever had an experience like this? Which book did you read, expecting not to like it because it was in a genre you didn’t normally like, yet discovered you loved it? Let me know in the comments section at the bottom of the page.