The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

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Can you read books from the same genre one after the another?

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message 1: by Shelby (new)

Shelby (gyngersf) I can read realistic fiction back to back, but science fiction or historical fiction? No way. I get tired of one genre after a book or two, but realistic fiction is such a broad category with so many different writing styles that it's always interesting to me.


message 2: by Jaclyn (new)

Jaclyn I like a wide range of genres and I hop around a lot, but I'll usually get into a genre for awhile and read several books of that type back to back.. After a few books or so of the same genre, I definitely have to take a break and try something new.

For instance, I had been reading a bunch of old classics, then I had to take a break and read some fun, easy contemporary or chick-lit books. Then I switched gears to some mystery books, and after I'm done reading my current mystery book, I already know I'll need a genre change again.


message 3: by Candice (new)

Candice (wyrmie) | 11 comments I go on genre kicks. Lately I've been on a historical romance kick. I'll stick with it until another genre catches my eye.


message 4: by Aubrey (new)

Aubrey Raatz | 7 comments I get bored with genres and like to bounce around. Especially when I am reading a series. I can't seem to walk away but by the time I am finished, I need a change of pace.


message 5: by Laura (new)

Laura I agree with Red Solo Cup, as long as a book is good & keeps me engaged I will read it.


message 6: by Joanne Farley (new)

Joanne Farley I like to mix things up I usually read a different genre with each book.


message 7: by Christy (new)

Christy (cmblaker) I tend to fall for a certain genre or series & then read it until I practically overdose on it!! LOL. Then I need to switch gears & read something to clean my palate if you will, eventually going back to take a few more hits of the genre of my obsession.

Jeez, that doesn't sound as much fun as it is.

Some very specific categories in a genre get ruined for me this way, sadly. Eg/ I thought I was ready to go back to the YA dystopian/fantasy novel told from a 16 yr old girl's POV 18 months after Katniss of HG wore my last nerve. But, alas, I was mistaken because I keep setting The Iron Fey aside for days while ruminating on Megan's TSTL mentality!

Christy


message 8: by Sweety (new)

Sweety | 1 comments If I like the book from the same genre, I can read it one by one eagerly.


message 9: by Santino (new)

Santino (tinoprinzi) Umm... I wouldn't really say genre, but I have split my collection of 'to read' into what I would consider "classic" literature, and modern literature, and I can normally read classic after classic or modern after modern but I usually alternate after 2 or 3 from the same section.


message 10: by Hayley (new)

Hayley i tend to stick to sci-fi and fantasy genres all the time, don't really like any other books other than the occasional comedy book so i guess i do read the same genre consistently. but then fantasy and sci-fi varies greatly from one to the next unless your reading a series like game of thrones, then i need to break it up :)


message 11: by Kimi (new)

Kimi (hateeverybeautifulday) I can and I can't. It all depends on the books themselves. I can ready Kathy Reichs Tempe Brennan series back-to-back, no issues there. I managed Brent Weeks' Night Angel Trilogy one after the other, too. Same with Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse.
However, I can't read biographies back to back - my brain starts confusing facts!!


message 12: by Zahrah (new)

Zahrah (zahrahwhy) | 20 comments A Song of Ice and Fire is just draining anyway, though. If it's a bunch of amazing books from the same genre, I will happily read them all. If I read a bad one, I usually have a detox period where I read something completely different. Kinda like mentally scrubbing the bad memories from my brain. With nice bleach.


message 13: by [deleted user] (new)

I like to mix it up quite a bit. I did read ASOIAF almost one after another, and I definitely needed a break from fantasy after that. I like to read about 3 books at a time, mixing up genres among them. (I have the luxury of reading at least 6-8 hours a day, so it's easy for me to read a variety of things.)


message 14: by Haley (new)

Haley I actually find one genre and tend to stick with it for a while, most of the time. I'm always up for anything YA fiction/fantasy, so I wouldn't say I stay on that genre sometimes; I'm always on it. But I went on a huge dystopian kick recently, and then after that I went to Paranormal Romance and wore that one out for a bit (though I'm not quite finished), and I accidentally ended up on a vampire run and totally tired myself out from those. I couldn't pick up a vampire book for months. But I don't have any trouble staying in one genre for a bit or admitting that I need to switch it up with the next book just for fun and then come back in a bit.


message 15: by [deleted user] (new)

Rida, I am not a librarian. I am disabled and seldom leave my house. My kids are grown. I don't watch much TV. I also have symptoms that often keep me awake at night. That's why I'm able to read so much. It's a lifesaver for me.


message 16: by DENISA (new)

DENISA HOWE | 116 comments I can read the same genre back to back but usually do not. I hop around a lot. I get books in the mail and read them as they come lol. On my kindle I read a book with a title that starts with an "A" and the next day pick one out that starts with a "B" and on and on. Course I read about a book a day so. I can read about 400 pages daily without a problem When I am on break from college I can read more. Once I did get stuck on reading autobiography s, not sure why but I read about 20 in one month. I do like to spread the romances out a bit too many at one time makes them too similar...


message 17: by Frank (new)

Frank Hofer I think it depends upon how you define "genre." I read mostly science fiction, but that can be divided in to space opera, time travel, alternate history, etc. I never really noticed being tired of a sub-genre. When I finish one book (I only read one at a time) I just pick the next in the pile that looks interesting. If I have a series going, and the next book is available, I'll go with that.

Occasionally I'll stray to Mark Twain, or I come across something like My Life in France that piques my interest, but mostly it's SF.


message 18: by Alyssa (new)

Alyssa Every time I go to the library I get three books, and they are almost always from three different genres. I love YA, but with that especially, I cannot read it back to back unless it's within the same series.


message 19: by KimeyDiann (new)

KimeyDiann If I'm reading a mystery, contemporary romance, historical, etc. I don't mind reading them back to back to back. But if I'm reading a specific type of science fiction/fantasy, I have to read something in between them so I don't get the worlds mixed up.

For example, I was reading The Knife of Never Letting Go at the same time I was listening to the audio version of Black: The Birth of Evil, and I kept getting the worlds confused... thinking that the people in the colored forest in "Black" could hear each other's thoughts, when that was only in "TKoNLG"

Also, if I am reading a vampire/fae/werewolf/whatever book, I read something non-vampire/fae/werewolf/whatever before I'll read another vampire/fae/werewolf/whatever book. All of these types of books have the main subject in common, but the details of that world usually vary tremendously and I find it easy to get confused as to which details belong to which book.
The Fae in Karen Marie Moning's Fever Series are quite different from the fae in Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series which are still different from the fae of Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely Series.


message 20: by Jennifer (new)

Jennifer | 32 comments I usually rotate what I read as well. I tend to get burned out on specific genres if I don't.


message 21: by Patty (new)

Patty (pepperrn) | 65 comments i read whatever is available. if it is a trilogy of books or a series i try to continually read them, but that is not always possible.


message 22: by Victoria (new)

Victoria (hoodoolady) I thought I could,but I kit read 3 books in a row about the Holocaust,and I had to change genres...Now I'm reading fiction


message 23: by Ree (new)

Ree | 8 comments I totally agree! It's super hard to stay in just one genre. It's always awkward when people want to know what kind of books you like, because then you have to suddenly rattle off every genre there is :)


message 24: by Jacky (new)

Jacky | 97 comments I can read the same genre no problem. Can't read the same author though.


 ❀ Minesha ❀ (minesha) | 2 comments Nah, if I read too many book of the same genre, I get rather bored. So I switch continuously


message 26: by Monika (last edited Feb 27, 2013 04:59AM) (new)

Monika (thewarriorofthedarkness) | 1 comments Usually not. I'm reading mostly ya novel of fantasy and I have no problems with reading eg 6 ya novels in a row. Although I had a problem and I needed to change genre after few books about Holocaust and Nazis and IIWW I had to read for my Polish lessons, and now i still have this problem and I don't really want to read The Book Thief for now...


message 27: by [deleted user] (last edited Feb 27, 2013 05:20AM) (new)

Hi Miklos. When I read 3-4 books at the same time it's usually different genres or, if they're the same genre, they are different enough for me to keep track of. For instance, right now I'm reading 2 different novels, one from 1996 and one from 2003, and these are very different works. I'm also reading a memoir and a cookbook. My system works well for me. I have the time to devote at least a couple hours to each individual work, so it's easy for me to keep them clear. :)

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger Vow A Memoir of Marriage (and Other Affairs) by Wendy Plump Edwardian Cooking 80 Recipes Inspired by Downton Abbey's Elegant Meals by Larry Edwards


message 28: by Tisha (new)

Tisha (tishajones) | 10 comments I'm fantasy junkie so the majority of the books that I read are fantasy. So I can read them back to back and I can read an entire series in a week or so. I read other genres here and there, but I stick mostly with fantasy.


message 29: by Michelle (new)

Michelle That is my favorite way to read books, but after reading certain authors for a while, I might start to get depressed. Kurt Vonnegut is one of those, although he is one of my absolute favorite authors.


message 30: by Darshana (new)

Darshana Unnikrishnan (darshuk15) nope :-) i get bored easily if i read books from the same genre one after the another :-)


message 31: by [deleted user] (new)

I try to read different genres, my english teacher told me to read different books besides vampires and mystical creatures cause I've been reading those books ever since high school last year, but now i'm reading different types of books.


message 32: by Rene (new)

Rene (rlh77) I like to read the same genre sometimes but as soon as I get bored I change it. I have learned to switch it up a bit because if I read the same author I find myself not really enjoying one story from the other. Sometimes it is good to change genres just to see what else is out there that is interesting to read.


message 33: by Megan (new)

Megan (BlackStar4ever) | 34 comments I can read a whole series of books that are the same genre without getting bored. As long as they are good books it doesnt bother me!


message 34: by Kate (new)

Kate | 4 comments For me, it depends of the books. I read straight through the first two Maze Runner books and I'm about to begin the third because the world and the writing has me completely enraptured. They're fun to read, so I don't find myself needing a "break" from the genre or the series.

However, Brandon Sanderson, for example, is completely exhausting. His books go on forever and the plot often lags and drags on and while I enjoy the books overall, I often find myself rather weary of beginning another one. I read the first of the Mistborn series more than a year ago and while I loved the story overall, I still have yet to continue the series.

So, like I said, there are plenty of factors that contribute to whether or not I can stick with one genre or series for a while, but more often than not, I'm more likely to stick with a genre that offers me something unique and different with every new read.


message 35: by Veena (new)

Veena  D (veenadavis) I can probably read a max of 3 books from the same genre continuously. Beyond that I go crazy and start getting weird dreams with those characters in it. I am right now on Book 4 of the Caster Chronicles and at the end of my tether.


message 36: by Lauren (new)

Lauren (originally_elle) | 250 comments Im a Fantasy junkie so the majority of the books I read are paranormal-magically based.

I usually only switch things up when I catch myself not really appreciating a good story because Im so burned out on my 1st choice genre.


message 37: by Juliet (new)

Juliet Kopo | 2 comments Elle wrote: "Im a Fantasy junkie so the majority of the books I read are paranormal-magically based.

I usually only switch things up when I catch myself not really appreciating a good story because Im so burne..."


My thoughts exactly. :)


message 38: by Christian (new)

Christian Maria Morgan nah...too much fantasy i might start seeing faries. too much dystopian and i will teach myself to kill a zombie with a paper clip. i can only take so much poetry. nonfiction...only so much. Realistic fiction causes me to make too many changes in my life. Historical fiction makes me nerdy if i read too much. horror is horrifying. memoirs put me in someones elses shoes and i can to begin to miss my all stars. science fiction...well...I may start to get looney


message 39: by W.H. (new)

W.H. Cann (wh_cann) | 2 comments Yes, I often do, especially if it's a series of three or four books. Sometimes I might read something different in between, but never leave more than a week or two in between books of a series. I'm also known to have two or three books on the go at any one time, usully of differing genres, so I don't usually get tired of one in particular.


message 40: by Kathy (new)

Kathy | 56 comments Jennifer, I agree. I can't read too many books in a series or in a specific genre at a time. Have to move around or I get so tired I tend not to go back; lose interest.

And if I have read a book that is filled with suspense and even terror, like to move to something lighter that I know will have a good ending. Reading too many books that I just know will turn out really badly can be a downer.

And I also shift to non-fiction sometimes. Especially anything about English or French history. I am always looking for good recommendations as there are lots of books out there on these topics, but some of them are dreary and poorly written. Any ideas welcome.


message 41: by Casey (new)

Casey (liraelclayr) | 11 comments Certain series I can read without tiring of them (Harry Potter was one of them). But for the most part I find that I have to jump around a lot or else become bored.


message 42: by Robin (new)

Robin  (robin-alisha) | 32 comments I go on genre kick as well. I try to read a few books in whatever genre I'm "crazy" over at the moment then once I'm tired of it I move to something else or at least something less similar I think. Note: emphasis on "try". LOL


message 43: by Diana (new)

Diana Gotsch | 55 comments I avoid reading two books by the same author back to back. I do try to mix the genres but am willing to read to different sub-categories in the same genre. For example, A cozy mystery followed by a historical one. Or a space opera followed by a time travel.


message 44: by Viktorija (new)

Viktorija (ViktorijaWinters) | 106 comments I have no problem with it. It depends on if its worth it, though.


message 45: by Nila (new)

Nila | 45 comments I usually stick to one genre depends on my mood, I do mix it up to keep from getting bored! I find it hard to read too many SciFi/Fantasy one after the other. But romance I can read several before I switch to a crime or mystery novel


message 46: by Holly (new)

Holly Letson (bookaholicholly) | 2 comments I can, but I usually like to change it up after awhile.

Like, if I have read quite a few shoujo mangas, I like to throw in one that is either shounen or yaoi to vary it up.


message 47: by Tina (new)

Tina (whitley97) | 77 comments If I start a series I have to finish it but I will through in a different genre and have 2 books going at once so I don't get bored.


message 48: by Kathy (new)

Kathy | 56 comments I usually don't. I might be reading suspense and really like the author, but want to lighten up and get away from the cliff hangers, so switch to a cozy. It is a bit boring though to stay with one author's series or one genre. So I mix it up a bit, throwing in paranormal.

The exceptions are the old mysteries; I can read Agatha Christie's books one after another. And the fact that she wrote so many books; probably won't get done with them all. Same with Inspector Maigret.

What is so frustrating if you get "hooked" on an author is that after you read their entire series (this is more for contemporary authors) it becomes imperative to get the next book. But it is not going to be out for another year!!!

If authors write books that stand alone and have a single story that is not to be continued it is easy to jump around, but for the ones that end on a huge question about the future.....


message 49: by Amy (last edited Jul 25, 2013 12:17PM) (new)

Amy Fire wrote: "I can probably read a max of 3 books from the same genre continuously. Beyond that I go crazy and start getting weird dreams with those characters in it. I am right now on Book 4 of the Caster Chro..."

I read Beautiful Darkness and Beautiful Chaos consecutively and I needed a break in between them and starting Beautiful Redemption....I have now read about three different books since Beautiful Chaos, which I read over a month ago, but I still haven't picked up Beautiful Redemption yet, even though I have enjoyed all the Caster Chronicles books so far. I won't put any pressure on myself, though. I know that one day I will be ready to read the last book!


message 50: by Nina (new)

Nina Wiley | 4 comments I am so glad this question was asked!!! I just finished the 2nd Game of Thrones books and look foward to the next...but decided to change to a civil war novel....I think reading style is subject to the individual. Read what you want when you want!


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