What's your favorite thing to read? And what's the most different thing from that you've read (and enjoyed) lately?

[Kyra]

Probably most of us have our favorite things we like to read - give us a new *insert preferred genre here* and we're happy! But it's also good to try new and different things sometimes, and sometimes you surprise yourself with what you end up liking.

So, what's your favorite kind of thing to read, and what have you read lately that's the most different from that, and that you've enjoyed?

[Kyra]

Here's mine: I love dark, angsty, emotional fantasy with a minimum of familiar tropes, or with fresh takes on the tropes, featuring characters who are already established in their adult lives who have those lives upended. A hefty dose of romance is a big plus. "Flesh and Spirit/Breath and Bone" by Carol Berg are two of my most favorite books.

What I've read lately that's very different, that I liked: "The Healing Heart," by Jennifer Howard, is straight-ahead contemporary romance, not a shred of magic in sight except for that magic when life offers you something really good when you weren't expecting it. Also, "America Goes On" by Paul Salvette, a fairly literary novella about an Iraq veteran searching for... When he finds what he's looking for at the end, it's shocking and memorable.

[Rachel Annie]

My favorite stories tend to be Paranormal Romances where the heroine is unaware of the supernatural world, or if she knows there's more out there than what first meets the eye, she doesn't know the full extent at the beginning of the book. The characters are flawed, and usually the hero had something happen in his past that causes him guilt or has made his mission in life to seek some sort of revenge.

I'm usually not a fan of things written in first person, which is probably why I haven't really gotten into Urban Fantasy. I haven't come across anything lately out of my comfort range, but I'd love to fall in love with a straight-up UF series someday!

[Sharon]

I mainly go for urban fantasy but I read a pretty big variety of other genres including horror, sci-fi & crime. I like books to be dark or funny, preferably both! My favourite writer is Simon Green.

YA fantasy is a guilty pleasure thing for me, I don't always enjoy this genre as it usually lacks the dark and funny stuff I love the most but when I do enjoy it I'm always pleasantly surprised and looking for more to read by the same author. Kelley Armstrong is to blame for this!

The most different thing I read lately that I enjoyed was probably J.J. DiBenedetto's first 2 dream series books - I'm not normally big on romance but these were so well done and I enjoyed the mystery element.

[J.V.]

I'm pretty eclectic in my tastes. They range significantly. I haven't however read much in the way of erotic fiction, not even the acclaimed Fifty Shades series. I gravitate toward horror, the supernatural, thrillers, suspense, and occult variants.

I read pretty much anything that is handed to me, although limited in time with my many responsibilities, reading for pleasure is something that happens when I make time for it, and often times I don't have a lot of it. I have been introduced to so many different independent authors and genres that I am amazed by the talent (and also blinded by the mainstream pop fiction that has run rampant.)

As much as I enjoy writing reviews of individual poems such as the ones I have read and reviewed on writerscafe.org, I've also enjoyed writing reviews of the books by the independent authors that I have met through various networking.

After I finally manage to maintain a decent schedule (that includes sleep) I may delve into other genres as they are suggested to me.

I also love to laugh so humor is always a win.

[J.V.]

Rachel wrote: "My favorite stories tend to be Paranormal Romances where the heroine is unaware of the supernatural world, or if she knows there's more out there than what first meets the eye, she doesn't know the..."

I'm actually in the process of writing one of those :) I have this horrible tendency of starting one book, getting another amazing idea for another, setting it aside to work on the new one, etc...So technically I have about four to five books I'm currently working on. lol

[Sue]

I read mostly anything, but my favorites are always fiction, fantasy, paranormal, young adults. And I read tons of those. I hace read some erotica and horror, but always inside the fiction genre. I recently read a lovely book that was shared with me by the author, in exchange for an honest review. It was non-fiction so I hesitated before opening it, but I have to say it was wonderful, enjoyable from the first to the last page. The story was always twisting and turning, carrying me deeper into the book, the characters were completely endearing, so I really loved reading this book. Made me realize it's good to try something new every once in a while.

[Chris]

I usually gravitate towards horror, with a dose of fantasy mixed in, Clive Barker's a good example - or "high" fantasy (I have to classify "Game of Thrones" somewhere.)

My "best" most recent read outside my genre of choice has to have been . This biography of a comedian whose life was cut short just as he was on the rise was amazing. The very best comedians, I'm convinced, write from the same place as the best authors. They all have something to tell us about us about ourselves and our place in the world - even if that means challenging everything we take for granted.

[Rosanna]

Well, as an erotic romance writer, I tend to stick to erotic romance for my reading as well. However, I recently read a book of poetry that made me laugh so hard. It is I recently gave it a 5 star review as well. It is poetry written from a baby's surly point of view and had me howling. It includes poems about visiting Santa for the first time (the horror), being forced to wear PJ's in the afternoon and other indignities to babies. Just amazing, and the author's sense of humor is completely irreverent. Loved it.

[Heather]

I usually love long, epic fantasies, by authors like George RR Martin, Robert Jordan, and Patrick Rothfuss. However, I've definitely been corrupted by YA fantasy--so fast and easy to read! At the same time, too often I walk away from YA feeling like the books never pushed the envelope enough, and then I swing back to my dark moody epics, haha.

However, the YA offerings like Cynthia Hand's Unearthly, Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series, and Alison Goodman's Dragoneye Reborn books were fully satisfying. I've also heard a lot about Angelfall by Susan Ee, which seems to fulfill my need for a darker adventure. Anyone read it?

[Rachel Annie]

J.V. wrote: "I have this horrible tendency of starting one book, getting another amazing idea for another, setting it aside to work on the new one, etc..."

I'm the same way! I write for fun, but I'm always hopping from one idea to the other.

[C. Casey]

I love mythopoeic works. Fantasy and sci-fi stuff that makes my universe feel larger and more exciting, especially after I finish the book. LeGuin or L'Engle-type stuff. Also, urban occult, gritty-city, psychological thrillers, mindscrew plots and anything metafiction. Essentially, anything that feels "dangerous" to read.

However, I recently found this non-fiction book at a library sale, buried in a pile of weight-loss manuals, and thought it was awesome:



It's a soviet psychologist's affectionate portrait of a man with a photographic memory condition (among other things) who can only remember things by building virtual worlds in his head that he walks through to remember their order. Mind blowing, and a worthy, short read.