What Genres Do You Read?

[A.F.]

I get many book recommendations here on Goodreads and that got me thinking about the types of books people read. What are your preferred favourite genres? Or do you shy away from labels and genres? What genres do you avoid? What books would you like to see recommended to you as a reader?

[Terri]

Read pretty much all genres except westerns - just never got into those. Love mysteries, Horror, bizzaro, paranormal, urban fantasy, YA

[A.F.]

My favourite genres are:
Fantasy
Science Fiction
Historical (fiction and non-fiction)
Mystery
Biographies

Genres I read sometimes:
Thrillers
Romance (usually historical romance)

Genres I generally don't read:
Young Adult
Self-help
Horror
Westerns

[Lynxie]

I read pretty much everything. I don't really enjoy Christian fiction, because I've found from my previous reading that it's too easy for the authors to fall into preaching to the reader and I'm not keen on that.

Aside from that I haven't really found any genre I won't try.

[R.S.]

I'm really not a fan of labels. I think a story should be just that, and mixing genres sometimes makes for the most entertaining reads.

That being said, the list of what I won't read is probably shorter than the list of what I like. I'm not a fan of graphic horror (paranormal horror? yes. bloody horror? no!), erotic, western, or inspirational/Christian. Other than that, I'm pretty open and love discovering something new :)

[A.L.]

Sci fi

Western

Romance

Fantasy

War/action adventure

Mystery
particularly Dick Francis and Tony Hillerman

Historical

And horses anything horse related fiction or non fiction

[Maggie]

I will read most genres, except for romance. The ones I've read tend to be overly sentimental and with very similar plots. I love the genre I write in - psychological suspense/thrillers - as well as action/mystery/horror. I'd like to read more science fiction - anyone got any recommendations?

[Lynxie]

Maggie wrote: "I will read most genres, except for romance. The ones I've read tend to be overly sentimental and with very similar plots. I love the genre I write in - psychological suspense/thrillers - as well a..."

If you haven't read the amazing classic Ender's Game then I suggest that as a starter for real sci-fi, if you want a sci-fi fantasy mix Jilly Paddock's books are good fun.

The List was also a great sci-fi thriller.

[R.S.]

Maggie wrote: "I will read most genres, except for romance. The ones I've read tend to be overly sentimental and with very similar plots. I love the genre I write in - psychological suspense/thrillers - as well a..."

Maggie, I agree, a lot of romance is hard for me to read also for that same reason. I read and write in psychological thriller and mystery as well, and I love discovering authors that provide unique twists. I've recently added Dennis Lehane to my shelves, it seems like he's good at accomplishing this :)

[Maggie]

R.S. wrote: "Maggie wrote: "I will read most genres, except for romance. The ones I've read tend to be overly sentimental and with very similar plots. I love the genre I write in - psychological suspense/thrill..."
I'll check him out - thanks, R.S.!

[Ann]

I like to read books on programming, Blender(software), and of course fiction!

[Maggie]

Lynxie wrote: "Maggie wrote: "I will read most genres, except for romance. The ones I've read tend to be overly sentimental and with very similar plots. I love the genre I write in - psychological suspense/thrill..."
Thanks, Lynxie, I'll check those out! I'm especially interested in the J A Konrath one, as his blog is great - incredibly useful.

[R.S.]

Maggie wrote: "Lynxie wrote: "Maggie wrote: "I will read most genres, except for romance. The ones I've read tend to be overly sentimental and with very similar plots. I love the genre I write in - psychological ..."

Ooo yes, you're right, he does have a great blog! I learned a lot of great points from him.

[Maggie]

He's an inspiration to all us indie authors! He was my main encouragement to self-publish rather than go down the traditional route, and so far I have no regrets. He seems a genuinely decent, helpful guy who pays it forward in truckloads.

[Anulekha]

Classics
Noveau Roman
Plays (Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, Oscar Wilde)
Graphic Novels (New Interest. Preferably Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller's Sin City)
Contemporary (Specifically Eleanor Catton)
Fantasy (Lord of the Rings and similiar, discovering Dunsany; besides trying desperately to find a copy of Titus Groan, but it seems largely unavailable on the internet. If anyone has any knowledge of an available copy please let me know)
Old Detective/ Mystery stories
Thrillers
Apart from these I am open to reading almost any book that promises a good story.
I usually avoid the Young Adult, Supernatural and Romance genres. I usually prefer romance as a subtext to a story rather than its dominant influence.

[Jim]

All genres, with just one exception - I have never read, nor do I ever intend to read a modern romance novel.