Genre talk: What’s Your Go To?

[Joanna Loves Reading]

I don’t know about everyone else, but I HAVE to read. And when I am stressed I resort to comfort reads that are easy and make me happy. Ones that may have a formula but I am cool with that. The big three over-arching genres, from what I can gather, are Romance, Mystery/Suspense and Fantasy. I think each of these rely, to varying degrees, on voracious readers. What is your go-to genre? Why?

[Renee]

I have a couple I go to for comfort reads.

Mystery is one. If I am reading a mystery for comfort I choose a cozy. They are often silly and definably follow a pattern. I can usually figure them our with out too much stress. I often pick ones with cats. I get mindless entertainment with cats. It does help me relax.


My other comfort read are stories of English Kings. You know who will be beheaded, who will die and who will survive. It is always the same. So I get the comfort of familiarity with a different telling.

[Brady]

If I had to rank the three it would go
1. Mystery
2. Mystery
3. Fantasy

I have never actually tried Romance so I guess I can't really "not include it" but I see no real appeal in the formula that it has. My true number one right now would be Young Adult though (and Classics, of course.)

[Cheryl]

I can't wrap my head around the premise. Those are not the over-arching genres.

My go-to for comfort is usually a children's classic. But of course Children's, YA, and Classics are not genres, they're just categories.

So, I'm not sure how to participate in this discussion.

[Joanna Loves Reading]

@Rene — I love that stories on English Kings is one of your go-tos. I like predictability also and history. My go-to is Historical Romance, because I know there’s going to be a happy ending, but the journey is fun and I get transported to another time and place.

@Brady No need to rank! LOL, but if you want some recommendations on romances, let me know ;-)

Young Adult is so big these days. I have not been reading many but recently finished The Hate You Give and thought it was worth the hype. I started out liking dystopian, but I felt quality quickly nose-dived after Hunger Games.

I like some historical mysteries. I guess I just tend towards historical fiction in general. I used to be really into fantasy, but I really enjoy the long intricate series, and I don’t have time anymore to keep on top of a series to where I don’t forget important details. I stopped in the middle of book 9 of the Wheel of Time series about 8 years ago and it was my last attempt. I have tried some smaller series to varying success.

[Joanna Loves Reading]

Cheryl wrote: "I can't wrap my head around the premise. Those are not the over-arching genres.

My go-to for comfort is usually a children's classic. But of course Children's, YA, and Classics are not genres, th..."

There are a few articles out there on the most popular genres by how much money is spent on the type and those three show up on each list. I believe genre and category are essentially the same thing. But the discussion I was hoping for is what do you read when you need a comfort read and what draws you to it? You don’t need to stick to the ones I suggested.

I changed the subject title to be more clear, hopefully.

[Cheryl]

Well, given those parameters, a comfort read for me is a children's classic like The Secret Garden or the juveniles by James Thurber.

Also, I always feel better about the world after reading just about anything by Michael Perry, but then, he writes mostly non-fiction memoirs and essays.

When I'm in danger of a reading slump I'll read science, like Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals or The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter than You Think.

Or sometimes thoughtful, thought-provoking science fiction, like Semiosis by Sue Burke, or Planetfall by Emma Newman.

I don't read mysteries (except maybe an Agatha Christie for a group) or Romance or Fantasy. Or, generally, best-sellers. I don't like formula, long series, predictability, or almost anything 'that would make a great movie.'

But it's not like I'm a snob. My favorite books of all are probably silly picture-books, like fairy tale parodies. It's just that I'm not an avid reader, rather I'm a rabid reader, and if it's been done before, I don't need to see it again, so I'm always looking for creativity, originality.

[Joanna Loves Reading]

Cheryl wrote: "Well, given those parameters, a comfort read for me is a children's classic like The Secret Garden or the juveniles by James Thurber.

Also, I always feel better about ..."

When I first discovered audiobooks, I primarily listened to children's classics like The Secret Garden or Anne of Green Gables. I would listed to them on Librovox, and since it is volunteer narrators, I found those types of stories the easiest to follow and really enjoyed it.

I think e-books made me into a genre/subject-specific/category reader. I used to be much better about selected a array of types of books from my library. Also, I think it is the point in my life that makes predictability in some form desirable. However, when I realized I was in a very specific reading pattern, I was happy to find a group to help get me out that pattern to some degree.

I still love my predictable comfort reads though :)

I don't think you're a snob, for the record, for not liking formula type books, and I am interested in the science and science fiction book you mentioned.

[Renee]

Audio books and kindles have save me. I suffer from an atypical autoimmune syndrome. It is very similar to lupus so I usually just say lupus because people understand Lupus.

One of the things that I get frequently is Rheumatoid Arthritis. The light weigh of the kindle allows me to continue reading. Audio books do the same.


I used to be a cloth bound book snob.
I only wanted the real thing Now I realize that who cares how you get the story.

[Jeri]

My go-to would be murder mystery, preferably Scandinavian right now, but am branching out to various Asian locales. Nothing cozy or with a strong love story plot.

[Tori]

Cheryl wrote: "Well, given those parameters, a comfort read for me is a children's classic like The Secret Garden or the juveniles by James Thurber.

Also, I always feel better about ..."

It looks like me and Cheryl have the same literary tastes! I usually go for a children's classic if I'm looking for a comfort read and The Secret Garden happens to be one of my favorites! I also like to reread the books I read when I was a child the Harry Potter books or anything by Roald Dahl .

Also, like Cheryl if I am in a reading slump I tend to turn to non-fiction to get me through it. They are easy to get back into even if you haven't picked it up in awhile. Two I have recently read and loved were Jim Henson: The Biography and Behemoth: The History of the Elephant in America

[Karina]

I usually pick Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone , I just like how it is written and it calms me down. In most parts I just read my current fantasy book even if it’s an interesting part reading helps me to relax .

[Karen]

Tori wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Well, given those parameters, a comfort read for me is a children's classic like The Secret Garden or the juveniles by James Thurber.

Also, I always fee..."

Tori, I'm glad you included the 2 books you have recently "read and loved". Perused both titles and was instantly hooked. They have now been included on my tbr list. Thanks!

[FloorM]

Everything young adult, reading is really a way to relax for me and to just stop thinking for a moment. And when I'm really stressed or upset it always calms me down to open Faceless on a random page and just read for a bit, something about this book just makes everything better.

[Jemma]

I pick up Fantasy! It ends up being the genre I read most of each year. I do read other genres but perhaps it's comforting for me. :)

[Elin]

Not too long ago I would’ve said... something realistic, historical and sad, just like The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank), but just now I picked up another book about the holocaust and I really cant get a very specific feeling to go away. I feel anxious to read it. I think I know why. I’ve recently read some books by Lucy Dillon, and those heartwarming stories about love, family, loss, and dogs really set me in a cozy mindset. Can I really pick up a book with such a hard topic again such as the holocaust?

I feel like my brain is stuffed with pink fluffy clouds, and I can’t seem to bring myself to read the genre my 16 year old self was all about? I feel like I lost the historical nerd inside of me who wasn’t afraid of nasty details and reality. Now I’m a 19 year old who can only read fiction about cheesy love and family life that contains dogs in the storyline??

I guess I’m definitely not making any sense here, but: has anyone else fallen out of a genre you were so passionate about not too long ago? Or am I just cowardly avoiding a though subject?

[Cheryl]

I'm not reading the tougher books that I used to so much anymore... but I'm in my fifties and I read more bravely until fairly recently, so maybe I can't compare myself to you. But I do empathize.

Is it possible that you don't need to read anymore about the holocaust? Maybe read about a different period? Katherine Paterson's Bread and Roses, Too and The Master Puppeteer are wonderful historical fiction, marketed to children but really for all ages. They're about tough times, but not depressing to read, imo.

[Melanie]

My go genre is fantasy. I strong preference for books in this genre.

My grown-up comfort reads are comedic sci-fi and fantasy works. It seems to be a niche genre, but I love it. Some great examples are The Color of Magic, Off to Be the Wizard, Old Man's War, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, A Dirty Job, and Welcome to Night Vale. When life gets depressing, it is just nice to laugh.

[Pixiegirl105]

Elin wrote: "Not too long ago I would’ve said... something realistic, historical and sad, just like The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank), but just now I picked up another book about the holocaust and I really..."

You'll get that feeling back for the historical nerd. ;) I go through all the genres. Sometimes what is just needed is something that is what I call "comfort food" books. You say you're 19 right now? That's a pretty crazy time as it is full of transition from being a kid (in which case, the stuff in history is not as scary as we think that adults can take care of things) to adult (in which it is up to you to take care of things). Take the comfort for now and enjoy the fluffy books for a bit with no guilt because that is what your mind apparently needs for the moment. :) You'll probably end up in some of your favorite historical novels again someday.

[Pixiegirl105]

My go-to is pretty much thrillers and horror/thrillers/science. I love a good thriller with science in it. Michael Reilly, James Rollins, and Jonathan Maberry being my favorite living ones. Michael Crichton being the one that got me into the genre originally.

That being said, I can't think of a genre I don't read out there.

(going to pad my reading list numbers with a bunch of Harlequin romances eventually. Lol!!)

[Shaneka]

Classics and Social Theory

[Zainab]

My go to comfort read is rereading some of the book I enjoyed a lot!
I do the same with movies and TV shows.

I find it really calming that I know the events so I am not stressing out, but I am also looking forward to favourite parts or chapters and re-enjoying them.

What helps is that I have an awful memory, I can legit forget a book completely within the span of 5 years (much less if the book didn't affect me deeply). I usually only remember how a book made me feel but forget the story.

Another choice will be Agatha Christie's mystery’s. There is plenty of them, they are almost always light and never leave a bad after taste. And it is fun to predict as the story keeps unfolding.

What I found interesting is that many of you guys choose thrillers. Thrillers are known to be "causing thrill and anxiety", they do stress me out but I enjoy them sometimes. However, they are never my go-to comfort reads.

[Kerri]

Zainab wrote: "My go to comfort read is rereading some of the book I enjoyed a lot!
I do the same with movies and TV shows.

I do the same! I read from a lot of different genres, but if I am stressed out and looking for comfort I revisit my favorites either by reading or by audio, though I haven't been rereading much lately. I guess that could be a good thing as I don't need those "comfort" books so much? There are a few I really want to revisit, but cannot justify because I am behind in All of my reading goals, oops!

At the end of last year/beginning of this year I was reading a lot of books that took heavy emotional tolls on me - they were all making me cry, and then the toll was being compounded so I was crying more and more with each book I read. It was a mess. So I asked my friends and family for recommendations of "light, fluffy, happy, sunshine, easy, non-emotionally-investing" books and got some really good recommendations that let me recuperate!

By the by, my go-to comfort movie is the 1993 Warner Brothers version of the Secret Garden. I just love the cast and the way the story is told, and it always leaves me feeling better.

[Lisa]

My go-to genres are Fantasy and Contemporary Fiction, although I do like reading the occasional Classic.

My comfort reads are mainly in the Fiction and Fantasy category, with a few Mysteries and YA/Children's novels thrown in. If I'm stuck, I tend to read Harry Potter, and then any of my comfort reads that currently fit my mood (for example, since I'm pregnant right now, my comfort reads lately have frequently involved the ones that have a character who is also pregnant, or a mom).

[Mary]

Thriller & suspense books (:

[Joanna]

Actually more specific than a genre, though probably he’s a genre to himself, Sir Terry Pratchett. Can’t be beat, always uplifting, and always funny. My go to hero.

[STEPHEN]

Historical Fiction- Doctorow, Vidal, etc. I also go back to Richard Russo and Ernest Hemingway. I re-read Zorba the Greek and A Farewell to Arms every couple years.

[Lisa]

STEPHEN wrote: "Historical Fiction- Doctorow, Vidal, etc. I also go back to Richard Russo and Ernest Hemingway. I re-read Zorba the Greek and A Farewell to Arms every couple years."

I'm new to Richard Russo, but I love his books so far! He's got such a great and unique voice in his works.

[Renee]

I also love Russo. Nobody's FoolNobody's Fool will always be one of my favorite reads.

[STEPHEN]

Renee wrote: "I also love Russo. Nobody's FoolNobody's Fool will always be one of my favorite reads."

I really enjoy Nobody's Fool as well. For a long book, it's a quick read. Brilliant.

[Sarah]

Horror is my go to. I can't explain why I love it so much. After that would be fantasy probably.

[Jeri]

Pixiegirl105 wrote: "My go-to is pretty much thrillers and horror/thrillers/science. I love a good thriller with science in it. Michael Reilly, James Rollins, and Jonathan Maberry being my favorite living ones. Michael..."

When you feel the Harlequin urge call me, i will talk you off that ledge. :-D

[Shea]

Zainab wrote: "My go to comfort read is rereading some of the books I enjoyed a lot!
I do the same with movies and TV shows.

Same here. I usually just skip to the scenes I like best, but sometimes I'll do a full reread to see if I missed anything. It's a mash-up of genres though.

[E.R.]

autobiographies....im so nosy and wanr a different life...i know...silly me!

[Danielle's Books]

Fantasy all the way!

[Kat (A Journey In Reading)]

My go to is historical fiction. I love anything related to WWII time period. If I get stuck in a rut and cant get into a book, I will pick up a James Patterson book, simply because I dont have to think about what Im reading, and his books are easy reads.

[Tatyana]

Definitely anything suspense/thriller/mystery. Currently anything Karin Slaughter