How Diverse Is Your Reading? (8/5/18)

[Pam]

Marc wrote: "Sounds like a fun challenge, Pam. As you can see from this thread, there are lots of different ways to look at diversity (gender, age, ethnicity, country, language, genre, date of publication, subj..."

It was a fun challenge! I had to read 16 of 22 listed genres so I ended up reading a few genres that I don't normally read like graphic novels, poetry, and horror. My favorites from the challenge were older books - Doña Barbara: A Novel by Rómulo Gallegos, Chess Story by Stefan Zweig, and Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family by Thomas Mann. Some 21st century books that I liked: Sand by Wolfgang Herrndorf, The Panda Theory, and The Hole. Some members in this group might like Sand. It is a "literary thriller". In my library, they have it filed under German literature instead of fiction. I found it infuriating at times but, after reading the Afterward, which explained the clues and the ending, then I realized how clever it actually was! If you approach the book from the perspective that seemingly random events provide clues, I think the reading process would be more enjoyable. I've read that Germans loved the book but Americans... not so much. The Panda Theory (French mystery) and The Hole (Korean horror) were both good and I would read more of these authors.

As far as genre diversity goes, I'm reading much more diversely than I used to, before joining GR. I prefer literary fiction, sci-fi, and historical fiction. This year I also read YA, mid-grade, short stories, non-fiction, mystery, western (Lonesome Dove!), poetry, thriller, novellas, graphic novels, horror, fantasy, magical realism, non-fiction, and even picture books (which I won for my grandsons). A little bit of everything!