Play Book Tag discussion

What genres do you like to read?
Why?
Do you have any niche reads which you like?

My favorite genres are Historical Fiction Non-Fiction History and Fantasy. That being said, I am very particular when choosing a book and I have become a "DNF" queen. If an author has not got me fully engaged by the 4th chapter or so, I have no problem throwing it back.

Like Ann R, and so many others, I have grown tired of the dual timeline scenario in Historical fiction. If the book is advertised this way, unless it is a well loved author, I will not even consider reading it. Also, I am a stickler for historical accuracy and a new-to-me author needs to show me they did their research. There are exceptions, but rarely. I am reading Emperor Series Collection: The Gods of War, The Field of Swords, The Death of Kings, The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden-and the series is so fast moving and fun it is not really bothering me, that much, that there are inaccuracies here and there. The author took the time to explain his reasoning at the end of the first book and it satisfied me enough to continue the series.

Fantasy: I need to be enveloped in the world, which means stellar world building, or I am out of here. Characters in fantasy need to be believable. Fantasy is my escape. I was late coming to this genre. It started right before I had my first back surgery, about 7 years ago. I knew I would be laid up for a while so I wanted good a meaty series to dive in. I started with a re-read of Tolkien and the rest is well...history ;) Epic Fantasy is my favorite. YA fantasy is iffy for me.

I read from almost every genre except horror and paranormal. My favorites are historical fiction, historical romance and historical mysteries. I like some fantasy and sci-fi, some literary fiction. In nonfiction, I am most likely to read popular history, or books on psychology, education, etc. rather than hard science.

My primary genres are literary fiction, historical fiction, mystery and some non-fiction which can be in a number of fields.

I am always looking for mystery series with interesting settings and characters that continue to develop throughout the series. Some favorites of mine are The Inspector Chen Series set in Shanghai https://www.goodreads.com/series/52821
The Inspector Shan series set in Tibet
https://www.goodreads.com/series/42447
The Bruno Chief of Police series set in Dordogne
https://www.goodreads.com/series/52300

For niche reads, I love medieval mysteries and for non-fiction, I love slow travel, hiking, rowing, biking and especially if they talk about the places they see in detail and the food they eat. Some of my favorites over the years were, Rowing to Latitude: Journeys Along the Arctic's Edge,The Places in Between, The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet's Lost Paradise, Shadow of the Silk Road, Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart,Trespassing Across America: One Man's Epic, Never-Done-Before (and Sort of Illegal) Hike Across the Heartland, The Salt Path: A Memoir, UnbrandedA Hole in the Wind: A Climate Scientist's Bicycle Journey Across the United States

Ann R wrote: "Joanne wrote: "My favorite genres are Historical Fiction Non-Fiction History and Fantasy. That being said, I am very particular when choosing a book and I have become a "DNF" queen. If an author ha..."

LOTR is a great choice for audio (even though I don't use it)-it is the type of story to have read aloud to you !

My primary reading interests are literary fiction, classics, historical fiction, and non-fiction.

In non-fiction, I enjoy history, exploration, travel, science, ecology, psychology, and memoirs. I'm fond of books related to the arts. I enjoy a good science fiction every now and then, especially if related to artificial intelligence.

In historical fiction, the history needs to be accurate. I read enough non-fiction to know and if I don't know I look it up. I really dislike it when a historical setting is used as an excuse for a contemporary story or romance where people act like they do now.

I tend to avoid romance, horror, thrillers, and paranormal. I am not a fan of books in a series. I do not read much fantasy but I do enjoy it when it is well done (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter).

My niche reads are mountain climbing and adventures in the extreme cold. I do not know why except possibly it is something I will never do myself so I can live vicariously through others.

I think lots of people are missing out on some great authors when they do not read non-fiction. There are some great ones out there who can make it interesting. Non-fiction does not need to be dry and boring - we are not talking textbooks here (examples include Erik Larson, Hampton Sides, Rick Atkinson, Timothy Egan).

Ann R wrote: "Joanne wrote: "My favorite genres are Historical Fiction Non-Fiction History and Fantasy. That being said, I am very particular when choosing a book and I have become a "DNF" queen. If an author ha..."

I too am looking forward to those LOTR releases! The only audio I really enjoy are books I have already read. These I have read at least 3 times!

I like Robin read pretty much everything with few exceptions. My leaning is fiction, with a smattering of non-fiction like memoirs and biographies and historical books like Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History.

Fiction I love love love are mysteries of all kinds except true crime, heavily psychological or serial killer. But even with those I still read some like The Feather Thief. I am not drawn to vampires and such but psychic abilities or ghosts are ok. And historical mysteries, cozies with a food, cooking, craft, art background, and strong women detectives are faves.

Add suspense and espionage to that list.

I love historical fiction pre WWII with the Napoleonic era and Regency particular favorites.

I love romances - historical either 19th or early 20th, contemporary that are more women's fiction by Robin Carr, Katie Fforde, Wendy Wax, Isabel Wolff.

I love classics and also read a wide variety of literary fiction.

Fantasy and SciFi - not so much but more since joining Feminerdy Book Club. I like fantasy with a relatable world and have adventure built in - A Song of Ice and Fire, LOTR, She Who Became the Sun, The Thief's Gamble, Guy Gavriel Kay, The City We Became but not her Broken Earth Trilogy.

Like a few others I read a pretty wide range.

Thinking back to high school, no question horror was my favourite at the time. I got away from it for a long time, but am back to enjoying it occasionally now.

Up until the past couple of years, maybe for about a decade (?) or so, I'd say historical fiction was my favourite. Biographies (nonfiction) are up there, too.

The past couple of years, though, thrillers - the ones with the twists and turns - have taken over as my favourite. Although I still usually really enjoy them, I've been reading so many I can easily get them mixed up. I'm sure something else will take over for this, too. (I feel like sooner rather than later.)

I still really enjoy all the others I used to enjoy. Add history (nonfiction) to the mix, as well, as being up near the top.

Basically I am a triplet with Booknblues & Joy D - classics, literary fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, and nonfiction.

But I'll read anything with words.

Also read many genres. If given options, I tend to gravitate towards fantasy and contemporary literary or women's lit. I love travel themes like others here for the contemporary work and discovering new voices. Just as exciting are those big fat fantasies or series with fabulous world building and quests. They always get me if well done. I love the escape of it all.

Second tier would be historical fiction and the occasional sci-fi. I also quite enjoy some non-fiction, memoirs, biographies, travelogues, essays and history.

I didn't read any mystery or thrillers for quite a while but I have started getting into them a bit lately though more on the cozy side and especially if paranormal is involved.

I'm less likely to choose anything horror or seems as if its sole purpose is to make you cry (animals that die, illness, some war books and Nicholas Sparks) but I still read them at times like when the tag is made me cry or they are just really well done.

My weird niches would also be microhistories and those paranormal cozy mysteries especially if holiday themed. They are so terrible but totally suck me in.

Ann R wrote: "Otherwise, I enjoy reading science related books, whether the subject is about trees or insects or bacteria. Micro-histories can be fun to read, though I still haven't read Bananas!: How The United Fruit Company Shaped the World Bananas are one of my very favorite fruits and am afraid I will find out something horrible about the way they are produced."

I really enjoyed that book. Short summary - bananas good, people who grow the bananas not always so good.

I have a pretty wide range of things I really enjoy - romance, horror, sci-fi, thrillers, true crime, memoirs. My go-to for comfort reading is always urban fiction/fantasy.

Reading for the short stories tag earlier this year (and also a bunch of short story collections for Poll Ballot last year), I found myself actually surprised that I love the dark, twisted, "I hate that character" short story collections. Maybe because no one story really goes on for too long.

And like Joanne - I've been a lot quicker to DNF a book these days. One silver lining from the pandemic - I learned how to borrow audio and e-books from the library "virtually", so when I DNF I'm not thinking about the cost of the book down the drain.

Jen K wrote: "My weird niches would also be microhistories and those paranormal cozy mysteries especially if holiday themed. They are so terrible but totally suck me in."

My medieval mysteries and even some of my slow travel are not great literature, but I love them!

Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "My weird niches would also be microhistories and those paranormal cozy mysteries especially if holiday themed. They are so terrible but totally suck me in."

My medieval mysteries and..."

Oh set it at Christmas and I am a goner. Ditto those hunky dogs in K-9 suspense!

Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "My weird niches would also be microhistories and those paranormal cozy mysteries especially if holiday themed. They are so terrible but totally suck me in."

My medieval mysteries and..."

I like Regency romances that way, not great literature (except Jane Austen). They are totally unrealistic and not reflective of history but I just pretend they are set on another planet, where all the servants are happy, everyone has good teeth and bathes a lot, and the men all appreciate independent women and dote on their children.

In general, I stay away from books with "gripping" or "chilling" in the description. I can't even understand why anyone would read true crime, it's bad enough it exists, I don't want to know more about it. In general, I don't like to ever read the point of view of serial killers, though a clever thief or mercenary in a fantasy is quite ok. I can read a lot more bloodshed in fantasy (such as Game of Thrones) than I can in a "real world" book about atrocities in Cambodia, Sudan, Nazi Germany, etc. Some people can't read about children in peril or animals being hurt = I CAN'T read about torture, it haunts me for days (and worse, nights).

I forgot to add more explicitly that I also really love reading as a way to learn which includes those non fiction histories and travel books either fiction or non-fiction but also all areas of social justice. I hope to understand how the systems are imbalanced, how this affects people and improve my own awareness of how I'm part of those systems.

And then follow up with the escape books.

Robin P wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "My weird niches would also be microhistories and those paranormal cozy mysteries especially if holiday themed. They are so terrible but totally suck me in."

My med..."

Robin, I'm the same way. I can't read books like that. Many years ago, my friends had to practically carry me out of the movie, "Sophie's Choice". I was crying that hard.

Here are my favorite genres. I like both contemporary and historical fiction. I read novels, memoirs, short stories and essays. I like non-fiction too, if the book is about a subject that interests me. I also have a GR shelf for books that are playful - not a real genre I know, but one that I enjoy, nevertheless.

I have been a longterm fan of science fiction and horror, and I love a good, clever mystery (but not police procedurals, the protagonists generally have to be some other profession besides law enforcement to hold my interest). Recently, I've been adding more non-fiction to my rotation – a lot to do with geopolitics, social justice and straight up history for my own research projects, but also memoirs or history of a random topic I find interesting and want to know more about just for fun. I'm trying to get more into historical fiction and fantasy also, in terms of pleasure reading.

Oh! I also like seeking out certain genres from different countries, sometimes in translation, just to try to expand my horizons. I don't know if there's a genre name for this, but I noticed awhile back if I'm only reading American or British authors, sometimes fiction trends can get kinda same-y.

I read from pretty much everything. I do find myself reading seasonally- Booker season, Women in Translation season, Black History month, Indigenous Peoples month, Asian American month, LGBTQ+ month, etc. 🙂 Right now, it’s horror season, and I have both fiction and nonfiction lined up.

Genres I like to read are Chick lit, Fantasy, fiction, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, History, Humor and Comedy, Young adult, middle grade, travel, etc. I like them because they have great stories, characters, and plots. Thanks for posting this!

It's easier to say what DON'T I read! Horror, dystopia and "straight" romance - lgbt is fine!