Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Are there certain types of books that always attract you? For instance, contains zombies, set in New York City, features cats, etc.

Fantasy not about fairy courts if queer / including poc or inclusive romances especially if not from US.

I like

Heists
Swashbuckling - pirates, swordsmen, sailing adventures, etc.
Royal court intrigues
Nonfiction books where someone moves to France and falls in love with French culture/food/people/a person
Sherlock Holmes imitations
Books where ordinary people step up in difficult situations, or where people work together to accomplish something

Isekai books. They will definitely get me to take a second look.

Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 1

This one is amazing. A Korean college student gets sucked into the world as an otome game villainess. She has to woo the characters or she will die like in the game routes.

It’s just dark enough for my tastes and makes you root for the main character to win.

An otome game (from wiki) is a story-based video game that is targeted towards women. Generally one of the goals, besides the main idea/goal, is to develop a romantic relationship between the female main player character and one of the usually male, secondary lead characters.

I read a lot of mysteries/thrillers. I'm always down for the trope of everyone is together for a wedding, reunion, party at an isolated hotel/cabin with bad weather. And then the murder(s) start.

I love variations on Jane Austen - what happens to characters after the books end, or books about her book
I also love variations on Alice in Wonderland.
Books with mermaids

Books with strong female characters

My reading habits are eclectic, but lately I have been reading a lot of fantasy - and in particular - fantasy written by women.

Love my Epic Fantasy (rarely YA), a good Pirate tale, Addicted to History so I read a lot of non-fiction, especially about people, events I know nothing about before the book

I read a lot of thriller and mystery books. Thomas King’s Dreadful Waters books are my current guilty pleasure.
Books about Mount Everest climbers? YES
Arctic exploration, mutinous ship crews and stranded sailors too (of the non-fiction variety).
I also like historic fiction.

I will pick up any book that can be classified as space crew of misfits - so, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Redshirts, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. Even an earthbound group of misfits works well for me, but in space, for some reason, gives me that little extra bit of joy.

Space misfits has it's own shelf at home, and I have another for magical libraries and bookstores - The Invisible Library, The Eyre Affair, and Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore are examples from that one.

Lately, I've also been on the lookout for sci-fi or fantasy with older female protagonists - Paladin of Souls, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. I hope to get hands on The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher for next year's senior citizen prompt.

Joanna wrote: "I will pick up any book that can be classified as space crew of misfits - so, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Redshirts, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet? I just started it and might your you type of read!

Have you read The Cat Who Saved Books? I just started it and it might be your type of read!

I added you as a friend because I just added almost all those mentioned books to my tbr!

I tend to be attracted to books about journeys, extreme cold, mountaineering, exploration, science, technology, history, psychology, and the arts. I actively seek out books about or by authors from countries around the world. Recently, I have also gravitated toward speculative fiction.

MJ wrote: "Have you read The Cat Who Saved Books? I just started it and it might be your type of read!"

I have not! Just added it to my TBR, it looks great.

I love books with multiple POV. Lately I've been reading a lot of nonfiction about civil rights.

I love thrillers which means I’m drawn into intriguing plots 75% of which prove not worth the excitement

Historical Fiction or historical non fiction.

Lately, I’m more interested in speculative fiction, Japanese authors (other than Murakami), world lit, specific authors that I like (e.g., Ferrante, Verghese, Zevin), new releases that I’ve heard about on podcasts and GR, and a random interesting cover/title (fiction or non-fiction) that captures my attention. Unlike others in this group, I rarely read thrillers.

Pam wrote: "Lately, I’m more interested in speculative fiction, Japanese authors (other than Murakami), world lit, specific authors that I like (e.g., Ferrante, Verghese, Zevin), new releases that I’ve heard a..."

I don't read thrillers either. I have a rule of thumb to stay away from any book that has "gripping" or "chilling" in the description or on the cover. When I disregard that, I am always sorry.

It's boring but I'm attracted to books about books/bookstores/libraries and books about or containing cats. Or both....I am going to start The Cat Who Saved Books.

If it has words.

Not really joking; I'll read just about any genre. I don't enjoy some of them, but how would I know if I don't give 'em a try?

I'm similar to Book Concierge in that I will read most genres. I am selective about thrillers, though, as I do not like to deal with lots of fear when reading. But, there are authors who write in that genre that I enjoy immensely. I also do not generally want graphic sex in my reading...but other than that, I do enjoy a romance during the book.

My favorite genres still are mysteries, fantasy, paranormal, and historical fiction.

I read many different genres too, but the things that tip the scales tend to be:

Fake Dating/Marriage of convenience plots.
Entertainment history.
WW2 (I say I've read too many nonfiction and fiction books on the subject, and then I end up reading yet another one).
Cats MCs or Cat-shifters.
Novels in verse.
Jane Austen (Retellings, plots revolving around love of Austen, nonfiction)
Tudor England.
Celtic mythology.
Greek mythology.
Norse mythology.
Criminals/Con artists using their skills for good. (Or to get even with worse criminals)
Jack the ripper.
Linguistics.

Several of my shelves are named after the hooks that I love. Unnamed main characters. Fictional works of art and literature. Books that destroy the world, or can. When the story explains how the story got written. Stories inside of stories. When the text describes video footage. Just silly little things like that.

Mandy wrote: "Isekai books. They will definitely get me to take a second look.

Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 1

This one is amazing. A Korean college student gets sucked into the world as ..."


When it comes to Korean culture I'm a sucker for Korean movies and TV series. Love them! Especially horror.

Joy D wrote: "I tend to be attracted to books about journeys, extreme cold, mountaineering, exploration, science, technology, history, psychology, and the arts. I actively seek out books about or by authors from..."
I also love books about journeys - especially travel memoirs. I also enjoy crime novels with a specific setting that is an important part of the series (such as Quebec, the Languedoc etc). My other major interest is China - I will read almost anything by a Chinese author or set in China (I lived there for 5 years)

I love dystopian books. I don’t know why. I’m not looking forward to the world falling apart. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Ooh. Also - I love books that make me cry. Love ‘em. So if anyone has a good recommendation to make me sob, send it it my way!!! Lol.

I'll read most genres, but I'm most attracted by history or historic fiction. I enjoy a good mystery - one that is not too dark, but also not too cosy. Recently, I developed a liking for Japanese books and/or books about cats - as long as no cat is hurt in the making of the book!

I honestly find many things appealing. It ranges from gay YA fluff to the most morbid disgusting horror you can think of. In addition, I like majority of my favorite characters being psychopathic lunatics.

Demetra wrote: "I love dystopian books. I don’t know why. I’m not looking forward to the world falling apart. 🤷🏻‍♀️"

LOL - I love them, too - dystopian and post-apocalyptic. I, also, am not looking forward to the world falling apart. :)