# Favorite genre



## Eden.Kaye

What is everyone's favorite genre to read?
And why?
It's interesting to know what people like to read and why.

I like to read coming-of-age, vampire romance, mysteries; however I am open to anything.

I read coming-of-age novels because they are realistic and some of my favorite authors are Jodi Picoult and Sarah Dessen. Vampires/Vampmance are fun and interesting to read and I love anything vampire. Mysteries I read because well I'm obsessed with things like CSI, NCIS, Law and Order:SVU and reading books like that peak my interest. My grandma got me into mysteries and thrillers.

-Eden


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## Sam

Thriller, techno-thriller, mystery, crime, and action/adventure.

My favourite authors are: Tom Clancy, Jeffrey Deaver, Michael Connelly, Robert Ludlum, Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, and Frederick Forsyth.


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## MaggieG

Hmmmmm I have been reading M Atwood again here lately. ( Handmaid's Tale to be specific ) I always loved Frank Herbert. Thought the man had a helluva imagination. Harlan Ellison, and Jack Ketchum stand out for me as very good story tellers, as does Gaiman.  As poetry goes, Gluck, Duffy, and Doty have been favorites for awhile now. About two years ago I decided to read Shakespeare, and Tennessee Williams back to back just to see the differences in playwriting. I am reading more in terms of information these days than anything, so genres have become somewhat irrelevant.


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## VinrAlfakyn

I'll read pretty much anything, but my favorites are anything with fantasy in them. That includes magic, supernatural things, etc. So I read a lot of fantasy and urban fantasy, both adult and teen. My favorite authors include Charles de Lint, Anne Bishop, Tolkien, Tamora Pierce, Elizabeth Haydon, Mark Helprin, and Anne Rice. I guess what draws me to those kinds of books is the feeling that absolutely _anything_ can happen.


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## Olly Buckle

I read all sorts of things but I have had a little run of reading about warfare, John Buchan on Cromwell, Lane-Fox on Alexander, Oman on the history of Medieval warfare, a book about Agincourt and Crecy, others about Gengis Khan, Caesar, Nelson and Napoleon. I am not a warlike person, in fact I would call myself a pacifist, but there is something fascinating about contests that have no runners up, no second places, and where so much depends on innovation and thinking outside the box.


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## moderan

Science fiction, particularly hard-science, noir, suspense, horror. I like many different flavors of nonfiction as well, especially scientific and historical. I have far too many favorites to indulge in making a list.


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## rachelthorn

I like different genres. I mainly read manga, classic literature, young adult, and horror but I will read anything that catches my eye. Some of my favorite authors are Edgar Allen Poe, Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, Shakespeare, and Anne Rice. There are others but it would take too long to name them all.


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## J.E. Blackworth

Hmm! I have never found any specific genres interesting or felt drawn to them, but I tend to be fascinated by the writing styles of certain authors - such as Stephen Fry, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe.

But I do love horror and romance.


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## Kat

I will read anything. I don't generally buy my own books. I get a lot of women rights, new age, religious and historic books from my aunt. I get historic romance, science fiction and fantasy from my mother and best sellers and classics from my grandma. Plus books from friends and neighbors who will drop off things occasionally. Right now I'm reading Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight (from my aunt), Three Cups of Tea (from a friend), and Inanna- myths and hymns (I picked this up at a yard sale). I've actually read Inanna several times. It's a favorite. 

If I'm really involved in my writing I will read mostly non-fiction. I find that reading fiction bleeds the voice into my writing.


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## T.G. Harrison

Social sci-fi is my current obsession - preferably with some kind of cyberpunk twist. In fact, I usually enjoy any kind of spec-fiction, and I usually adore anything with a -punk suffix. I would recommend Jeff & Ann VanderMeer's _Steampunk _anthology to anyone that way inclined.

However... there is something about cyberpunk which I love, which is difficult to pinpoint. Certain stories have a mood, or an undertone, or maybe just a sentence which elates me in a way which I am yet unable to articulate outside of my own mind. It might be the way the author captures the light shining into a room on the three-hundredth floor, reflected from the brilliant white of the urban sprawl below. Or a one-line description which is somehow so vivid that it creates a feeling - nay, an _emotion_ by the merit of its own language. As an example, I shall use a line from Robert J. Sawyer's _Wake_:

"A small, fragile world floating against the vast, empty darkness."

It isn't particularly verbose, and doesn't employ the beautiful, expansive lexicon of Joyce or Fitzgerald. They are layman's terms. But there is something about the line, in the context of the story, which ran through my mind for weeks after I read it. It just wouldn't cease, and every time I thought it, I felt _good_. That is what I look for in a story, and there is something about cyberpunk and social sci-fi which just seems to have that quality intrinsic to it.

Lol - did that explanation confuse you as much as it confused me? ^.^


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## William Kaiser

My favorite types of books are: Fantasy, supernatural, mystery, action adventure.

Some specifics would be the Dragonlance chronicles. They really get you into the story while moving into a dramatic story with several points of view. A good read indeed.


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## Rosette

Romance, BUT not mature romance. Idk, it just ruins the story for me if it isn't planned out just right.

Mystery is fun, but it has to have other elements in it for me to enjoy it.


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## writeratdesk

Mysteries, thrillers, and honestly some young adult fiction too. I'll read horror occasionally, especially the psychological ones.


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## Fox80

Suspense, I guess it would be called. Sidney Sheldon. A great historian and narrator of exotic places.


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## Sonofjoe

At the moment I’m going through a retro period, namely, Kenneth Miller AKA Ross MacDonald. I read ‘The Ivory Grin’, ‘The Barbarous Coast’, ‘The Chill’ and ‘The Goodbye Look’ in the early 70s. Loved his style and his protagonist Lew Archer. 
At the moment I’m waiting for the delivery of ‘The Barbarous Coast’ & ‘The Way Some People Die’ to start my collection. I hope to have the complete collection by Christmas, but damn it, these books are hard to find! 8-[


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## BitofanInkling

Urban Fantasy I think, lately. Or soft sci fi/fantasy stuff. Things like Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next books. There's fantasy elements to it, but it's not all Wizards and Quests. And they're usually really really fun to read.


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## malvo4

Technical (Mary Roach), literature (Mark Z Danielewksi), sometimes urban fantasy (Charles de Lint).


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## Mistyag

i mainly like fantasy because sometimes you dont know what to expect and also some teen novels


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## funnygirl

no-one has mentioned my favourite genre yet, comedy! I love a good funny book to take away my cares for a few hours  Sometimes I also like an action epic or sweeping historical novel when the mood strikes


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## Olly Buckle

Good point funnygirl, comedy has been ignored, not serious enough maybe? I find a lot of written comedy un-funny, I think it is missing the timing you get with live people. The funniest thing I can think of reading was Spike Milligan's "Puckoon", but a lot of his other books are a big yawn, do you have any recommendations?


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## The Backward OX

With the exception of the previous poster, you people all seem to be talking to yourself, and time will tell about him too.


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## funnygirl

Olly- Although I go mainly for the dreaded chic-lit books, I'd think you'd enjoy Nick Earls work, if you dont mind reading convict comedy that is.


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## The Prodigy

Read Penelope Lively not to long ago. Currently I'm taking my time with Kafka. I'm mid-way through a Stephen King novel, which is surprising to me since I don't especially enjoy King novels. Alex Haley is an old favorite as well as MacKinlay Kantor, Ayn Rand, Tom Clancy when in the mood, Cormac McCarthy, and Jack London. At heart, my first love is poetry. I enjoy Wordsworth but Elizabeth Browning has possessed my soul from a young age.


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## tomhackins

My favourite Book Genre :

- Fantasy - Horror
- Mystery
- Thriller
- Action
- Family Drama


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## gore-xx

Definitely horror, splatter punk and the classics of course.


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## Cambyses

Sci-Fi because I like science fiction, especially stuff that deals with space.  

Alternate History because I like to think about the way things could have happened.

I'm currently getting into fantasy with _The Lord of the Rings.  _I like Tolkien but I havn't really read anything else that falls under the fantasy category (that isn't one of the above) so I am not quite sure about this genre as a whole.


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## KrisMunro

I've been reading fantasy for a long time. I read Hobbit as a kid, and didn't like it. So I stayed away from the rest of Tolkien's books, although I'm sure they're great to read.

R.A. Salvatore got me into fantasy. And while I've read his books as an adult, I found a lot less of interest than I did as a kid. 
If you're interested in fantasy, I'd suggest Robin Hobb, most of her books are worth a read, especially the Farseer trilogy, the Tawney Man trilogy, and the Rain Wild Chronicles. Stay away from Soldiers Son trilogy.. not sure what she was thinking with that one. 

Jennifer Fallon has a good series called The Tide Lords. Maybe a little slow to start, and an ending that you only half expect and half want to happen. But the books are very entertaining.

Stephen R Lawhead produced a great series call The Song of Albion. A Celtic themed fantasy world with just enough 'real world' thrown in to make it seem more real.

As a kid I read Jennifer Roberson; a series about shape changers and magic users. I'm sure I'd still find some fascination in rereading the series now.


There are a range of others which I found worth a read, but I'll wait to see if anyone is interested in this before putting too much effort into writing up lists. But on the whole, I've found most of the authors I like, have produced work I don't like. Which means I don't really have a favourite author. 

The books I do like, always have something new and unexpected in them. A previously unexplored aspect to the fantasy world (to me at least). There's only so many times you can hear about goblins and elves before you start to grow a little tired of it.


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## MeeQ

Flash horror, flash comedy, alternate history and steam-punk fantasy are but a few. But nothing beats a book of short stories of any particular genre.

Olly, good blunt comedy is hard to find in literature; why I stick to something with a quick punchline, or a snapped ending.

EDIT: Suggestions?


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## Bruno Spatola

Horror/Mystery is my numero uno genre. If that sort didn't exist, my next choice would have to be Dystopic-ish sci-fi. Just realized that isn't really a genre, but whatever


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## Andreas

Can't really say there is one... it's just so much what I feel like  reading and if that book draws me in. You could say for example SciFi & then you  read such a book but the plot drags on & the characters are non-existent -  so you don't even bother finishing. Then you read a romance and it's  just so well written that you love it through and through. 

So no set genre for me... just a great read will do thank you very much. :read:


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## Cressida

It is fascinating to see what other people read. There are so many here who love fantasy which I think is my least favourite genre. I managed Harry Potter but further than that, ramblings about elves, pixies and gnomes drive me up the wall. I am actually not sure what Urban Fantasy is.

My personal favourite is Crime and also books set during WWII; if both are together then that is a double first. I also like books set during the twenties and thirties. 

I dislike romance as a separate entity but enjoy books that are about something else but have some romantic interraction between the characters. 

One previous poster mentioned comedy which I love. Lucky Jim and Three Men in a Boat are books which I loved forst time round but can read over again.:smile:


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## Verum Scriptor

I grew up reading future science fiction (Star Wars, Star Trek ect...) As a teenager I got into main stream fiction (Michael Crichton, John Grisham) and fantasy (J.R.R Tolkien).  Today I will read anything that can keep my interest but I always seem to make my way back to si-fi/fantasy.


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## Olly Buckle

Unca Walt's new book might appeal to you, see the "I'm so pumped" thread in "how was your week".

Edit, Oops, that was for Cressida, Verum Scriptor came in while I was posting.


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## CFFTB

I like mostly biography, but wouldn't mind a bit of history now & then. Got away from fiction a long time ago, but about a year back I discovered Iris Murdoch. You should have no distractions when you read her work; you don't always know who's talking because she doesn't always use enough identifiers but you'll soon find that it doesn't always matter. As far as humor, I just finished a book by Dave Barry, a humor columnist out of Miami, titled History of the Millenium (So Far). He takes past & current events and inserts his own comical takes on them. Got more than a few belly laughs from that one.


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## sailorguitar

As long as the writer can tell a story, the genre doesn't matter. If the writer can't tell a story, the genre doesn't matter. The story matters to me, the genre is a condom. Whatever vehicle you use to get to where you need to go, make sure it's the right car running on the right gas and kiss it goodnight.


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## ZachinaHat

I definitely prefer alternative history and speculative fiction, but I only seem to have read Harry Turtledove and S.M Stirling recently. If anyone has any recommendations on similar books and authors could they let me know?


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## Gravehound

I like reading fantasy and sci-fi. If I had to pick a favorite I'd had to pick sci-fi though
why? cause the very first book (read serie) I ever read (after Harrp Potter) was a science fiction novel (it was also my very first english book)
Horus Heresy rules, ... good times


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## Somnium Shadow

My favorite genre is between fantasy (a more modern fantasy) and suspense/drama.  I just find that I enjoy the many aspects of the fantasy world.  I think it's also because things that can't happen in the real world always happen in a fantasy world.  As for suspense/drama, I just like sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what happens.  I love not knowing and being pulled into the story to the point I can't stop myself from reading.


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## Sita

For me it would have to be fantasy. I really don't care for anything that's non-fiction. Imagination is my best friend ♥


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## edgar1981

I'm personally not much of a fan of fantasy, or fiction in general really. I like to read biographies and factual books mostly.


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## River

sailorguitar said:


> As long as the writer can tell a story, the genre doesn't matter. If the writer can't tell a story, the genre doesn't matter. The story matters to me, the genre is a condom. Whatever vehicle you use to get to where you need to go, make sure it's the right car running on the right gas and kiss it goodnight.



You nailed it for me and I couldn't have put it any better than that and it is reflected in my own fiction.


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## chongjasmine

For me, I like to read fantasy books.


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## Jinotega

I like the classics, historical books, science and philosophy.  Also good travel books or anything that opens your mind to something new and makes you think.


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## Dramatism

Science fiction and romance, but the two together are epic.

I like sci fi because I love to imagine future worlds, and people's imaginations are so amazing.  I like to read something where the rules of our society no longer exist, but are all new.

Oh- and when I say sci fi, I don't mean Star Wars or Star Trek, or anything those involve.  No fighting please!  I like the sci fi novels involving robots, changes to society, space adventures, time travel (to the future though, historical fiction application to science fiction, or historical fiction at all, isn't my forte), and of course aliens.

I love romance because I like that feeling in my stomach.  Who doesn't love to 'awwww'?


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## elfwriter

I love mystery and romance. I love the books that make you think and let your imagination wander around. I am however open to anything.


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## Michaelj

Love fantasy and historic fiction


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## michaelschaap

I love vampire romance books.  Now why.... I'm not sure why really   I know why I love romance... because I'm in love with the idea of falling in love.  The vampire side of it.... I don't know... I started reading Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series and I was hooked!

Michael Schaap


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## JimJanuary

I'll admit that I'm a product of university culture, but I love philosophical, psychoanalytical and beat-gen books. I also like some science fiction


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## grimreaper

Fantasy and historical fiction mostly.
Not sure why Ilike this genre , though. Perhaps because I am Daydreaming half of the time :smile2:.
However, I have wide tests and I try out any book that comes to my notice.


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## Walt1093

Technothrillers, Christian Fiction, and historical fiction


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## Orchid

True crime. Absolutely the ONLY thing I read outside of poetry and magazines.
I am obsessed with serial killers and the human psyche.


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## Max22

I've recently got into True Crime books, I think they maintain my interest because I know they're real and it actually happened to real people. In terms of fiction, I tend to go for horror. I not great with horror in film and TV but its much easier for me to read than to see it.


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## rebekahmichel

My favorite genre is memoirs. I love reading true stories about real people, it's much more interesting to me than fiction. Some of my favorite memoirs have been anything by Augusten Burroughs (he has a series of memoirs which is quite impressive) and Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls (about her strange father who dreamed of building a glass castle).


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## rebekahmichel

I also like true crime books, I've read tons of them, Ann Rule is probably the best, the Stranger Beside Me (about how she met Ted Bundy before anyone knew he was a serial killer) was quite fascinating.


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## KevinMckie

Fantasy is my favourite genre i think this is mainly because i love RPG games and their stories within them, for example Final Fantasy 7,8,9 had amazing stories and characters ... They dont make em like that anymore.. =(


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## jacqueline

Thrillers, Mystery/Suspense, True Crime, Bestsellers


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## JackKnife

KevinMckie said:


> Fantasy is my favourite genre i think this is mainly because i love RPG games and their stories within them, for example Final Fantasy 7,8,9 had amazing stories and characters ... They dont make em like that anymore.. =(


FF9! :glee: I definitely agree with you there, although I never played FFs before 7. Didn't much care for 8, but loved Triple Triad. FF9 was the bomb diggity. 10, I got bored, 11 I never played, 12 was horrible, 13 I refuse to touch...

Anyhow. Dystopian fiction. I love the idea of a futuristic world, especially one's that been drastically changed for some reason or another, and finding out how it differs from ours, why life is harder, and how characters get over the difficulties to establish themselves successfully (or do they?). I also have a weakness for zombie movies and books, for much of the same reasoning.


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## MisterTribute

JackKnife said:


> Anyhow. Dystopian fiction. I love the idea of a futuristic world, especially one's that been drastically changed for some reason or another, and finding out how it differs from ours, why life is harder, and how characters get over the difficulties to establish themselves successfully (or do they?).



Oh, JackKnife!!! Finally found someone who is also a fanatic of Dystopian fiction. I definitely agree with you--the idea of a world after the crumbling world caused by the faults (they say so) of the people of the past era just fascinates me. I usually browse in Goodreads for more Dystopian fiction, which led me to more, and made me more addicted.

I also have weaknesses for zombie literature. _(Hurray for similarities! High Five!)_

My favorites authors are: Suzanne Collins, Veronica Ross, and Lauren Oliver. Their works are in the genre of Dystopian fiction. Which is why I worship them.

I also love Adventure/Action. One (or should I say two?) of my favorite series is the Camp Half-Blood series (two series): _Percy Jackson & the Olympians_ and the sequel series: _The Heroes of Olympus_ by Rick Riordan.


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## newkidintown

Lit fic, especially children's. 

I like lit fic because, when written well, it is really imaginative and eye-opening. Take Michael Chabon's _The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay._ It focuses on Golden Age of comic books and what it was like to be a Jew during WWII (eye-opening), but the way the story is told is so imaginative and convincing that at times, I feel like I'm reading a biography.

I like children's lit fic because there aren't a ton of lit fic children's books that have the random, cliche, or generally annoying romance plots you find in the teen section or adult section (I'm not saying every book with romance is bad, but if I pick up a book that's supposed to be about being a concert pianist, I don't want 2/3 of the book written about a romance that has nothing at all to do with the plot).


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## chongjasmine

My favorite genre is fantasy.


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## shabazz

The best book I ever read is the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Although written originally in Portuguese, its been translated into 71 languages. This only tells that a good book will always be successful.
I like to read different stuff, nonfiction mostly. I love auto/biographies, a lot of folks have written great ideas in books, an example is REWORK by 37 signals, glad i read the book. i couldn't find it in the whole of Nigeria but a friend got one for me from U.K (bless her soul). 
I like Mario Puzzo(s) too, The scicilian especially, John Grisham(s). Random stuff generally.
Next time i'm out of Nigeria, I'll be buying me a box full of books I can't find here.


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## AgentZero

Favorite genre is horror. Simply put, I love to be scared. I could go in to tons of details about this, but there not that interesting.


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## mockingbird

My fave is Urban Fantasy cos that's what I have written and got published. It's so cool to create a fantasy world in the real world without changing the settings.


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## Jeko

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## Jeko

> Favorite genre is horror. Simply put, I love to be scared. I could go in to tons of details about this, but there not that interesting.



I'm loving horror at the moment, but I actually find it the most relaxing thing to read. Not much scares me. Might come from my Christianity.

What I'm writing is halfway between urban fantasy and horror. Like Percy Jackson but scarier, like Donnie Darko but less mind-bendingly insane. Fantasy and horror combinations are what I love. Exciting ideas with that no-holds-barred tension for every moment.


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## FridgeOtter

I love a good mystery, mostly because I love trying to figure out the culprit before the end. Though, I do think it is hard to find really good mystery novels. Usually, I'll have to do a bit of research before buying one. Unless it is a Christie. One can never go wrong with Agatha Christie.


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## SunnyE

I actually read anything I can get my hands on. I've found books I loved in every genre really. Right now I tend to gravitate toward YA Fantasy and Dystopian novels, but I'm just as happy picking up a Stephen King, Janet Evanovich, or Jeffrey Deaver. Keeps life interesting. I just finished The Hangman's Daughter set in 1650s Bavaria. It was much better than I expected. Would have missed out if I had stuck to my YA books.


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