Genres

[mrissa]

Okay, you people, I'm in a restless mood sitting here writing my book, and that means it's question time on the livejournal. What I want to know about this time is genres and subgenres:

Do you have genres you definitely don't read? (And if so, what?) Do you have subgenres you definitely don't read? (And again, what?) Do you have genres or subgenres in which you'll read very nearly anything? Does genre have anything to do with what book you get in the mood for, or do other characteristics have more to do with what book you choose to read at a given moment? For what else do you use genre (recommending books to others, finding it in libraries or bookstores,...)? Do you feel certain that you know the difference between genres? Between subgenres? Do you make up your own categories? How do you categorize nonfiction, if at all? Do you consider age indicators (middle-grades, YA, etc.) to be genres or some other type of categorization or completely irrelevant to you or what? What does it take to get you to read a book in a genre you usually dislike? Any other genre-related thoughts you want to share with me? Is the word "genre" starting to sound nonsensical the way words do if you repeat them enough?

Comments

[gaaneden.livejournal.com]

I don't read westerns and I don't read most romances. However, I will, upon occasion, read supernatural romances.

I usually go in spurts in what I want to read. Sometimes, it is high fantasy. Other times, it is cyberpunk science fiction. Other times, it is "apocalyptic" - which can be both fantasy or science fiction.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Oh, now that's interesting: how do you find apocalyptic books for yourself, if that's what you're looking for? There's no section of them in the bookstore, and I haven't run into a list of them, and sometimes it's not clear from the covers how apocalyptic something is or isn't.

[gaaneden.livejournal.com]

It's not easy. A lot of time, I have to look for books that discuss the "End" or "Cataclysm" or "War" that has ended the world as we know it. It usually includes something about having to make their way "across the devastated landscape" or "through the wastelands to pockets of civilization." Things like that. It is hit or miss to tell me if the books have the "feel" I am looking for.