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

[dendrophilous.livejournal.com]

I read fantasy almost exclusively, and it's usually other-world fantasy. I only started reading urban fantasy in the past few years, but I like it.

I like space opera, though I tend not to pick it up unless it's somehow recommended, and I detest the sort of hard science fiction where the book is about the science rather than the people.

I go through phases. I no longer read much quest fantasy. At one point I read a ton of mysteries. Went on a YA kick after reading Harry Potter (I'd stopped reading YA when I got too old and hadn't yet gotten old enough to start again).

I never read romance or westerns or horror or thrillers (though I've read anywhere from a few to many of each in the past) and I hardly every read mainstream, so I stick to the SF section of bookstores.

Nonfiction: I don't read nearly enough except for excessive newspapers.

I realize I ought to expand my horizons, but it's not as if I ever run out of things to read.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Why ought you to?

[dendrophilous.livejournal.com]

Variety. Because I think that ideas spark other ideas. If I read a variety of books, I can draw on elements of everything. It expands my toolbox, even if only subconsciously.