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

[wshaffer.livejournal.com]

There's almost nothing that I won't read, if, for example, a trusted friend presses it on me saying, "No, really, you've got to read this!" But I almost never read romances, thrillers, or westerns. There are particular subgenres I tend to avoid - I have a deep dislike of anthropomorphized animal stories (except, oddly enough _The Wind in the Willows_), and epic fantasies have to convince me that they're significantly better done or more original than the rest of the pack. I'm much more likely to read horror if it's supernatural, and mysteries if they're historical.

In non-fiction, I make a rough distinction between "books read for fun" and "books read to learn a specific skill" (like books that teach foreign languages or programming languages). In things like histories and science books, I also make a rough distinction between "popular" and "scholarly" works.

Age indicators like YA are sort of a partial genre. A YA is very likely to have a young protagonist, and to be about the kinds of problems and concerns that a young person would have. It's also statistically likely to be a short fast read. It's specific enough that I can say to myself, "Gee, I'm in the mood for a YA." But it still leaves a lot of territory unspecified. I almost never read YAs that aren't SF or fantasy.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

For non-speculative YAs, I've enjoyed Garret Freymann-Weyr and Sara Ryan, but you can blame sdn for that. I recommend both.