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

[gwyneira.livejournal.com]

I usually don't read horror, thrillers, romances (but for the occasional Regency), or Clancy-like stuff, but generally I'll read almost anything, fiction or non-fiction, which I think sounds interesting or a trusted source recommends (a trusted source being someone whose tastes and judgment I know are fairly similar to my own).

As far as genre classification, I've had to develop a fairly granular system for cataloging my own book collection; once it got over about 1000, just categorizing it as "fiction" and "non-fiction" stopped working. The non-fiction is more granular than the fiction at this point (e.g., history is generally by region and then ordered by date), but the fiction is getting steadily more divided into subgenres, and I have to fight the urge to subdivide it even more, lest my poor husband never be able to find anything.

Age classifications are one thing I always have a hard time with. I do have a children's book section, but a lot of bookstores and web sites divide the category further into "middle reader", "YA", etc., and I always have a problem finding things then. YA SF and fantasy are even more confusing, because the lines between YA and adult in those categories are sometimes fairly blurry.