My Genres classification

Hello bookish people,

Since I am young, I saw my reading taste evolve, and the easiest way of seeing this is how I consume book genres. For most of my bookish life, I had a tendency to focus on one genre. For example, I was only reading fantasy when I was between 14 and 16 years old. Now, I grow from this thing, and I am reading different genres at the same time. But which genre is the most recurrent on my bookshelves? Which genres do I struggle the most with? Let’s go for a dive into my relationship with genres!

The most popular

I never realised that I have four main genres on my shelves: contemporary, fantasy, romance and historical. Even if I usually don’t search a specific genre when I am looking for books, it looks like I tend to go to those genres.

• Contemporary: I am a great fan of this genre as I love to learn about people and their struggle in society, what they love, hate, etc. Sometimes, you learn a lot of things about actual problems, even if this fiction. I don’t have a specific age category for this genre; I read as many young-adult as adult or new adult books.
  • Recommendation: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman
• Fantasy: This is one of the genres that I always go back to; however, I only read low fantasy or young adult fantasy. This genre is the best to escape reality, even when the story has an anchor in our contemporary world. The only problem I have with this genre is that it’s always composed of series and verse. I like it as you have a great idea of the world created by the author; however, it’s a commitment to read fantasy (and I already have so much series.)
  • Recommendation: The Grishaverse, Leigh Bardugo
• Romance: It’s always a great thing to read them. However, I don’t like some tropes that you can find in this genre. For example, I am not fond of the enemies to lovers trope as most of the time, it’s not really well done. I find the reasons for the hating, not enough for them to be enemies. Also, one trope isn’t as present as when I was 14ish years old: the love triangle. I hate it, as most of the time I don’t believe it, or I clearly don’t care. Also, I find that in romance, nothing can go smoothly; you need to have an argument or something that “break” the couple (and sometimes it comes from nowhere.) I struggle with that, but you know a good romance is always a pleasure to read. I think it’s the genre that I’m the pickiest about my books.
  • Recommendation: Red, White and Royal Blue, Casey Mcquiston
• Historical: I am a fan of this genre as I love history, it was my favourite subject at school. However, there is one thing that I don’t particularly like in this genre, and it’s the fact that most of the time, you have a dual timeline. The problem I have with the dual timeline is that it disturbs the historical parts and is not always necessary. Some are well done, but it’s not the majority of them. As you have a lot of research done for the historical parts, those are well-done; however, the contemporary parts don’t add anything to the story. It’s too much, but sadly nowadays, it’s a common construction of the book.
  • Recommendation: The Paris Library, Janet Skeslien Charles

Certainly my favourites if I read them more

The genres in this category are wider genres than in the previous one except for one, which is very specific. There are three of them: non-fiction, graphic novels/comics/mangas and cosy mystery.

• Non-fiction: I started to read it with essays about feminism, and I liked it a lot. Then I read my first memoirs last year, and I was, “I need to read more of them.” It takes me a lot more time to read them than fiction, but I think it’s the best way to understand a thing. Every time I read them, I learn a new thing: society, the world in general, or me. I like this genre, but I know that I am not reading them as much I would like to read them.
  • Recommendation: Becoming, Michelle Obama / Difficult Women, Helen Lewis
• Graphic novels/mangas/comics: They always have been in my life. I read french graphic novels and mangas for a (very) long time. I started to read them thanks to my father, who read them a lot. However, I read them less as the years pass. Now I like to have some and have the option to read them if I want something quick and easy to read. The only new thing is the comics that before I never read, but now I have a tendency to read, and I have a great time doing it.
  • Recommendation: Heartstopper, Alice Oseman / Blackbird, Sam Humphries and Jen Bartel
• Cosy mystery: This genre is the one I start liking with TV shows before reading them. My favourite author is Agatha Christie, so I watched all the TV shows and films with Miss Marples and Hercule Poirot. The thing that I like about these books is that they are short but surprising. However, I don’t read them as much as I would like to.
  • Recommendation: Dumb Witness, Agatha Christie

The one I want to read more

Those are the genres that attracted me, but they aren’t the ones I will choose right away. I would like to read them more than I do, but hey! I have a ton of other books that I’m dying to read! There are three genres: modern poetry, thriller, modern classics.

• Modern poetry: I began reading this specific genre back in 2018 with Rupi Kaur’s book. I never was a fan of poetry, even when I was at school and we needed to study them. For me, poetry can be the most personal expression, and I never connect to these texts, so I decided that it wasn’t for me. Then I started to discover new poetry that connects more with my emotions and experiences, and now I am reading (not a lot but still) poetry.
  • Recommendation: The Black Flamingo, Dean Atta
• Thriller: I like thrillers; however, I struggle with the pressure I feel while reading them. That’s an explanation like another to explain why I am not reading a lot of them. Clearly, before reading a thriller, I pressure myself, and I try to imagine what can be in this book. I know that’s the worse to do, but I don’t know why I have these habits. I anticipate those books even if I don’t want to, and let me tell you, it’s worse when I am actually reading them.
  • Recommendation: One of Us is Lying, Karen M. McManus
• Modern classics: I have a problem with classics in general since I am 17 years old, as for school we needed to read them, but I don’t feel that you have time to appreciate them. It was read this book, study it in class, that’s all. As I wanted to be back at reading classics, I decided to read the one I had as a great souvenir and discover others. As that one was modern classics, I found that it’s a good thing to start like that before reading older classics (before 1900.)
  • Recommendation: Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier

My struggle

They aren’t my favourite, but I give them a chance from time to time. There are four of them: dystopia, science-fiction, classics before 1900 and poetry before 1900.

• Dystopia: I never was a fan of this genre, and I tried to like it. I read many of them when this genre was popular, but it’s a nope for me. Now I am happy to read just one per year and in general, I am more attracted by the ones which are for adult.
• Science-fiction: It’s a complicated genre for me. I read my first science-fiction book when I was 13-14 years old, and I loved it. I thought that was a genre that I would continue to read; however, I don’t like it every time I tried to read a book. I am sad about this fact, but I am still trying to find the one that will make me feel like this book has. For now, I didn’t, and each disappointment doesn’t help me to read this genre.
• Classics before 1900: I explained it for modern classics; it’s difficult for me to read classics. However, it’s worse for classics before 1900, and I tried. The thing is, I also feel that I missed a big part of literature because when we studied texts at school, it was always French authors as I am French and went to a French school, but I always wanted to read and study English authors. Don’t ask why; I don’t know myself. I wanted to read Jane Austen instead of Victor Hugo or Dumas.
• Poetry before 1900: I just don’t understand them, and I tried, and I am still trying. I found them too insubstantial; it’s definitely not for me, maybe in some years, but absolutely not now.

My try out

There is one genre that I would like to try, and it’s high fantasy. I am not used to this genre, but I have a good base as I read low fantasy. I think that I would like it, particularly if the world is complex.

Here is the end of the genres that I have on my bookshelves. I like to explore new things or to try (again) a new genre. And you, which are your favourite genres? Do you like to go out of your comfort zone? Are there some genres that you absolutely can’t read? Don’t hesitate to comment on your bond with them!

See you next time,

Liz.