As I've discussed before in this post, I'm a mood reader. I read what I want, when I want, when I feel like I want it...I'm a boss like that. *wink* And I've always been a pretty ecclectic reader (but that's a post for another day, in the works, don't worry), meaning I'll read almost any genre depending on my mood. But if you asked me my favorite type of book/genre to read a few years ago my answer would be very different than it is today which led me to this question...
Are you a genre jumper?
What do I mean by this? We all have our favorite types of books we tend to gravitate towards, be it fantasy, contemporary, paranormal, young adult, adult, etc.. But has that gravitation changed course? Personally, mine has. Oh, my gosh I laugh at how much my reading tastes have evolved and changed and opened up. When I started blogging, I was ALL about dystopia. Gimme gimme gimme all the dystopia, all the time.
Now? I can't tell you the last time I read one...and a GOOD one at that. The issue? Probably the mass saturation of the market pushing all things dystopia in my face diminished my love because the caliber and uniqueness of the dystopians being written about became sub-par. What started off as such a fascination for a messed up world became a dime a dozen. I felt like there was such a demand for 'the next Hunger Games' that the genre lost it's luster for me.
And while I was head over heels in love with dystopia, I could count on one hand the number of comtemporary books I read. No really, I shunned them. I wanted nothing to do with any love story or any world that wasn't extremely fucked up. Today? I'm still picky with my contemporaries because I want my angst real and the emotions believable but I am so much more open to reading them because the best ones are the ones I can relate to in my real life. When did this happen? I'm not sure
exactly but I know it has a lot to do with Katja Millay and Colleen Hoover writing books I could connect to. Books that made me feel. Books that made me believe in love and acceptance of self.
So I'll admit it. I'm a genre jumper. I was a self-proclaimed dystopian queen and today I hardly touch them and tend to gravitate towards more contemporary/historical romance, historical fiction, and all things fantasy.
What about you?
Have your reading tastes changed?
Have you alwasy gravitated towards the same kinds of books?
Are you a genre jumper?
Oh, I think it's safe to say that I certainly alternate when it comes to the genres I read primarily at any given point in time! I used to be all about fantasy, all the time; it's funny to me now considering how often I indulge in contemporary reads. I'd LIKE to think there's a nice balance between the two these days, along with a sprinkling of romance reads too.
ReplyDeleteI think it's quite fun to jump between genres! I'm a bit of a mood reader too (though I also have a schedule, which is confusing I know, but makes sense to me), and I generally jump from genre to genre if I want to spice things up or need a change. It helps me not to get sick of any one genre ;)
I was just thinking about this yesterday! I went through a period in my life when I didn't read (I call those the Dark Days), and when I really started reading again, I was all about the vampires and other supernatural stories. But yes, it was during that time that the Twilight series was gaining momentum and the Sookie Stackhouse novels were being made into a TV show. Then I joined a book club and a couple of the girls in it were totally into YA and I became hooked. And then I gravitated towards dystopians because that's what was big at the time. And until I started my blog, I didn't read much else. Now I like a healthy dose of YA and adult, sci-fi, dystopian, and contemporary, and I'm really loving the high fantasy right now, which is in an upswing in the market, I suppose. But I recently went through my to-read shelf on Goodreads and pared it down, and you know what I took off without question? Vampire and supernatural books. I'm just not interested anymore.
ReplyDeleteI think the market is good at highlighting different genres at different times, so that we can expand our tastes. And if we end up letting go of a genre, it's okay, and it's not necessarily just because it's not a major genre at the time, but maybe as we refine our tastes, we learn to let go of those genres we just don't love. Great post, Kelly!
I’m in the same boat as you. I was never a big fan of contemporary. I thought it was so boring and I avoided it like the plague. For whatever reason, I have been starting to enjoy contemporary in the past couple of months! I can’t figure out what happened that caused this, but I’m rolling with it :).
ReplyDeleteWhen I first stared reading I must admit I was all about dystopian worlds, but like you said it lost that uniqueness and luster to it. :( But I am really into fantasy at the moment, *drool*
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child and even on up through high school I was ALL about fantasy - the more epic, the better! I avoided contemporary like the plague. My senior year and into college I fell hard for mysteries and while I still fell back on fantasy a time or two, I was in love with authors like Steve Berry and Preston & Child.
ReplyDeleteThese days I tend to bounce around a lot more - some days I'm in the mood for a fluffy romance, other times I go back to gritty crime novels. That said, I'm still reluctant to read contemporary (especially YA for some reason!) but I recently devoured a Trish Doller novel and am on the lookout for similar reads, so who knows! Maybe this is another turning point in my reading preferences.
Oh, definitely! I was all about American historical fiction (American Girl, Dear America, Little House) before Harry Potter. Then after Harry Potter it was all fantasy all the time. Once that was done, I found my academic niche (19th-cent British literature) and went back to historical fiction, this time with adult and based in Europe. And now I'm a blend of MG fantasy or mystery, YA contemporary/historical/fantasy, adult historical/soft fantasy. It's all over, and I know it'll change as soon as I latch onto something else and become obsessed with that, but until that movement arrives, it's a mish-mash.
ReplyDeleteIt's really interesting because I think I got totally burned out of dystopia because of the hunger games and divergent crazy. however, I think I'm gradually becoming okay with it again (just binged UNTS and looved). However, I was always the FANTASY girl. I never read contemporary before blogging! Then last year when I looked back I had read WAY more contemporary. I was so surprised. I like to think I have a balance between the two buuut based on my flights of fantasy challenge -- OOPS! Which is the whole reason I did that challenge in the first place because I didn't want to be neglecting a genre I love!
ReplyDeleteI guess all that to say I really bounce around but am happy to say that I do think I'm a fantasy girl at heart -- they have the stories that grip my soul. Not to say I don't have contemps I ADORE but you know what I mean.
Taking a look at my spreadsheets this year, I know I'm focusing a lot on contemporary and fantasy reads, and that's not a bad thing, but it does make me wonder if I need to broaden my reading tastes. I have some mythology and dystopian in there, but it's small and not major, and that's an issue, but still, if it's what I like to read, it shouldn't a problem right? Genre jumper I am a little, considering how different fantasy and contemporary are, but full on - maybe not so. Great post! :D
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