Some bookish people happily read from one, or perhaps several genres, not caring when/which they read. That seems nice. That seems… healthy. It is also not at all how I operate. I seemingly cannot read a book of one genre and then pick up another book of the same (or even a similar) genre after. I don’t know how this started, and presumably I wasn’t always like this. I know, because I used to devour dystopian after dystopian like it was going out of style (which ironically enough, it was).
This makes me think that people fall on some kind of genre reading spectrum that goes like this:
Bet you can’t guess which is me… 😉
And look, it is all fine and well to read however the hell we please, right? (I have a NEW GIF for this, thanks, The 100!)
Except what about when it actually gets in the way of my reading? Like, I read The Dream Thieves and then refused to read Dreamfall next because they both had something to do with dreams maybe. Then, I wouldn’t read Given to the Sea right after reading The Seafarer’s Kiss because you guessed it, they both involve the sea. Even though one is legit about actual merpeople and the other is most assuredly not. And if a book contains one element that is potentially similar, I am ruling it out. Now apparently based on titles, which I have said before that I should not be allowed to do.
In case there are any lingering doubts to the sheer nonsense of this, here is my Goodreads books read this year:
Do you see a common theme? No, exactly, you don’t. Because I have been so ridiculous in trying to make sure that nothing overlaps, that it is getting hard to even choose books. It’s almost impressive, if you can move beyond the sheer insanity of it all.
What provoked this?
I think I actually know! So you know how sometimes I do “dual reviews”, especially when I have reviews of books with similar elements/themes? Well, that kind of got started because I was reading too many books with similar themes back-to-back, and then ended up reviewing them together. And often I found myself feeling like “wait- I just read this one!”. So instead of just trying to not read books with the same exact themes too close together, I apparently decided to just… not ever read any books of even almost similar genres in a row, ever.
So now, my reading looks something like this:
Read a contemporary? Next book better be as outlandishly sci-fi as possible. Just finished a book in space? Well let’s grab a historical fiction set in a cave where no one has ever even heard of stars. There were kings and queens in that last one? This one better be all as far removed from rich and/or royalty as possible. Better get back to the cave people, except wait, you just read that other cave people book.
I understand!! I do!!! I mean, Im’ not sure what I’d do if I was left SOLELY to my own purposes, but when I reserve library books and get ARCs, they’re never all the same genres, so I have to switch it up a lot in order not to fall behind due/release dates. And I kind of like it??!? It keeps things interesting! I don’t have a problem, per se, with reading the same genres back-to-back…but I generally go from like contemporary to epic fantasy to a comic to an adult book to a middle grade…etc. I often look at my Goodreads and laugh. SO MUCH VARY. SO MUCH AWESOME.
Like my 4 latest reads were: Red Sister (adult epic fantasy about nuns/assassins) + The Other Life (magical realism about Norse gods and highschool and mental health) + The State of Grace (lower-Ya contemporary about Autism) + Vote Loki (totally dumb Marvel comic haha) ??
SO I RELATE TO THIS POST A LOT.
Haha, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this before! For me, personally, as a mood reader, I just sort of pick a book from whichever genre I want to read from. For the second half of last year, I read pretty much nothing but thrillers and horror, but I’ve started to mix those up with PNR, the occasional contemporary, a sci-fi novel. I think I pick a book up more because of premise over what genre it comes from.
But, I’m sure that if I looked at all I’d read this year, it’d be a variety of all sorts of genres. ?
I think switching up genres is a good thing! I tend to read a lot of the same genres honestly. I do not have a system but I try stagger the genres if I have enough to do it. My variety usually comes in my audiobooks from the library. That is where I fit n nonfiction, more adult fiction, and usually any scifi/fantasy. So it is kind of normal 🙂
Interesting. I’ve never thought about this. I can read whatever, whenever. I am getting kind of sick of nonfiction, though. I have a ton of it on my TBR shelf, so I’ve read a bunch of nonfiction books in a row. My next book will definitely be fiction.
I think reading the intricacies of your system just melted my mind a little. LOL I have my favorite genres and I tend to stick pretty close to them. And then once in a while something else will catch my attention and I’ll throw in something new and different, enjoy it, and then settle back into my comfort zone. It works for me. That being said, I’m a *total* mood reader so it’s all about what I feel like reading when I reach for a new book to read.
I don’t know who’s worse off in this situation: You with no genre overlapping or me being a mood reader. I can imagine that finding books and not having anything overlap ever is a very difficult thing to do, but what happens when every book you pick up has a tiny detail (that you exaggerate in your head) that makes you despise it from page 5 and onward? We all have our quirks, some have it better than others I guess C:
I used to exclusively read contemporary novels, but as I slowly delved into fantasy, historical, dystopian, etc., I started switching up my schedule. Now I read one contemporary and then a book of another genre. Then a contemporary. Then another genre. I’ve been doing it for about a year now and I enjoy it. It helps cleanse the palate, I guess.
I do this quite a bit actually! I think lately I’m a little more flexible though. There’s no in-between: either I’ll binge 10 contemporary books in a row, or have to read a different genre in between each one. Also, I think it’s a little different since I’m usually listening to an audiobook at the same time. If my audio is fantasy, my physical copy has to be contemporary.
I’m the opposite! If I read a book that I liked, I get stuck and only read books that are like it. Same with sub genre. I pretty much only read fantasy, but I read like a bunch of Epics, then a bunch of YA, or Urbans in a row.
If I didn’t like a book then I want something totally different though. It’s like I have to get that bad taste out of my mouth. Haha
I actually think this makes a bit of sense, because you don’t want to judge two books harshly because they seem too similar since you’re reading them back-to-back. However, I tend to just read what whatever – if I’m feeling it, or it’s a review book. I don’t read a ton of genre books though, so I don’t have this problem all that often. Most of the books are just contemporary or mystery.
-Lauren
This doesn’t happen to me as often, I think once I year I go through a GREAT GENRE SWITCH. Right now I’m feeling adult contemporaries, but I’m sure next month I’ll be on to something else!
Isn’t it fun being a bookworm?!
I know this feeling, I am a person that gets stuck in a genre every so often and I normally try to switch up genres as I read so I don’t get stuck in a rut but it’s hard. I normally notice I go into a reading slump if I read one genre too much but then I really struggle to stop wanting to read one genre on repeat. Basically, I just try and read what I want and hope it doesn’t end up being the same genre constantly.
All I can say is that I’ve only read two books this spring break. I read them both on the same day. The books were If I Were Your Girl and The Other Boy, both of which are about transgender teens. And yes, it felt really weird to read such similar stories back to back, although it also really highlighted their differences.
You just blew my mind with this. I am a mood reader, and I read too many contemporaries, but I don’t plot the way you do. I like your commitment.
Sam @ WLABB
I have never thought of this quite like that but yeah it makes sense. I am totally (I think) on the “reads whatever/ whenever” side. I change it up quite a bit. Which doesn’t exactly make it easy to have a”niche” for my blog, but I can’t help it, I’m a mood reader. I can go from space opera to UF to contemp etc etc with no problem. Looking at your list I think it’s impressively eclectic, but I see what you mean- I can totally see your point.
If nothing else you’re keeping it fresh? :):)
Nice with Jasper there. 🙂
OK. Remember last year when I made the TBR Jar and said I was going to become a mood reader and read however the hell I liked? … Yeah, I lied. I have pulled maybe two strips out of that jar, which is now sitting on The Man’s entertainment center below the TV. I don’t really foresee it working for me until I pull everything out and redo the strips with NetGalley backlog books and no color coding system so it really is like a box of chocolates.
This is how I operate now: When I make my monthly chit chat posts, I review and update my upcoming reads section with 5+ books and I stick to those for the following month. I typically get 3-4 wiped out each month. I am that Type A person that makes it look like “work.” This year I REALLY want to recoup some ratio % with NetGalley.
That being said, I try to switch it up a little bit in terms of variety and genre or sub-genre. This month, however, I have straight solid romances all the way through.
It sounds healthy to me- variety is the spice of life! I do sometimes go on a jag, where I read two or three books in a row of the same genre (always while listening to an audiobook of a different genre, though), but mostly I jump around as well. At least in terms of general themes. It feels more diverse and grown up that way. So….go, you. 🙂
I think this is awesome!! You get to read all the different books!! I am terrible at this and tend to just read the “me” books all the time and never try new things. Every year I SAY that I’m going to read the space books and the epic fantasies and every year I do nothing of the sort and read books about teens set in present day that have super messed up things going on. I wish I could read more like you because it looks way more fun!!
I read what I feel like when I feel like it. Sometimes this means a string of books in the same genre. Sometimes this means jumping age groups and genres every book, or every other or every few. There’s no real system to it, though I can see advantages and disadvantages to having a system. Like avoiding cross-contamination when you read two books with similar themes or settings close together. Or, on the flip side, not being able to pick up a book you’re dying to read when you want it. I guess find the balance that works best for you?
haha I do something similar SOMETIMES. I probably fall more in the middle of your scale but sometimes if I really like or reallly hate a book I might be more choosey. Like if I HATED a book, I’ll probably avoid anything with similar elements because I hated that one so much. But if I LOVED a book, I might want to read something similar because maybe I’ll love the next one too! I don’t know, I’m a mood reader, and a genre switcher, and it’s basically impossible for me to EVER pick a book to read no matter what guidelines I set >.<
Okay, I think we have found an area where we are not exactly alike. I don’t avoid books of similar genres—especially not to the extent that you do! But I HAVE found that I’ve had that problem where two books are too similar and they start to blend into each other and I find myself getting confused, so now that I’m thinking about this, it’s seeming like a better and better idea …
This is something to be proud of, Shannon! It adds variety to your blog and your reviews. I follow quite a few bloggers and rarely read their reviews because it’s just another romance novel review or just another mystery novel review. After a while they all start to look and sound the same. I like following bloggers, like yourself, that have a variety because there is a greater chance I’ll discover something new!
Since I am a mood reader, I find that during certain times of the year, whether I mean to or not, I read along a theme. Last year it was carnivals and circuses. WWII comes up quite frequently and of course time travel, I can’t get away from it. I love it so much! 🙂
I totally understand this!! I definitely try to switch genres because it can really get confusing in my head if I read too many fantasies in a row, for example, so I try to break it up with a contemporary or a historical fiction. It’s also hard when reading a longer series with 3+ books, all in a row. I need to make sure I’m careful because writing reviews is difficult since the books in a series blend together. Awesome post, Shannon 😀
Brittany @ Brittany’s Book Rambles
IT’S OKAY I AM EXACTLY THE SAME. KIND OF. You know, I didn’t use to like contemporary, but then I realized that contemporary books CAN be amazing, and now I switch between fantasy and contemporary. But then I get super tired of a certain genre, and I have to switch. I DON’T EVEN BINGE READ SERIES BECause I NEED A “BREAK”. When I really don’t. So idk
I love this post!! I agree with you that the hardest part if you read two of the same genre back to back is writing the review since the book is so fresh in your mind you might overlap the two reviews! I do try and switch up my genre from book to book I just get more bored if I read the same genre all the time.
Ahhh, I fall off of your proposed spectrum entirely. I read almost ENTIRELY in the same genre: fantasy. I’ll flip between high fantasy and urban fantasy and between adult and YA pretty liberally, but it is a rare thing indeed that I read a non-fantasy book. In fact, how I manage my genres on my site has a “non-fantasy” category instead of delineating between contemporary and historical fiction or whatnot, because otherwise there would just be one or two each.
I’m actually more picky about back-to-back authors than genres. Ever since I discovered I get author burn-out when I read 5 or 6 books by one author back-to-back, I have started avoiding reading 2+ books by the same author in a row unless I’m a) reading something else at the same time; b) re-reading; c) absolutely infatuated and not in the mood for anything/one else.
For me, it doesn’t really matter I guess. (though I used to mainly read contemporary but I’m slowly changing)
While it is true that I read a contemporary book after Six of Crows, can you blame me? It’s absolutely gargantuan!
I’d say I’m surprised but I’m not. HAHAHA. But I admire how adamant you are at keeping it all separate. I am pretty balanced in the middle of this. I can read more than one contemporary or fantasy or romance in a row, but after awhile, I need a change. I feel like I HAVE been switching it up a lot more recently, but I think that’s also more because of me being in a “I want to read EVERYTHING AT THE SAME TIME” mood. Unless the book has hooked me, I find myself starting more, and then going back to them. And generally, they’ve been in different genres. But I don’t do this consciously. Also you are one book ahead of me right now, and I can’t have that. *runs off to finish another book or two* :p