Live a Little: Try Reading Some New and Exciting Genres

We tend to find a type of book that we like to read and stick to it. We always find ourselves drawn the shelf with specific genres displayed and from there we rarely stray! Some of us are hopeless romantics who love to curl up with a romance novel while some prefer something darker or even downright scary. As much as we enjoy reading the same genre though, there are dozens of others there just waiting to be discovered by our habitual minds, so why not consider living a little and venturing into the other side of the bookstore?

With so many different genres to choose from, it can be a little overwhelming and tempting to just stick to what you know, especially when it comes down to possibly spending your money on a book that you’ll hate. One way to decide what type of work to try out next could be to consider what you hope to get from the book. To make things a little easier, I’ll break it down for you…

If you read for stress relief, then you might want to check out one of the following genres as they tend to be a little more slow paced and relaxing: romance, fantasy, self-help (like a book on managing stress or relaxation techniques!) and erotica ( stress relief at it’s finest!)

If you’re an information junkie, then any of these are likely to tickle your fancy: biography, autobiography, history or current affairs.

If you’re an adrenaline junkie, then you’ll enjoy the way these genres get your heart racing: drama, mystery, thriller, horror or adventure, of course.

If you read for an escape, then any one of these will help make you feel like you’re a million miles away while reading: science fiction, fantasy, mythology, and romance—especially historical romance—and finally erotica.

If you’re looking for a laugh, then these obvious choices are for you: comedy, comics or chic-lit (think Bridget Jones’ Diary).

Impressed? To think that barely even scratches the surface of the genres out there just waiting to be discovered by your hungry mind and imagination! Yes, there is a chance that you may not like every book that comes your way when you stray from your usual, but you’ll never know what entertaining works you can find until you try. And if you really haven’t got a whole lot of money to be experimenting with genres, there are other avenues you can take on your quest to spice things up in your reading life; libraries are a no-brainer since they are, for the most part, available daily or you could try a book swap! These are easily found online and you can swap the books that you’ve already read for those that other members have already enjoyed as well. Aside from shipping of the books, there is no charge for joining one of these groups.

Go ahead and give a few different genres a try. You can try several on for size until you find the perfect fit for you.