What are you top three genres of books to read, and why?

I like true crime books. I’m interested in forensics, homicides, etc. I also like fiction suspense/mystery books. That’s just two, but that’s pretty much all I like.

Self Help – In a difficult time I found a book that was comforting and made all the difference. non – fiction Love by Leo Buscalia

Science Fiction – fiction The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

True Crime – Non – Fiction No Heroes, No Villians

1)Language
2)History
3)Science & Science Fiction

non fiction/comedy
eg.: David Sedaris

non fiction/historical biography
mostly artists, architects, etc.

graphic novels/comic books
since I was twelve years old

Not in any order (because I just can’t)...

Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Chick Lit

Crime, forensics (Patricia Cornwell)
Horror, fantasy (Stephen King)
Sci-Fi and Science

History
General Science (The ”Don’t Know Much About…” series are quick, fun reads)
Mystery (I still haven’t finished Dorothy Sayers’ canon)
English/Linguistics (I have all those The Story of English and The Mother Tongue-type books)
Sci-Fi/Fantasy (Pratchett, Gaiman, DNA, etc.)

Absurdist fiction (Kafka-esque)
Nation in decline fiction (Coetzee, Naipaul, Pamuk, Rushdie)
History, non-fiction.

If it has a front cover, back cover, and pages in between I like to read it.

4)Coloring book

mystery, history, whatever friends recommend

Fantasy – I think because it replaces in some way the excessive daydreaming I did as a kid
Sci-Fi – same reason as above
Classics – because they are typically well-written, thought provoking, and offer insights into the eras in which they were written (they became classics for a reason). Besides that, reading them allows me to recognize and grok allusions to them in other literary works (or non-literary, for that matter).

I enjoy many other genres and non-fiction as well, but these are the staples I usually turn to first if I’m just in the mood to pick up a book.

-i tend to gravitate toward books about/written by gay men (usually before i know who the author is/what it’s about. it just happens, i swear)
-i’m picking up on those dystopian novels, thanks to my english class. i genuinely liked 1984 and fahrnenheit 451.
-coffee table books! do those count? i know they aren’t all reading books, really, some are just photography, but i am fascinated by them.

i don’t know what category chuck palahniuk’s books would be in. if i could define his genre, he’d be up there instead of coffee table books. :p

Oooh, I love a good coffee table book! :o)

@tiffyandthewall I completely know what you mean. I love coffee table books. The good ones are great to look through. The bad ones let you know there is always a job to fall back on.

@amanderveen: Lurve for putting fantasy and sci-fi into separate categories.

For me, I like fantasy the most. Everything else is kind of secondary to my fantasy books. :)

I’m not sure exactly what my favorite genres are, but here are my most recent reads:

Currently reading: The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11 by David Ray Griffin

Read in the past couple of months; most recent first: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Stranger by Albert Camus
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
An Open Heart by The Dalai Lama
The Gospel According to The Beatles by Steve Turner
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Fiction – because there is so much potential for such a diverse amount of stories
Non-fiction – I’m interested in why things happen and why people do what they do in the real world
Mystery/Suspense – an interesting and intriguing genre that keeps me thinking and coming back for more

Memoir/Essays – I always learn something about the human condition.
Horror – I love to be scared.
Everything else – I love to read.

Historical Fiction/Diaries—I like reading about people in time/place context
How things work—math/science/practical; things that make me feel smarter
Mystery/Suspense

@augustlan – I get you about the horror books. I loved horror novels as a kid and used to routinely scare myself silly. I would gradually get to the point where I could hardly sleep at night and would have to quit them cold turkey. A few months later, I’d start reading them again and start the cycle all over again. I just don’t think I scare as easily now as I used to.

5) Porn

Crime—Novels in all sorts of sub-genres (mystery, police procedurals, PIs, amateur detective, suspense, historical fiction mystery, noir fiction, etc.) and true crime.
Biographies of musicians and scientists who did or do something really well.
Current events/politics/environment.
Fiction that could be called non-genre fiction.
How-to books.
Science fiction, especially dark near-future stuff.

Nautical fiction
Pre-1960 British mysteries
Steam- and cyberpunk

But I also tend to read by author. Currently working on Robertson Davies.

@eaglei20200: As a lover of mysteries, I’d be interested in what grabs you about “pre-1960 British mysteries” and “cyberpunk”. Do you care to share? Also, I’m not familiar with Robertson Davies. I’m very much listening if you want to discuss any or all of these. Cheers.

Btw, I’m not being facetious. I recently went to a reading of an author I like and came away with a reading list longer than my arm of new (to me) authors in a genre I love. I would enjoy the opportunity to discuss these these thing with someone. Take care.

My top three would have to be:
Young Adult
Fiction
Abuse/drugs