• Welcome to BookAndReader!

    We LOVE books and hope you'll join us in sharing your favorites and experiences along with your love of reading with our community. Registering for our site is free and easy, just CLICK HERE!

    Already a member and forgot your password? Click here.

Alternating Genres?

shadforth

shadforth

Member
Lately,I've been drifting in my reading between straight fiction,fantasy,sci-fi,thriller,and animal fiction. I try and mix 'em up as much as possible,and wondered if others alternate between genres?
 
King Solomon was right when he wrote, " There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven." Ecc.3:1
I don't know if old Sol was thinking about the reading life when he penned this thought, but it sure fits.
I think it's only healthy and good for a reader to rotate their reading choices; some do it without planning, but some of us will plan to broaden our horizons outside our little zones. That's what forums like B&R and World Literature Forum are all about!
 
Ac / dc?

I alternate a lot. I usually have two books going at a time, one fiction and one non fiction. In addition, I usually have a third book on my mp3 player which I listen to on the treadmill, and that book can be just about anything.

When I finish the fiction, I go to my reading shelf and consider what book follows on what I have just finished. It can be completely different - something light after something heavy - or a extension of the most recent experience. Same with non fiction.
 
silverseason said:
I usually have a third book on my mp3 player which I listen to on the treadmill, and that book can be just about anything.
Click to expand...

Treadmills are kinda boring for me, a very monotonous thing. And I am not used to the idea of listening to audiobooks as well.

I like to exercise my body 'cause it prevents against stress and other stuff. So I prefer exercises that improve the development of my body muscles. While I do so, I can't even think of listening to audiobooks. A good story requires concentration and attention to be enjoyed and that's something I can't conciliate with physical exercises as I push it to my limits. So I listen to music while I perform physical exercises.
 
I usually try to alternate between genres. Whenever I find myself having less time to read for pleasure, when I do so I just stick to my preferred categories. That may sound close-minded but I'd rather read something I know I have a good chance of enjoying than to venture out just for the sake of doing so.
 
If I constantly read only one genre (or even just a few), I would become extremely bored and reading would become work rather than the beloved treasure it is to me. I have my favorites, but like to experience others as well.

The same holds for NF. Like each of us I suppose, I read lots of books on my favorite subjects but not to the point of boredom.

Sorry for the cliche, but I think it applies here:

Variety is the spice of life.

Cheers,
dan :)
 
I try to mix up my reads, shifting from classics to SFF to modern lit etc, although I try to only have one book on the go at once, otherwise I find that I muddle up the plotlines. In saying that, I do listen to non-fiction audiobooks when I go running each day. I tried fiction audiobooks, but I tend to zone out occasionally when I am listening, and that doesn't work too well when you're trying to follow a story.
 
How could someone stick with only one genre? Fiction and non-fiction stimulate different parts of our brains and nervous systems... and who wants to miss out on extra stimuli? Romance seems the most homogeneous genre. Many who read that read nothing else. Most people I know read only non-fiction and rarely or never any fiction. Same with movies: some people never watch musicals unless under threat. I would, cautiously, say the same for comic books. Many literature readers I know would NEVER NEVER be caught reading a "graphic novel" or a comic. Too bad, comics can also have high artistic quality. Those who stick to one genre, or even one medium, will miss out.
 
MonkeyCatcher said:
I try to mix up my reads, shifting from classics to SFF to modern lit etc, although I try to only have one book on the go at once, otherwise I find that I muddle up the plotlines. In saying that, I do listen to non-fiction audiobooks when I go running each day. I tried fiction audiobooks, but I tend to zone out occasionally when I am listening, and that doesn't work too well when you're trying to follow a story.
Click to expand...

Same here. I rarely ever read more than one book at once. I like to focus all my energy on one book at a time.
 
ewomack said:
How could someone stick with only one genre? Fiction and non-fiction stimulate different parts of our brains and nervous systems... and who wants to miss out on extra stimuli? Romance seems the most homogeneous genre. Many who read that read nothing else. Most people I know read only non-fiction and rarely or never any fiction. Same with movies: some people never watch musicals unless under threat. I would, cautiously, say the same for comic books. Many literature readers I know would NEVER NEVER be caught reading a "graphic novel" or a comic. Too bad, comics can also have high artistic quality. Those who stick to one genre, or even one medium, will miss out.
Click to expand...
My father only ever reads crime/mystery novels. And a little Christian non-fiction. Yawn.
 
bookworm fellow said:
Treadmills are kinda boring for me, a very monotonous thing. And I am not used to the idea of listening to audiobooks as well.

I like to exercise my body 'cause it prevents against stress and other stuff. So I prefer exercises that improve the development of my body muscles. While I do so, I can't even think of listening to audiobooks. A good story requires concentration and attention to be enjoyed and that's something I can't conciliate with physical exercises as I push it to my limits. So I listen to music while I perform physical exercises.
Click to expand...

Don't knock it until you have tried it. I just try to get in my weekly quota of walking, and in Connecticut climate (too hot, too cold, too windy, too wet, too dark) that is not easy. Walking outdoors I alternate between observation and meditation. Walking indoors, an audio book works for me. Especially something light, like The Abstinence Teacher. ;)
 
I don't stick to one genre but I get obsessions, at the moment I am into historical fiction and non fiction about a particular era, I will read a lot about this then move on maybe read a random classic or a random thriller then drift into another obsession perhaps with a particular author and read all they have done and so it goes on!
 
When making the list of books I read in 2008 I noticed that I tend to alter between a crime/mistery book and other genres. I didn't do it consciously though...

I prefer fiction to non fiction, and although I try to vary the genres I read, my method is very similar to silverseason's method: when I finish a book I just explore my bookshelves and wait until a book catches my eye.
 
The first thing i try to do is to alternate size.Say two short for a big.
Then deep to light.
Then new author to known ones.
Moderne and classic.
and yes ,genres too.

But most of the time,a last minute discovery ultimatly rule.
 
I alternate between both of them.

First I go with the hard boiled/hard drinking/chain smoking/women objectifying/overtly racist but somehow lovable detective novel and then I switch to any one of Regnery's fine political/cultural polemics.
 
I am all over the place.I am even contemplating reading war fiction that I was planning to give away...maybe.

The history of The Magna Carta sounds interesting too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top