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Studious Saturday: Why we should read books in a different genre

studious saturdays

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”  – Dr. Seuss

Welcome to another Studious Saturday post! This one is based on genres and why I think it’s a good idea to for us bookworms to step out of our comfort zone and try a book in a different genre. If you read my previous post, Three Bookish Things Book Tag, you may remember that this was one of my goals for this year and I can safely say that I have achieved it by recently finishing one of my Science Fiction choices, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading something completely different to what I usually choose and wanted to share my views on why I think you should do the same.

• Understand your preferences better

Even if we leave the new book half-way through or decide it is not for us, it would still work in our favour because we would now have a much better understanding of our likes and dislikes and the types of books we have no interest in reading. The perfect example is Classics – many of us were forced to read at least one Classic at school and we may have decided that we have no interest in this genre based on the book we read years ago. However, we may be surprised upon reading a different Classic at a later age that we appreciate the characters and plot much more. Alternatively, we may choose a Classic or any other book in a genre we are not used to and soon leave it. It might not mean that we should completely discard this genre based on just one book but at least we would be in a better position to analyse what didn’t work and why we may or may not return to this genre at a later stage.

• Getting out of a reading slump

We all know the dreaded feeling of being unmotivated to start a new book or carry on reading the book we recently started. In these tricky situations I would advise to try a new genre. Changing to something fresh and distinct is always advised in many other circumstances in life so why can we not apply it to reading? In fact, I believe that experimenting with a completely unexpected reading choice is a healthy way to restart our motivation and put us on the right path back to our bookcase/library/book shop. Personally, I was feeling frustrated with some of the Thrillers that I had read before I decided to embark on the new adventure of Science Fiction but shortly after finishing it I realised that I was ready to return to my favourite genre and attack it with a newfound enthusiasm that I was lacking before.

• Different genre, different perspective

For me, the main advantage of switching genres is the fresh perspective we would encounter, a concept that I realise is difficult to grasp if we are used to always reading the same kind of books. New characters, a change in pace and a completely different setting are just some of the aspects we may face and of course there could be many more depending on the degree of the change in genre. In my case, jumping from my usual choice of Thrillers and Crime to Science Fiction felt like a huge step because the setting is  completely contrasting to that of the usual Thriller. However, I would not be surprised to see less disparity between Thrillers and Horror or Romance and Young Fiction, for example.

Question

Is switching to a new genre something that you may consider or do you prefer to stick to genres you know you enjoy?

That’s all for this week! I will spend the weekend looking through my feed and reading all your blog posts as I was not able to follow your posts as usual because of a very hectic and busy week. Have a relaxing weekend and happy reading!

 

8 Comments

  • nightcapbooks

    I have my favorite genres (mysteries and thrillers), but I love to mix it up sometimes. One way I do this is by participating in reading challenges. So many different topics can be included in one challenge. It makes for a very interesting reading list. There are a lot of great books out there, and sometimes I find new favorites in genres I typically avoid.

      • nightcapbooks

        Right now I’m working on the Popsugar reading challenge. Earlier in the year I did the Book Riot Read Harder and the Modern Mrs. Darcy challenges. They all had some good reading prompts that got me reading stuff I normally wouldn’t have picked up.

    • facingthestory

      That’s a great idea! I can see how it makes reading more exciting and you feel more willing to start a new book in a different genre. Thank you for your kind comment, as always!

  • Sophia Ismaa

    First of all, I love that you’ve used a Dr Seuss quote! It’s perfect for this post.

    I completely agree, I feel that if you want to expand your knowledge, live and breathe different experiences, histories, cultures, worlds and perspectives, then you have to read from different genres! I’ve been doing this since I was a child, and I don’t intend on ever stopping. However, I have dismissed science fiction after reading Hitchhiker’s Guide, so I should give it another go… it’s just that book, in particular, wasn’t for me.

    • facingthestory

      I agree with you 100% on this. Switching between genres opens up your mind to so many excellent authors and great books. Regarding Science Fiction, I also thought that it wasn’t for me but I recently read a brilliant Sci Fi book called The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet which I just loved so I’m now much more open to the genre. I haven’t read Hitchhiker’s Guide though so I can’t comment on that one.

      • Sophia Ismaa

        I’ve been reading so many wonderful reviews of The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, so if I want to dive into that world again, I think I’ll begin with that novel. Thanks for the recommendation!

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