While reviewing my previous year’s reading in preparation for our annual Team’s Best Books event, I noticed an interesting trend. After a year where I had one of my worst slumps ever, my usual routine of reading widely was not working for me. This insight got me thinking about reading widely versus focusing on only one or two specific genres at a time. To quote the fabulous Carrie Bradshaw, “I couldn’t help but wonder” if one approach was better than the other. (Spoiler alert: not at all but it depends on the reader.)
Let’s chat about what reading widely and reading more genre-specific mean. Reading widely means choosing books that span genres, and offer a variety of styles and formats from all kinds of authors and time periods. In other words, a little bit of everything. Reading more genre-specific means opting for a narrower selection of titles from a specific genre. For instance, my father-in-law primarily reads historical nonfiction and my mother-in-law prefers cozy mysteries. As a bonus, their tendencies to read more genre-specific makes holiday gift-giving easy for us.
Since I had previously enjoyed reading widely, I was surprised to find myself becoming easily distracted, often bored, and more likely to abandon books that “on paper” should have worked for me. When I am reading widely, I often read a variety of titles I discover from our MMD community and Anne’s seasonal reading guides, including my favorite go-to genres—mystery, romance, and sci-fi, along with books that strike my fancy regardless of genre. Luckily, while researching a book list for the blog this past year, I read seven mysteries in a row and I couldn’t have been happier. Focusing on one favorite genre paved the way for me to get back to the stories I love and keep me engaged. With even more reflection, I realized this is an aspect of the literary lifestyle that I’ve come across many times and discussed with bookish friends and fellow book club members regularly over the years.
Now it probably goes without saying, but seasons of life can impact how widely we approach our literary pursuits. As a young and single professional, I would often pick wildly different books from week to week. It was common for me to wrap up a huge fantasy novel (I’m looking at you, Name of the Wind) and start a historical fiction, memoir, or family drama the same day. I had loads of time on my daily commute to tackle hefty audiobooks and plenty of weekends to dive into a new-to-me series. With such a large playing field, sometimes my reading choices would strike out while others were home runs but I was content with the assortment of titles. It kept my choices exciting and engaging and helped me hone in on what types of books I liked best.
Flash forward to 2020: like many other readers, I found solace in romance novels. As a mother of young kiddos with limited time to read and many worries swirling in my mind, I needed a love story that I could root for and a guaranteed Happily Ever After. Reading widely just wasn’t the kindest choice for myself or even practical at the time. To be a “Reader,” I had always believed (or been taught) it was integral to choose important books. As a result, I had thoughtlessly looked down on romance and other genre fiction for far too long, which truly was a disservice to my own bookish joy. After listening to Anne discuss these very types of readerly insights on What Should I Read Next for years, I finally realized that it was time to stop telling myself I should read certain things and gave myself permission to focus on the genres that were making me happy. Later on, once I was feeling more space in my life, I slowly added back in more variety, deciding I was ready to include books that didn’t always promise a happy ending. I started by dipping my toes into historical fantasy with The Song of Achilles, adding new-to-me classics like Rebecca and 84, Charing Cross Road, then reaching for thought-provoking mysteries that are grittier than my normal fare like Magic for Liars and The Dry.
However, I recently started to doubt myself when I felt the need to narrow my choices again. With the state of the world feeling heavy, I knew my current attention span and mental capacity would benefit from escaping into reads I would find comforting and entertaining. (Right now that is rompy romances with fabulous chemistry and humor; The Ornithologist’s Field Guide To Love is a great example.) Yet I felt the weight of shoulds leading me to try every type of book under the sun, like a player in Deal or No Deal searching the briefcases for an elusive jackpot. I decided to let my numerous book clubs choose the more broad choices in my reading line up and keep my personal choices more specific to my favorite genres that make reading fun for me. Hopefully this will be the best of both worlds and, if it isn’t, I know I can switch up my focus at any time.
I would love to hear the types of genres and level of bookish variety you choose in the comments below. Do you try a little bit of everything to spice up your reading life or do you prefer to deep dive a genre? Have you found your literary scope broadening or honing in over the years? Tell us all about it!
About the author
Brigid Misselhorn is our MMD Book Club Community Administrator. Her go-to genres are mystery, romance, and sci-fi. You can find Brigid on Instagram @brigid_emily.
37 comments
Mood reader here, so I read pretty widely, though I do find myself leaning heavier into specific genres at times. Lately the celebrity memoirs on audio have been a sweet spot for me, especially if read by the author.
Celeb memoirs on audio as a sweet spot sound great!
I liked your comment about book clubs. I find that I read with more variety with those choices. My preferred books are cozy mysteries, some paranormal and some not, but also like Viola Shipman stories about life. I also chose ebooks on sale in other genres, thrillers and fantasy usually.
Since the election, I’ve had a difficult time focusing on any book. My solution was to re-read books I had loved before.
I’m currently rereading Presumed Innocent, every book written by Kate Clayborn, well, you get my drift. Some of the books have been reread so many times I recall exactly where in the text one of my favorite sections reside. It’s helping.
Same. Hug. I’m finding solace in short stories, essays and poetry. Balm for a fried and short attention span at the moment. Alton Brown’s new audiobook is fantastic.
Jennifer, so glad to hear rereading is helping right now.
Yes! A Gentleman in Moscow is my comfort read, and I just gave myself permission to finish the book and then start back at the beginning in the same reading session.
Jennifer, this is a great idea! I rarely re-read because there are so many new-to-me books to read. However, my brain and heart could really use some comfort. This idea makes me think of how young children like to re-read the same same books because they know what’s going to happen and that’s comforting and affirming to them. I could really use that!
I love this reflection on how our reading habits shift with different seasons of life! I’ve definitely experienced both approaches—sometimes I crave variety, bouncing between historical fiction, memoirs, and classics, while other times, I just want to sink into the comfort of one genre (or author!).
Lately, our book club has been focused on build a reading rhythm that works for them and their kids, and this topic comes up a lot. Having littles is definitely a challenging season. Moms, in particular, often feel pressure to read “important” books, but I always encourage them to lean into what brings them joy. Reading should be nourishing, not another to-do!
It’s so freeing to realize we can shift between reading widely and genre-deep dives based on what we need at the moment. Thanks for sharing this—I’d love to hear what others are gravitating toward lately!
I belong to two book clubs. This one and an IRL book club. I let them pick my monthly widely based genre selections. Then, I leave one or two books each month for something that catches my fancy. Typically, that makes for a very happy reading life for me. Once in a while, I get a bad month, but all in all I am content. I like psychological thrillers, novels whose premise is a little outside the box, Cerulean Sea – maybe fantasy? Horror in the matter of Stephen King, Mysteries, Cozy books for those days when settling in and watching bad weather.
Alas! So many books – so little time.
Our book club is choosing a different genre each month this year to change things up. I’m looking forward to reading some genres that I normally wouldn’t choose. By the way, where is your cute tshirt from?
That is such a fun book club plan to do a different genre each month!
My shirt is from Bookshelf Tees, it is my favorite bookish accessory shop. The bad news is that design is older and she is thinking of closing her shop soon but the good news is there is still a lot of fun designs left. https://bookshelftees.com/collections/frontpage
What a lovely reflection on your reading trends. I noticed similar trends for myself when the going gets hard. The first year of the pandemic, I leaned heavily into YA. The second year of the pandemic, I read mostly romance. The third year of the pandemic I pivoted to novellas, mostly sci-fi and fantasy. Last year, I noticed a strong preference for fast-paced books, many still novella length, but some longer. This year, we’ll see; I’m trying to expand my reach, but it doesn’t seem to be sticking, and I keep reaching for romantic suspense. Thanks for your reflection and permission to find the joy in reading, wherever it may be!
Thank you, Amy Lynn! And if you would recommend any of those fast-paced books you read, please send them my way!
I love Achilles and her next book Circe.
Talk about a different gendre , I was riveted by The Devil on his shoulder , the book about the SC murder. The author did an awesome job of researching.
The Women is a favorite All the Colors of the Dark made me sad.I am reading The Fourth Wing now. Sci-fi relaxes me.
Interesting to think about. Some of my favorite reads are mystery and romance. While I have had some great reading years numerically recently, they have not been the most satisfying. I think if I lean to heavily into what I love, it can become a race to see how many more I can finish and of course the algorithms keep suggesting almost exactly what I would “like”. What I have found is that my more satisfying reading years come when I read some of what I like and some of what will stretch me , make me slow down and think or feel things more deeply.
So glad you have pinpointed what makes for your more satisfying reading years, Pam. And thank you for sharing!
I really resonate with your experience of reading widely vs. reading more genre-specific books. Each year for me, it seems, has been different, depending on what life throws my way. Currently, I’m in one IRL book club that meets every other month, and three virtual book clubs: Modern Mrs. Darcy, the Shakespeare 2025 challenge, and the 52bookclub2025 challenge. That gives me MORE than enough prescribed variety to my reading life! My personal choices currently lead towards romance and mystery, but I also love historical fiction, classics, and memoirs. I’m really working on putting less pressure on myself to read “all the books” and take the time to enjoy what I am currently reading.
Yes to less pressure and more enjoyment, Melinda!
I have always read very widely, and hope that never changes. Last year I read more sci-fi than usual, and didn’t care for most of it but was blown away by the sheer scope and originality of the Three Body Problem (despite its clunkiness and being “hard” sci-fi). I started a neighborhood book club 16 years ago and we still meet once a month, except for July. I never recommend anything because I’m curious to see what others will suggest. Sometimes I get a bye, as I’ve read the book already. Often I am pleasantly surprised. For March we are reading The Book Collectors by Delphine Minoui about people saving books in war-torn Syria. I had never heard of it but it feels like we really need stories of resistance these days.
No judgment on people who read for comfort, but I think of reading as a way to battle the stupefaction of social media. Sometimes it is hard to get through a 500 page book. I feel like I need to try anyway, to save my brain from atrophy and a perpetual mode of frustration and despair.
Deepa, what a cool and inspiring outlook on your reading! It definitely is a way to keep our minds strong and informed.
Book club has been leaning into a monthly theme and doing book flights (a la Ann). This month is Food and we picked a NF, Alton Brown’s new book (highly recommend the audio) and a F, Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame (cozy British baking story). It’s really been a hit and inspired more reading such as Stanley Tucci books and the NF collection of essays, Salty.
That said the state of America has me feeling brittle. Almost too brittle for favorite, comforting books (anyone else?). So I’ve been leaning into short stories, essay collections, poetry. Bites I can enjoy, put down and come back to weeks later if need be. I’ve also found myself drawn to fantasy lately, not my normal genre at all. Escapism much?!
Normally I’m a very seasonal reader! Winter is for classics, spring and summer are for contemporary reads, mysteries, romance, autumn I love a moody academic story, and I totally read the Hallmark movie equivalent of books around the holidays.
Ashley- that monthly theme idea from your Book Club is so clever!
And you are not alone in that feeling, I have always been an essayist reader but when I had a huge reading slump in late fall short stories were my bridge back into reading. Have you read the recent short story by Fredrik Backman, The Answer is No? It was clever, quick, and a bit absurd.
Lastly, good point about seasonal reading! I tend to read seasonally as well and think that might a great post for discussion in the future.
I belong to a genre fiction book club and a Very Literary Book Club and I think this reflects the main thread of my reading life. I have advanced English degrees, but I never gave up reading mysteries while I was studying. (I’ve never believed in a high/low distinction.) Like you, I did focus on romance to get me back into reading after a long layoff during the pandemic.
I love that you never gave up your mysteries while studying, Nikki! And I totally agree about not believing in a high/low distinction in books or art or other media like TV, movies, and music.
After forty-one years of teaching English, I retired three years ago. I decided to read anything but classics. This was my time and my kind! So for two and a half years,
I have been reading “love trash!” It’s been so much fun!!
More recently, I’ve thrown in a classic or a reread of a loved book.
Reading life is good and therapeutic after being an English educator!
Jackie, I love your retirement reading plan of “anything but classics” how fun and joyful. (Not that Classics can’t be fun sometimes too, haha)
I enjoyed your reflection as it just helped me make sense of my recent reading choices!
After years of barely reading at all (the baby fog years), a number of years ago I heard Anne on a podcast and her description of a couple books caught my attention. I read them and loved them and found this book club online. As a result of this book club, I have read far more widely than ever before and I loved it….until last summer when I realized that the first six months of the year were months where I was trying to read widely but was struggling and not loving it. The IRL world seemed heavier and darker and I felt like I didn’t have the capacity to explore in my reading life as widely as before. In the fall, I picked up a Louise Penny book (where I had left off in her Inspector Gamache series) and loved it!! So I read another mystery and another and another…and I had the most lovely reading season in a while!! I’m still reading mysteries 6 months later and hope that at some point I’ll be able to branch out again, but for now, I’m happy to read stories where confusing things get sorted out, things that don’t initially make sense come together in a rational way, and issues have resolution.
Until your post, I didn’t really realize that this is what I’ve been doing. This may help me going forward as I pick what I should read next! Thank you!
I tend to alternate. I have a list on Goodreads of what I would like to read. I belong to a book group, that I have been a part of for almost 30 years, and we read various genres. I usually read that at the beginning of the month, then read books on my list.
I almost never read the same genre twice in a row! 😆
Variety is the spice of your reading life!
This was almost a balm to my frustrating reading life right now!! I have experienced your restlessness all year. The world is way too heavy right now. I need good stories with good story telling, sans war, politics, etc .
So glad this could be a balm to your reading life, Patricia. It definitely was to mine as well.
Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire series is my go-to when the world feels just a bit too chaotic and worrying. There’s something calming about her writing despite a large number of the books being set during WW2.
Hi Brigid!
It was fun to be with you in the member paperback swap the other day! I tend to stick to the genres I love – historical fiction, mysteries, thrillers, memoirs. Recently, though, I noticed my apprehension about picking up a book longer than 350 pages. I used to love LONG books, but now I like to go through books quicker. I am not sure if I want to have a larger number of books read at the end of the year or if I just want to change up genres more often. Ironically, one of my reading goals this year is to read The Count of Monte Cristo – 1000 pages! I guess I am in a confused reading state, but not a slump. I go from one book to the next very quickly. And yesterday, I did start a 500+ page book, so I plan to just sit back and enjoy it! (It is Kate Morton’s Homecoming.)
Monica, it was fun to see you too! And what a great point about book length. I touched on how I was able to tackle long books easily when I was younger and single. But what I didn’t add is that I too shy away from them lately. I think the time constraints and shorter attention span are guiding me to short reads I can enjoy without a huge commitment. However, I will add that even though The Count is LONG, I read it back in 2020 and was so entertained, it seemed to fly by! So I guess it truly depends on the book.
Thanks Brigid for encouraging me to meet my goal of reading The Count of Monte Cristo this year. I think I will need to do it slow and steady, along with other shorter books mixed in with it!
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