The books I gravitate towards are mostly from the same genres: Crime fiction, Classics, Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction, Young Adult (YA), and Literary Fiction. I oscillate between which of these I enjoy the most, but I thought I’d rank them based on which ones I go back to the most for their common tropes, elements, and the overall vibe of it, while also offering a recommendation from each genre.
7. Young Adult
Despite being in my twenties, I still find myself reading quite a lot of Young Adult fiction and enjoying it. The only reason it has come last in this list is that, rather obviously, being in a different stage of life, I can occasionally struggle to relate, which is not necessarily a bad thing, when a lot of young adult fiction obviously isn’t written to appeal to an older audience. It just means that nowadays I find more consistent enjoyment in reading other genres, but there are still a lot of YA gems that I love.
Recommendation: Yolk by Mary H.K Choi
6. Classics
Classics are second from bottom because there is such a wide variety of things you can read under the term, across multiple genres, and I can always find something I’m interested in. The only reason they rank above YA in this list is that the vast amount of information available about classics makes it easier to pick ones that I won’t have a terrible time reading.
Recommendation: Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
5. Historical Fiction
I love historical fiction, especially when it’s set during WWII, but I enjoy other eras too. Not only do you get a full story, but you can also learn a lot about time periods in various countries from historical fiction, especially when the author has leaned toward historical accuracy. Obviously, you could just read something from the time period but I find the alternative histories and unique stories people come up with more entertaining.
Recommendation: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
4. Literary Fiction
Whenever I read literary fiction, I always feel like I’ve learnt something, and I enjoy the variation in tone, style, and subject matter that you get with it. I also enjoy that literary fiction is often character-driven as opposed to plot-driven and being bound up in the minds of the characters gives the narrative a fluidity that submerges you in their world, which can often lead to a quick, enlightening read.
Recommendation: Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan
3. Crime Fiction
Nowadays, I almost always stumble upon crime fiction by accident. When it comes to crime thrillers and crime TV shows, I watch them without thinking twice about it, but I tend to avoid reading books of this genre unless it’s by accident and then proceed to question why I keep misplacing my love for it. It’s always fun to guess the trajectory of the story, to consider who or what information we should trust and inevitably be satisfied when we’re almost-but-not-really, right.
Recommendation: The Perfect Couple by Jackie Kabler
2. Fantasy
Fantasy is one of those genres I can very easily get lost in, no matter how long the novel is. I love getting sucked into a fantastical world of someone else’s creation and discovering the little details they’ve decorated it with. Magic systems, mythical creatures and extravagant landscapes make fantasy novels the perfect escape from real life. I’d much rather read about characters trying to solve problems like stopping the end of the world than deal with my own, albeit smaller, issues.
Recommendation: The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
1. Romance
I think I gushed about my love of the Romance genre enough in my post ranking the most popular tropes, but I have to do it here again to round off this list. In my heart, there is nothing like the romance genre. Getting to read about two characters growing on their own and then finding a way to be together? It’s my perfect kind of entertainment and I love that it can feature in every other genre too. While romance, in general, isn’t everything, and I love other aspects of novels—like the characters themselves, the worlds, and plots—too, I can’t get enough of romance novels.
Recommendation: Writers & Lovers by Lily King
Now that my list is complete, I’d love to know what makes your favourite genre stand out from the others and if you could pick one book to persuade someone to change their mind about it, what it would be.
Read 'N Riot 