Do You Have Literary Genre Bias?
How often do you step outside your literary comfort zone? I rarely stray from my three tried and true genres — nonfiction, contemporary fiction and historical fiction — but connecting with other readers on Instagram has opened my eyes to many reads beyond my usual tastes.
Preferring one genre over another doesn’t make you more or less intellectual than another reader. But, there’s a lot of pleasure in mixing it up from time-to-time. You wouldn’t eat the same meal for dinner each night, so why only read the same style of book?
While I have a long way to go before becoming a truly open-to-anything reader, I did take a few baby steps this year by tackling a cozy mystery, a graphic novel and a collection of poetry.
My Genre Exploration
Genre - Cozy Mystery: Also called “cozies” these are murder and mystery books for people that like violence to occur off the page. I’ve also learned they have a whole aesthetic that often focuses on food, interior design and animals. So basically, it’s if the Hallmark Channel, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, Animal Planet and the Food Network were a book.
What I Read: “Murder Past Due,” by Miranda James. A small-town Mississippi librarian and archivist at the local university, helps the police solve the murder of a divisive famous author. It earned the cozy designation for its love of food and architecture, small town charm and a Maine Coon sidekick, Diesel, the best part of the whole story.
The writing was mediocre, overly detailed and many of the characters were one-dimensional. The mystery itself kept me guessing, but I didn’t like how the main character declared early in the novel that he “disliked drama,” but spent the whole book stirring the pot.
Rating: 2/5 stars Dates read: December 9 – 19, 2020 Format: E-book (library loan)
Genre – Graphic Novel: While it could be mistaken for a comic book, graphic novels are usually longer form stories that span multiple genres. Many of those I see on #Bookstagram are geared towards teens or young adults, but “The Walking Dead” and “Watchman” also started as graphic novels.
What I Read: “Flamer” by Mike Curato. In this semi-autobiographical story, we follow Aiden at Scout Camp, the summer between middle school and high school, where he starts to fully realize he might be gay. It is beautifully drawn, impeccably written and emotionally raw – easily one of my top books of the year. Read the full review here.
Rating: 5/5 stars Date read: October 18, 2020 Format: E-book (library loan)
Genre – Poetry: As defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, “literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm; poems collectively or as a genre of literature.”
What I Read: “Don’t Call Us Dead” by Danez Smith. A collection full of blunt examinations of discrimination, police brutality, homophobia, sexuality, HIV/AIDS and white privilege. Smith’s writing is accessible, especially to novice poetry readers, but it also challenges and enlightens on each page. Read the full review here.
Rating: 4/5 stars Dates read: July 26 – 29, 2020 Format: E-book (library loan)
While the results were mixed, here’s what I learned about myself as a reader while genre-hopping:
I’m judgmental: When a #Bookstagram friend described the cozy mystery genre to me I knew I wasn’t going to like it. Why? Because it all sounded so manufactured and pandering. I’m judgmental in many facets of my life, but especially when it comes to books. While admitting this is a step in the right direction, it doesn’t change the fact that deciding what to read should be a judgment free zone.
Read with a buddy: Reading with others in loose agreements — meaning not a book club or having daily reading goals — is one way to hold yourself accountable to finishing a new genre without pressure. I buddy read “Murder Past Due” with two #Bookstagram friends that had more experience with the genre. They both finished before me and said it was a mediocre effort, which made me feel validated by my occasional eye-rolling. Plus, we had a snarky group chat that was more entertaining than the book itself.
One book does not define the genre: We know not to judge a book by its cover, but we also can’t judge an entire genre by a single story. Seems like a no-brainer, but we do this so often in life and it’s easy to do it with art. Like I said, my cozy mystery experience wasn’t great, but I’d read another one, and I’m eager to dive into additional graphic novels and poetry collections.
Time it right: Depending how different the genre is from your usual reading, it may take you more time to engage with the story. I purposely chose “Murder Past Due” after my reading goal for the year was met and I didn’t have other library loans coming soon. “Flamer” and “Don’t Call Us Dead” were short and easy to finish in a single sitting.
It’s okay to quit: I firmly believe that life is too short for crappy books — and that goes for all genres. It’s okay to not finish (DNF, for short) if a story doesn’t hook you, but my rule of thumb is to at least make it 25 percent of the way through before throwing in the towel.
Did you tackle any new genres this year? How’d they stack up for you?
