What is your favorite genre of book? Mine are mysteries. And you?

[debm55]

Last edited Tue Oct 14, 2025, 12:53 PM - Edit history (1)

[OLDMDDEM]

1. Mystery/Thriller

[debm55]

6. Thank you very much, OLDMDDEM.

[Mad_Dem_X]

2. I would have to say biographies.

Although I do read fiction (mostly Stephen King), I am fascinated by other people's life stories.

[debm55]

8. Thank you very much Mad_Dem_X. I also enjoy reading historical biographies.

[Coventina]

3. I fell in love with Sherlock Holmes at the age of 12 from reading "Study in Scarlet"

I've had a fixation on tall, thin, brainy, emotionally unavailable men ever since.

I love mysteries too!!

[debm55]

9. HAHAHHAHAHAH. Thank you very much, Coventina

[SheltieLover]

4. Cozy mysteries written with lots of humor and animals integral to the story.

A hint of the paranormal is always good, too.

[Coventina]

5. OMG! I love cozies!!! Do you have a favorite series?

My all time favorite might be Cadfael, but I also like a lot of the "witchy" ones.

On edit: should have included the "Miss Silver" series, that really introduced me to the genre.

[debm55]

10. Great choice, SheltieLover. Great choice.

[lark]

7. Sci/Fi, Fantasy, Action adventure, spooky stories (King & Koontz) historicall novels, biographies.

I love to read and read almost anything. I read every day. I also like political books like Sen. Frankens books occasionally.

[debm55]

12. Thank you, lark. Excellent choices.

[MIButterfly]

11. Mystery is my favorite genre.

I also like biographies and political books (from the left, of course!).

[debm55]

13. Thank you very much MIButterfly. Wonderful choices.

[madamesilverspurs]

15. Historical novels

Just about anything by James Michener (currently re-reading The Source, timely). Also, Herman Wouk's Winds of War and War and Remembrance are compelling.

Back in the early '90s when I was essentially bed-bound for months, a friend brought a box of books he'd purchased at a yard sale. It was a series about the country's westward expansion, and each book was named after a state. In one of the books the author wrote about a family's journey in a covered wagon, wherein one of the children riding in the back begged her father to stop the wagon so she could get out and claim the prairie dog puppy that was running after them. Ye gods.

.

[debm55]

16. Thank you very much, madamesilverspurs. Those are great choices. Thank you for sharing.

[3catwoman3]

29. "Herman Wouk's Winds of War and War and Remembrance are compelling."

Indeed they are. I learned way more about WW II from those books than I ever did from any history class.

I thought Robert Mitchum and Polly Bergen were woefully miscast as Pug and Rhoda Henry in the TV miniseries. Wouk made mention so often of Pug being short and stocky, and Rhoda being taller than her husband that Mitchum and Bergen just did not fit the visual. I think Carroll O'Connor would have been good in that role.

[debm55]

37. Excellent choices, 3 catwoman3, I too like to read the book before seeing the movie to see castong changes and what was

done to the book,

[catbyte]

17. Nonfiction, earth sciences and meterology, history

I'm a science geek.

[debm55]

23. HAHAHA, Thank you very much, catbyte. I married a science geek.

[mike_c]

18. it varies, but I've mostly been reading history and biographies lately

[debm55]

24. Thank you very much, mike_c. Great choices of books.

[peacebuzzard]

28. Same here

especially historical characters of the New World. It is fascinating, terrifying and real and surreal how we actually came to this point in time.

[mike_c]

34. I'm especially interested in 20th century world history

I lived through half of it, but wasn't paying much attention, lol. There's so much to learn about how we got here!

[debm55]

38. Agree, with you peacebuzzard. And in this point in time, it will only get worse.

[WmChris]

19. Science fiction/ Fantasy

Not the current administration's version of fictional science.

[debm55]

25. Wonderful, WmChris. Thank you for sharing.

[Polly Hennessey]

20. Include me in with the mystery crowd.

I love Cozies. Usually read them at bedtime. Right now I am reading Vicki Delaney and one of her Sherlock Book store mysteries with Gemma as the lead. I am in love with David Rosenfelt and his Andy Carpenter character along with his beloved Golden Retriever, Tara. Next on my bedside table is Flop Dead Gorgeous.

For daytime reading now it is Michael Connelly’s, The Waiting with Bosch and Ballard.

Also, reading Henry V by Dan Jones. One of my favorite kings. The other being Richard III. 📖📚📚

[debm55]

30. Wow, You really love to read. Thank you, Polly Hennessey for all your current selections.

[sinkingfeeling]

21. True crime and then mysteries.

[debm55]

31. Thank you very much sinkingfeeling. I have been watching true crime on my tablet.

[efhmc]

22. Mysteries but not the gore and macho man type.

[debm55]

39. Agree with you efhmc. I not into gore books and movies.

[applegrove]

26. Non fiction. Cultural histories.

[debm55]

40. Wonderful choices, applegrove.

[exboyfil]

27. Horror

Used to be Science Fiction. Some Fantasy.

My preference anymore is for standalone books and not series. I got a real taste for Day 1 scenarios (often this is horror SF like zombie outbreak, alien invasion, kaiju, etc).

I prefer true monsters and not human monsters.

[debm55]

33. Very interesting. Thank you so much, exboyfil, for sharing with us.

[3catwoman3]

32. It depends entirely on what I'm in the mood for, and that varies a lot.

Sometimes mystery or true crime. I like most of John Grisham's legal stuff. Sometimes lightweight chick lit/romances. Historical fiction. Biographies.

Not much into horror/scary stuff. Never read any Stephen King and probably never will.

Also. I am a re-reader. I'm a pretty fast reader, and if there's a story I've really enjoyed, I always find some details I didn't recall or notice in the first read thru.

I know a lot of people think re-reading a book is a waste of time because, "You already know what happened." My counter to this is that most people have no problem seeing a favorite movie more than once, or listening to a favorite song again and again and again. Why should it be different with books? Some authors are such superb wordsmiths that I just really enjoy re-experiencing the skillful way they put words together. It's like the words feel good rolling around in my brain.

[debm55]

41. Agree 3catwoman3. I used to like scary books in my younger days. I agree with rereading books, especially mysteries as

there might have been things that I missed.

[ProfessorGAC]

35. Rock Star & Band Bios

Just a couple months ago, I finished a book on Glynn John's, the legendary producer. Enjoyed it greatly.

[debm55]

36. Thank you very much, ProfessorGAC. It sounds very interesting.

[dickthegrouch]

42. Sci-Fi, Action adventure, Spies

With an emphasis on the scientific aspect.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the "Ell Donsai" and Laurence Dahners' other series.

David Collins' "The Artifact" series.

Skyler Ramirez "The Worst..." series.

Nathan Lowell's recent series, while fiction, reveal some of the development and implementation issues surrounding rapid adoption of new technologies, which are very real to this career-diagnoser of why new tech sometimes fails. His "Traders tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper" series are perfect for any teen starting out in Sci-Fi.

I've never understood why people lump Sci-Fi and fantasy together. I couldn't care less about fairies, unicorns, or other BS I've encountered in the very few fantasy novels I've mistakenly started.

I'm not fond of endless wars either. Give me more realistic Sci-Fi, such as the authors mentioned above, and I'm really happy.

[debm55]

43. Great choice of reading books and variety of selections. Thank you very much, dickthegrouch.

[LogDog75]

44. Mysteries, Thrillers, and Science Fiction

I like reading novel series where you follow the main characters through different stories. Authors like John Sandford, James Patterson, Lee Child, Douglas Preston& Lincoln Child, C.J. Box, and Michael Connelly.

I like the older science fiction writers like Issac Armstrong, Ray Bradury, and Ben Bova.

[debm55]

47. Thank you very much, LogDog75. I have read all the books in the Outlanders series. It is set in Scotland and characters

pass through stones to a different time. Waiting on the last book--number 10 in the series.

[marked50]

45. Sci-fi/Bio's/History-n/t

[debm55]

46. Thank you very much for sharing. marked50

[some_of_us_are_sane]

48. Mysteries, yes

and horror.

[debm55]

49. Thank you very much, some_of _us_are_sane.

[MustLoveBeagles]

50. Mysteries

[debm55]

51. Thank you very much, MustLoveBeagles.

[JoseBalow]

52. I mostly enjoy historical non-fiction

and Russian literature.

[debm55]

53. Thank you very much, JoseBalow, for sharing your books with us.

[choie]

54. Non fiction

preferably history!

[debm55]

55. Excellent.choice.Thank you for sharing.

Last edited Tue Oct 14, 2025, 10:50 PM - Edit history (1)

[choie]

57. Thanks for asking!

[Diamond_Dog]

56. Mysteries/thrillers. Scandinavian noir. Biographies. History.

[debm55]

61. Thank you very much, Diamond_Dog. wonderful.

[Trueblue Texan]

58. I enjoy a good mystery...

…but especially love literary and historical fiction.

[debm55]

62. Thank you, Trueblue Texan. I sometimes read historical fiction.

[Norrrm]

59. Historical fiction.... Based on some history with some enhanced story telling.

The Source by James Michener.
Master and Commander.
Shaka Zulu
Shogun

Just a few examples out of many.

[debm55]

60. Thank you very much,Norrm. Great selection.

[Morbius]

63. Science fiction.

I was never a huge fan of fantasy but I absolutely love the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett.

I like book series in sci/fi, like The Expanse series (S.A. Corey) and the Honorverse & Safehold (David Weber). Fun to read, like popcorn in binders. I also am a fan of history, especially lately.

[debm55]

68. Thank you very much, Morbius. You have a wide variety of books. Yes, for the History.

[wendyb-NC]

64. Cozy Mysteries

I like other genres, of course, such as non-fiction, biography, science, historical fiction, and history. I like fast-paced thrillers, but less lately.

[debm55]

67. Thank you very much, wendyb-NC. Thank you for your unique selection of books.

[GReedDiamond]

65. Mostly ART BOOKS...

...books about art history, artist biographies (especially Marcel Duchamp), art movements, such as dada/surrealism and pop-art, plus the contemporary(?) "art movement" pop-surrealism, if that's still a thing, cuz its been around for like 30 years.

Mark Ryden being a great example of that.

[debm55]

66. Thank you very much, GReedDiamond. Wonderful genre of books.

[electric_blue68]

69. Various Sciene Fiction. Maigical Realism...

I read many of the greats Clark, Asimov, Bradbury, Simak, Sturgeon. Then the "New Wave" came along in the ?70's - read more short storiy anthologies than novels. 80's David Brin's Uplift Universe, Lost track of novels in the 90's onward till about ?2018 try to read more re ebooks/library (not too successfully yet). Oh I kept looking at the SF section at B&N (until a yr or two before covid) through all that time. So there's authors I know of '90s+ but not read. Competing interests with modest $ was an issue (still is, even more so)
Actually I just remembered I had started checking out SF anthologies from the library in 2017+ then waylaid by covid.
.
Haven't read the Latin authors that made the Magical Realism more known?
Read Forever by Pete Hamill, and Shoeless Joe Jackson (just finished) but the movie Field of Dreams (a favorite!) is considered MR which I saw in the movie thearter.

I might be interested in some Historical Fiction. I read an SF 2nd of 2 novels by Connie Willis - about WWII London which was SF bc there were time traveling historians visiting the period.
I just recently finished Kindred by Octavia Butler. A 1976 early 20's Black woman is repeatedly pulled back into slavery time in ?Virginia.

Re SF Maybe I should look up Best SF novels of the 90's, the 00s etc

[debm55]

71. Excellent selections, thank you very much, electric_blue68

[Emile]

70. Anything by John Grisham.

Legal Thrillers

[debm55]

72. Terrific. Thank you Emile.