Are you a well rounded reader?

[djk42]

Many of you participate each month, even though the books are very different, and others are often reading from three different genres on any given week.

Who is like me? I read almost exclusively (other than parenting, breastfeeding, birthing books which all moms pretty much read I figure) Christian Historical Romance. Who else has a favorite they don't often leave? Tell us why.

[Ursula]

Am I a well-rounded reader? I'm fairly rounded. I read more fiction than non-fiction, but I do read some non-fiction. I don't read Mysteries, Crime, horror, nor Romance.

I tend to read literature and popular literature. I prefer a book with a female protagonist and I often will put a book back on the shelf if it's a male author, for fiction, that is.

[k-mom]

scary books! I love Dean Koontz, Steven King, and John Saul:)

[SusanH]

I don't think I am, but DH is on record as disagreeing with me. ;)

I rarely read nonfiction, so I think that is a huge mark against me. Lately I've been trying to read more history and biography and I always mean to read science and essays, but I'd have to say 98% of what I read is fiction. And I tend to get stuck in certain genres/periods for long stretches of time, reading everything I can from one author or group of authors. I don't read mysteries or horror at all, although I did as a teenager. I tend to stick to classic literature, occasionally venturing out to modern/20th century writers. Lately I've had an odd (for me) desire to read romances and other very fluffy stuff, which I hadn't done since high school.

[amykw33]

I'm a lurker, but have been meaning to hang out here more often and actually open my mouth!!!

I was a lit major in college, and I found that I read mostly 19th century literature, both because I was assigned many such books, and also, because I really enjoyed the period. I particularly enjoyed French writers like Zola and Balzac, and I had a great affinity for George Eliot and George Sand.

Lately, however, I've been reading a lot of contemporary American fiction. One of my favorites is a writer from Mississippi, Barry Hannah. Harold Brodkey is great. So are Philip Roth and John Cheever (ok, Cheever is not exactly contemporary). Some of the writers I've been reading lately are Rick Moody, David Sedaris (well, he's an essayist, though at Borders he's categorized as fiction...), Lydia Davis, A.M. Homes and Jonathan Franzen. I have a book by Thomas Lynch I'm eager to read (he's a writer whose other career is that of funeral director). I also have a biography of Lord Byron that I've heard is lots of fun, and one day I'll get to that.

I also go to our local library a lot, and I kind of use that as my license to "play" -- I get cookbooks, personal finance books, and health and nutrition books mostly. I find that I can go back and forth to those books while I'm playing with my children, and I don't have to re-read passages like I do when I'm reading good fiction.

I must admit, I am somewhat snooty when it comes to fiction. I really don't care for popular fiction, like the Grishams and the Clancys of the world. I love Anne Lamott's non-fiction but don't care for her fiction much. We have a lot of non-fiction here that I would love to read, but I don't have the time. I have a few books on chaos theory that I'm interested in reading, and we have a lot of rock criticism (Greil Marcus, etc.) that I've just not read yet.

I just wish I had more time to read!!! :D

[SusanH]

Nice to see you here, Amy! :) I hope you post more, it sounds like you are reading some interesting authors right now and I'd love to read your thoughts on them. :)

[Caryl]

I read mostly fiction, but enjoy some non-fiction (especially essays, memoir, and books on topics that interest me like parenting and teaching.) If you put dh and me together, you'd probably get a fairly well-rounded reader, as he only reads non-fiction, most recently on topics like calculus, Einstein's theory of relativity and songwriting.

By the way, welcome Amy! You sound like a definite book lover. :) Glad you're joining us!

[woggly]

I'm not a well-rounded reader, but I find it hard to classify what I DO read. Mostly books that are marketed for children or teenagers, that can be classified as fantasy - but not any book matching this description will do, by a long shot. My favourite author is Diana Wynne Jones. In my experience, people have either never heard of her, or are fans themselves, though she's gotten a bit of boost in the past couple of years because of comparisons with the Harry Potter books. (IMHO DWJ's books are much more sophisticated, but have that same endearing spark of mischief). Other authors I've enjoyed reading recently are Lois McMaster Bujold, Robin McKinley, Neil Gaiman, Garth Nix... and many more. And I used to read a lot of plays and poetry, but that's slacked down a bit.

[Satya]

I am not well-rounded as a reader, although I would like to be. That's one reason I'm trying to read in the reading circle here. If it was left up to me I'd be reading science fiction and fantasy stuff all the time with some classics thrown in (like Jane Eyre.) and a corny romance every once in a blue moon. Occasionally I'll read stuff by authors like Kingsglover etc. I almost never read mysteries or horror novels. One time I began a Steven King novel and had a really bad dream about it. It was really starting to affect me so I stopped reading it and haven't gone back since!!

[Eljay]

I love reading and am trying to be more well-rounded. I too, love historical fiction, but have also started reading the classics, like Jane Austen, the Brontes, etc. I've gained a much better understanding of modern day English (and how we've butchered the Queen's English along the way). I've got a fair number of non-fiction books, (various topics) which I enjoy too, but right now I haven't got the time nor energy to concentrate on non-fiction for too long. I also enjoy biographies and sometimes just a straight history book!

While historical fiction has taken me all over the world, (there are lots of places I'd love to visit!) it has not brought me home to Canada. This is such a shame, because we also have a long history (almost 500 years) and yet I can't find any Canadian historical fiction. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places but I'm embarrassed to admit how little I know about my country's history.:o

So, any Canadian storkies have some suggestions on this one?

[kiwikids4me]

I'm with Ursula!

Ok, I try and be well rounded when I visit the library but I do tend to read female authors and authors who use a female as their lead. But then again some of my favourite books of all time are by males. This thread is inspiring me to think outside the square. Good idea.:cool:

[kiwikids4me]

Originally posted by kiwikids4me
I'm with Ursula!

Ok, I try and be well rounded when I visit the library but I do tend to read female authors and authors who use a female as their lead. But then again some of my favourite books of all time are by males. This thread is inspiring me to think outside the square. Good idea.:cool:

[Lisa Jo]

Compared to the original poster, I am very well-rounded! ;) However, the range of books I enjoy is actually pretty narrow. Like Ursula, I gravitate toward female authors with female protagonists. Interestingly, two books I found fascinating and well written, Memoirs of a Geisha and Midwives, had female characters but were written by men.

I enjoy fiction more than non-fiction, and my non-fiction reads tend to be either light and funny (Ruth Reichl, David Sedaris, Al Franken, Michael Moore) or parenting books. I very rarely do mysteries, fantasty, sci-fi or romance stuff.

[djk42]

Eljay- Jeanette Oke is Canadian and sets many of her historical romances in Canada. :)

[Eljay]

Thanks djk42! I'm familiar with Jeanette Oke but have never read any of her stuff! (Obviously not familiar enough- I didn't know she's Canadian nor that her stories are set here). I guess she hasn't really captured my interest.

Are her stories believable? Are they predictable? I'll admit I'm tired of stories where I can predict what's happening pages in advance. Anyway, I'm curious now, so I guess I'll give her a try.

Thanks again!

[djk42]

Yes, they are mostly predictable. (Typing without looking at the screen, hope this is viewable.) However, her newest series, Song of Acadia is really good.