I spent 5 years reading the same 3 genres until my book club called me out

Last month at our book club meetup in Portland, someone pointed out that every single book I'd recommended was either a thriller or a WWII historical fiction. I got defensive at first, but then I looked back at my reading list from the past 5 years and realized it was true - I had 47 books and 42 of them fit those two categories. My friend Sarah handed me a memoir about a beekeeper in Montana and said 'just try something different for once.' Halfway through that book I realized I'd been treating reading like a comfort zone instead of an adventure. Has anyone else gotten stuck in a genre rut and had a club member shake you out of it?

2 comments

2 Comments

emmaj336d ago

You said "treating reading like a comfort zone instead of an adventure" and I get what you mean, but I actually think sticking with what you love is fine. Reading is supposed to be enjoyable, not a chore where you have to prove something to yourself or your friends. I read mostly thrillers and true crime and I'm happy with that. There's nothing wrong with knowing what you like and sticking to it. Life is hard enough without turning your downtime into some kind of personal growth project. Why force yourself through a memoir about bees if you'd rather be reading a tense murder mystery?

umamartin5d ago

@emmaj33 I get the comfort zone thing but for me the rut made everything taste the same if that makes sense. Like eating the same sandwich for 5 years. The bee book was actually pretty good once I stopped sulking about it.