Read what you want? Or branch out because you “should”?

[Anonymous]

I do a mix, but heavier towards "what I want".

I like the challenge of reading slightly outside my comfort zone, but there are also certain eras and styles of writing that I have little interest in.

I read quite a bit, so my ratio would be something like 60 books I know I'll love and 20 that I find challenging every year. Also, reading multiple books a once helps this - I take my time with the more challenging ones and have the easily enjoyable ones on the go when I don't want a challenge.

[Anonymous]

I'm too old to care what other people think about what I ought to read. I like historical fiction/mysteries/romance, fantasy (YA and adult). Some of the historical fiction I read is in the "literary fiction" world.

I do sometimes remind myself to branch out to settings that are different, as historical genres tend to focus on certain settings/time periods.

I admit that I roll my eyes at anyone who calls certain genres "low brow." Reading is reading, whether it's graphic novels or bestsellers or the classics. I don't think anyone should look down on others for loving books that are from a different genre.

[Anonymous]

I read for pleasure. I read what I like. If I don't like it, I will quit. There should be no guilt or shame in DNFing a book.

[Anonymous]

Branch out. Maybe their’s a new love out there waiting for you. Great to grow! Great to mix it up. Discover

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in a book group and some of the selections are not what I would generally read, and most of the time I'm glad I did - it's been a great way to discover new authors and talk about books that have been reviewed well etc.

And I also read old favorite authors, genres I enjoy, and the occasional juicy mystery or beach read.

This is 100% me too! My book club challenges me, but sometimes I am happy when I finish the assigned book and can read something less heavy.

[Anonymous]

I read what I want - Mostly best-selling non-fiction and my favorite authors like Tartt Allende and Kingsolver.

For the past year I've been reading with a book club - the people are great! Dedicated responsive thoughtful readers - but the books are terrible. Real conundrum b/c I love the people but hate the books.

Best book club i've ever been part of was called "anything goes" and every month we got together in a nearly empty pub on a sunday afternoon and we each got 10-15 minutes to talk about the books we were reading. It was very stimulating - met some great people and learned about a lot of new books!

[Anonymous]

I read what I want, but sometimes I do read something different because my husband or a friend recommended it, or whatever, and often will really enjoy something out of my comfort zone. I had a book group I really liked for that reason: we read books I would never have chosen, but quite liked. I read pretty broadly normally, but even so, I find it's good to stretch a bit every once in a while

[Anonymous]

Read what you want but be open to the possibility that you might enjoy and/or learn something from another genre or nonfiction. So branch out not because you should but because you can.

[Anonymous]

I read what I want which is mostly popular fiction heavy on detective novels. I do also enjoy historical fiction. My one exception is I read every book my kids need to read for school. So this summer I read 1984 because that was on the summer reading list. This makes it possible for my kids and I to have conversations about what they are reading. My oldest is a senior in college and she still send me a title every so often She loves that I try to stay current with what she is doing in school and jokes that I will be a great grandma some day because she knows I'll do the same for my future grand kids.

[Anonymous]

I read because I love to get out of my head and reality, so I read what I want. Typically that's fantasy, dystopian, sci-fi related books.