Have your book-tastes changed over the years? More fiction? Less? Books that are darker and more serious? Lighter and more frivolous? Challenging? Easy? How-to books over novels? Mysteries over Romance?
Casee: My book tastes have definitely changed over the years. I still read almost all romance, but I don’t mind if it’s mixed with something else (i.e. fantasy or mystery). One thing that hasn’t changed is that I still love reading the Happily Ever After. I neeeeed that when I read a book. I do have much less patience for stupidity in characters. A book I may have loved 10 years ago may not seem the same if I re-read it now. I also don’t really care for virginal heroines in contemporaries anymore.
Holly: Yes, they’ve changed somewhat over the years. I still read a variety of genre’s, though my primary focus now is romance. I think the biggest change for me is that I’ve realized I don’t have the time, energy or inclination to read something I’m not enjoying. Oh, sure, there are exceptions – like when a book is sooo bad morbid curiosity forces me to finish it – but for the most part I realized my reading time is to be treasured, not wasted on crap.
I’m also a lot pickier about what I’ll read. Where before I’d let things slide (like a heroine who’s TSTL or a plot with holes in it or etc, etc), now I find myself focusing on them, unable to move on. I guess you could say I’m more anal about what I’m reading than I ever used to be.
Rowena: My book tastes have changed over the years, not in the sense that I’ve stopped reading some stuff and have tried other stuff but in the sense that I am a lot more open to trying new genres and what not. When I first started reading a few years back, I only read historical and some contemporaries but then I went through a phase where I read nothing but contemporary but I wouldn’t touch a paranormal or an erotica, these days I’m reading just about everything and even some stuff outside of the romance genre. I just recently read my first mystery novel and I’m reading memoirs and biographies where I used to read nothing but romance. If it wasn’t romance of some kind, I wasn’t interested…I can finally say that I’ve evolved as a reader, I’ll read almost anything now if it’s got a good plot and likable characters. It surprises me how much I’ve grown as a reader because I remember once upon a time being very picky about what I read. Now, I read what I want, when I want and I’m happier for it.
So what about you guys? Have your tastes changed over the years?
My tastes have definitely changed. I never thought I would read sci-fi and now I do. And the amount of erotica I read is just scandalous ;P
Scandalous? Well, KB, somehow I believe that!
I love this post. It is so interesting how people evolve as readers. I never used to read fantasy either, or sci fi and overall, I used to read fewer books for sheer pleasure, but now it’s all about that. I like what you said, Holly about not reading stuff you don’t enjoy. I used to read a lot more “supposedly good” books or more literary books, and, well, I am so over that. Getting rid of non-fun books has improved my life 100%!
Well I didn’t start reading like I do now until about 3 years ago. Before that… I wasn’t much of a reader growing up from elementary through college. Now I read nonstop and I don’t think I can go back. Reading will always be a part of my life now.
As for my tastes in the romance genre.. well I think Rowena and Holly know that when I first started I wouldn’t have touched paranormal with a ten foot pole. I was so skeptical. Now look at me. *sniffle* Aren’t y’all proud?
CJ: You know me so well. 😀
I also like trying new types of books, especially the ones that the ladies here at the book binge have reviewed. You ladies are opening my mind and adding to my monster TBR list! 😀
Mt tastes have defintely changed but remained kinda the same at the core.
As a kid I was in love with Enid Blyton. The Faraway Tree in particular. Then as I got older I segwayed into Stephen king and the horror genre..then a friend introduced me to terry Pratchett and that was me, I was a goner and for around 15 years read nothing but fantasy. Eddings, Jordan, McCaffery. To name but a few. They stood me in good stead for romance though as there was always plenty of alpha males and women who wanted them. But not always the HEA.
Then I kinda segwayed into Urban fantasy, which lead me to paranormal romance. That’s where I sit today with occassional forays into contemporary romance (Erin McCarthy). I’m not sure I’m ready for historicals yet.
How dull was that?