List Of The Most Popular Book Genres In Both Fiction And Non-fiction
People have different hobbies; be it singing, dancing, writing, reading or many other things that we could come up with to spend our leisure time after some vigorous work or just to relax ourselves to relieve some stress. Others do it for fun.
On the other hand, I prefer to read. Reading is like a breath of fresh air for me, I would always end up immersing myself in another world where reality does not exist and anything could happen. That is the beauty of a story.
And when it comes to selecting a great book, you have lots of choices to choose from. Do you like fantasy or sci-fi? Maybe a thriller or mystery? Do you prefer romance or drama? When you are a major reader, it’s easy to get caught up and frustrated with the endless arrays of genre selections that are present today. What exactly should we look for?
Here is the list of the most popular book genre in both fiction and nonfiction to make it more convenient and easier for you to look for your next book to read.
1. Action and Adventure
An action and adventure story primarily features a constant slam-bang of fights, chases, explosions, and clever one-liners. It does not explore the complex relationship between human beings, instead, they are highly-octane thrillers that simply aim to give the reader an exciting ride.
2. Classics
A classic includes older works that have withstood the test of time and are still widely read today. A well-known example is The Odyssey by Homer.
3. Comic Book or Graphic Novel
A graphic novel, as its name suggests, is a novel that tells a complete story via illustrations. A graphic novel contains a beginning, middle, and end. A graphic novel will offer the type of resolution that one expects from a novel, even if it is part of a series. Effectively, this makes a graphic novel longer and more substantive than a comic book, which is a serialized excerpt from a larger narrative.
4. Detective and Mystery
Mysteries always begin with murder. The plot revolves around a crime that must be solved – by the protagonist. It is centered on the intellectual exercise of trying to figure out the motives behind the crime, or the puzzle.
5. Fantasy
This genre of a fiction concentrates on imaginary elements (fantastic). This means magic, supernatural, alternate worlds, superheroes, monsters, fairies, magical creatures, mythological heroes – it can be anything that an author imagined the outside of reality to be like.
6. Historical Fiction
Good historical fiction can transport you into the past time periods and bygone eras, full of colorful characters that modern readers can relate to.
7. Horror
It is a genre of fiction whose purpose is to create feelings of fear, dread, repulsion, and terror in the readers – it develops an atmosphere of horror. Horror feeds on the reader's deepest terrors by putting life’s most frightening and perplexing things – death, evil, supernatural powers or creatures, the afterlife, witchcraft – at the center of attention. Horror should make the reader feel afraid through imaginary and language.
8. Literary Fiction
Literary Fiction does not adhere to any rules. Anything can happen which can be both unnerving and exciting for readers. It is meant to evoke deep thought through stories that offer personal or social commentary on a particular theme.
9. Romance
This genre would make your heart all fuzzy and warm, which focuses on the love story of the main protagonist. It has a variety of sub-genres’ including contemporary romance, historical, paranormal, and steamy erotica.
10. Science Fiction (Sci-Fi)
It is a genre of fiction literature whose content is imaginative but based on science. It relies heavily on scientific facts, theories, and principles as support for its settings, characters, themes, and plotlines, which distinguish it from fantasy.
11. Short Stories
It is shorter than novels. It strictly tells narrative events through specific themes and a series of brief scenes while achieving to thrill and entertain the readers.
12. Suspense and Thrillers
It induces strong feelings of excitement, anxiety, tension, suspense, fear, and other similar emotions in its readers – in other words, it thrills the readers.
13. Women’s Fiction
Women's fiction specifically targets female readers, often reflecting on the shared experiences of being a woman and the main characters personal growth.
14. Biographies and Autobiographies
Biography is a self-written life story, while Autobiography is a life story of a person written by someone else. There seems to be of no difference between the two genres’, but personally, I find it more interesting to read autobiographies than a biography because you are reading the thoughts of the person instead of someone else’s interpretation.
15. Cookbooks
Cookbooks are traditionally written by professional chefs or your favorite celebrity. Cookbooks offer a wide collection of recipes, specific to a theme, cuisine, or experience chosen by the author.
16. Essays
It is a piece of writing that gives the author’s own argument. It is commonly used as literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author.
17. History
History genre, depicts historical events, personages, and socially significant phenomena in the history of society. Although it concerned with the past, it can also represent recent events whose social significance is recognized by the contemporaries.
18. Memoir
The memoir is a Non-fiction written in the first person about a slice of life. They focus on moments and scenes that communicate a specific message or lesson to the reader about the author.
17. Poetry
Poetry is a genre based on the interplay of words and rhythm. In poetry, words are strung together to form sounds, images, and ideas that might be too complex or abstract to describe directly.
18. Self-Help
Self-help is a non-fiction genre that is based on one’s own effort and resources to achieve things and goals without relying on the help of others. It centers to encourage personal improvement and confidence in a variety of aspects of your life.
19. True Crime
The true Crime genre examines actual crimes and entails exact details of the actions done by real people, mainly focusing on murders, kidnappings, and the exploits of serial killers.
In the end, people have different preferences. But if you are still a beginner in reading, then I suggest that you read every genre first then decide which one would suit you best. Good luck with your next read!
Opinions and Perspectives
I absolutely love how comprehensive this list is! Fantasy has always been my go-to genre. Nothing beats escaping into a world of magic and mythical creatures.
While I appreciate fantasy, I find myself drawn more to historical fiction. There's something fascinating about experiencing different time periods through a fictional lens.
The description of horror really resonates with me. I think modern horror novels don't quite capture that same feeling of dread that classic horror authors managed to create.
As someone who writes romance novels, I think the description here barely scratches the surface. Romance is so much more complex than just making hearts fuzzy and warm.
True crime has exploded in popularity lately. I've noticed a huge increase in quality true crime books being published in the last few years.
I actually disagree with the article's take on action and adventure not exploring complex relationships. Many modern action novels have deep character development.
Does anyone else find it interesting how graphic novels are distinguished from comic books here? I never really thought about the difference in terms of resolution and narrative structure.
Literary fiction's description feels a bit vague to me. I think it's more about the quality of prose and depth of character exploration than simply not following rules.
The explanation of sci-fi versus fantasy really helped me understand the distinction. I always mixed these two genres up!
I never understood why women's fiction needs to be its own category. Good fiction is good fiction, regardless of the target audience.
Interesting point about autobiographies versus biographies. I actually prefer biographies because they often provide a more objective perspective.
The cookbook genre has really evolved beyond just collections of recipes. Some of my favorite cookbooks now include travel writing and personal essays.
Self-help books have gotten such a bad reputation, but I've found some truly life-changing ones. The key is finding authors with genuine expertise.
Memoir writing is definitely more challenging than people think. It's not just about telling your life story, but finding the universal truth in personal experience.
Poetry deserves more attention than it gets. It's probably the most versatile genre on this list.
I find it fascinating how mystery novels always seem to start with murder. There are so many other crimes that could make compelling mysteries.
You make a good point about murder mysteries. I recently read a mystery centered around art theft and it was just as gripping.
The classics section seems a bit limited. I think we need to expand our definition of what makes a classic beyond just old books that are still read.
Anyone else notice how suspense and thrillers are lumped together? In my experience, they can be quite different in terms of pacing and story structure.
I'm glad the article mentions short stories. They're often overlooked but require incredible skill to execute well.