Today’s question from BTT is – 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?
I’ve always liked reading a wide range of books, so the quick answer to this question is “No”.
However, my reading does go in phases. When I was a child I loved fairy stories – I still like those and ghost stories, but not horror – I don’t read horror. Later at secondary school history was one of my favourite subjects and when I came across Jean Plaidy I became hooked on historical fiction. I read as many of her books as I could find in the library and any other historical fiction as well. Sadly, I never bought any of them or I sure I would have read them over and over by now. I still like historical fiction; from then on it has been a staple of my reading diet. I also like detective stories and at the same time as the historical fiction binge I also devoured many Agatha Christie books. I went back to them last year along with other detective series. I also like and have always liked science fiction, writers, such as Asimov and Frank Herbert; and the classics and early twentieth century authors.
Whenever I find authors I like I try to read all their books. I don’t limit my reading, (apart from horror) and although I do like romance and read some chick-lit I’ve never read any Mills and Boon. I read mainly fiction, but like to have some non-fiction on the go as well. In the past I’ve read a lot of religious, spiritual and philosophical books, and I still like to read something on these lines every now and then. I read and have always read lots of cookery books, travel books, biographies and autobiographies, letters and diaries, books on health, exercise and yoga, how-to books, books on diet, nature, wildlife, and mythology etc, etc. Recently I’ve become interested in the Second World War and am reading both factual accounts, diaries and novels.
At one time I thought my reading diet had become stale – I seemed to be picking the same type of books – and so I decided to take an Open University degree. This did broaden my reading and I started to read and enjoy more modern writers and writers I’d never heard of before. Since blogging I’ve come across many, many new (to me) authors, which is one of the reasons I love reading other people’s reviews in their blogs.
I just love books and reading.
BooksPlease 
Wow, you read a lot of books! I hardly read non-fictions (though I’m trying to change that from now), and I refer to cookbooks, travel books whenever I’m in need of them! 😉
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I too love reading books on wild life. I especially prefer books on birds.
I read a lot of poetry as I write it. I am now exploring modern poets.
Booking through trends
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If I find a new author I like, I too tend to read all of their works afterwards ;0)
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How interesting! I must do this tonight.
I don’t read horror now (except Gothic stuff, which isn’t quite the same) but from the ages 9-11 I read Point Horror like an addiction. Would not be able to read them now… I think my imagination has intensified.
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Blogging has had a similar effect on me as your university course… It’s encouraged and broadened my reading. It’s been great to find this community of bookworms!
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Looking back, I’ve followed a bit of a pattern until hitting my 30s. I read a lot of fantasy and young adult adventures as a child and early teen, followed by teen romance and horror in adolesence, more fantasy and thrillers in my 20s and then I finally discovered the beauty of more literary writing in my 30s. These days (still in my 30s – just!) I read pretty much anything – except horror – based on reviews, recommendations, interesting blogs … and I too will read everything written by an author I like.
I love that you read so widely as well.
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I still read mostly fiction but have added a little nonfic in because it is good for me. I have always liked ghosts, ghoulies and things that go bump in the night. Don’t really read what I would call horror but do like ghost stories, vampires, werewolves, fairy tales or “updated” fairy tales, etc. I don’t read as much romance as I used to but sometimes that is just what I need as well. Mysteries have always been my first and best love. I probably read 75% mysteries to 25% everything else. And, of course, the blogosphere has added many authors to my lists. Great response, Margaret!
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I probably don’t read as widely as you, but I try to read as widely as I can. I would say my reading tastes have evolved, rather than changed. 🙂
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I have a bunch of Agatha Christie novels on my shelf and haven’t read one yet! Maybe after I finish A Fine Balance.
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Yes, that’s what I find so attractive about blogging, too – discovering new books and authors, and new opinions about books I’ve read or want to read. I had almost stopped reading for a while, but the book blogging community has really revived my interest in books.
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My book tastes haven’t changed too much, either. But I do read more widely now than I used to.
I too don’t read a lot of horror, but that’s not a conscious choice or anything. It just happened that I never really came across a lot of horror books that I found interesting.
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I had a Jean Plaidy blowout some years ago but I lost all of them when we moved. It was a disaster! I used to read horror but I do not like watching it at all. Too visual.
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I know isn’t the book blog world so full of new books!?!? It is almost crazy. I am very happy to have found a place where people are consistently excited about reading and talking about what they are reading.
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One of the things that always worries me about going back to revisit authors that I read in previous reincarnations is that I may find that they no longer have the power for me that they had the first time round, so it may be as well that you haven’t got the Plaidy. Did you ever read Rosemary Jarman? She was another history writer of my youth.
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You sound very well read. For me it would depend on the book as to whether I read something the author had written again but I do find myself drawn to certain authors. Nice post.
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Agatha Christie! I forgot about going through an Agatha-thon in middle-high school when I read her exclusively for a whole summer!
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I started to feel like you said you did:my reading diet was becoming stale. Instead of going back to school, I started reading blogs 🙂 I love nonfiction though. Here’s mine
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It got me thinking and I did reflective account. What I read over the years has changed but what engages me has remained pretty constant. Like you never got into horror but despite (or because) I am a history buff rarely read historical fiction. I do enjoy reading a range last year I switched from fiction to non fiction but so far this have tended to read a wide range of fiction only which I am missing so may rethink my reading challenge especially as getting distracted by Reviewing
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I think that the balance of what I read has changed more than the actual content of what I read. I still love the same type of books… pretty much anything and everything except horror. My imagination is just too vivid for that. But then, as now, I’m really partial to a good thriller like Death in Small Doses by Bernard Steele — something with lots of action and suspense to keep me on the edge of my seat.
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