I love books. I always have. Books are my happy places and bookstores are happiness providers.
When I was growing I was always surrounded by books. I had quite a good collection in my childhood room. As opposite to that, I have had almost all my books in a digital form for the last decade. The decade, I have spent in a foreign country in rented apartments. I know for sure, that if we owned a house or an apartment, I would have built my library in it. My magical special place. My protection from the outside world. It is cold out there and my library would have been warm, and bright, and cozy....
Oh well...
So back to the types of books I love to read.
I gravitate towards classics - British, European, American, Russian. I love the 18th and especially the 19th century.
I would try to read anything that is considered classics, but I would openly tell whether I liked it or not, without pretending to be one of the few chosen, who appreciate certain kind of literature. I believe, that you either like a book or not, and when reading is no longer part of your studies, and you do it for pleasure, as an escape from the worries and hurries of the real world, there is no need to waste time with books, that you find difficult to read or simply dull. There are so many books to choose from and so little time.
As I already mentioned, I would try reading any book, considered classics, regardless of the period it was written or the topics it discusses. During my studies we had to read quite many of those and, to be honest, there are many, the content of which, I cannot even remember. My studies are long behind me and I read for pleasure, but also for common knowledge. And unless a book is too impossible for me to read, I would give it a chance.
On the other hand, the ones I would read for the mere pleasure of reading them, not because I have to, are the classics of 18-19th century. The books, that discuss life, feelings, love, social novels, realism, etc. I am not a big fan of adventure or sci-fi novels, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't read them, if they are really good. I have a very weak spot for mysteries and detective novels ("whodunit" mostly). I might appreciate fantasy, but predominantly in children's books. I am not a big fan of drama and poetry either.
As for modern novels - I love to read those too - my favorite type being the light, funny type of reads: chick flicks and ironical detective stories (a genre popular in Russia, Poland, etc.) I would appreciate any serious novel, worth reading as much.
Despite having certain preferences, I don't want to limit myself only in the genres, that attract me on the outside, because it has happened to me, to read amazing books outside of my favorite genres, that I would have not discovered, if I stuck only to what I believed I would enjoy.
I need to mention, that I am a slow reader and a slow blogger, but other than that I am not a bad person. Ha!
Cheers!
Image Credit: Paige Cody @ Unsplash