I am not super picky when it comes to reading (you can probably guess at that just by looking at my posts). I love a huge variety of genres and find some great takeaways in every book I read. But I am willing to admit that I have some favorite genres. These are my “safe spaces,” genres that I know will keep me engaged and are fun to read at any time. Overall, I am a fiction nut. That is where I find the most interest and typically where my favorite book falls. However, three specific veins of fiction are my ultimate happy place.

Historical Fiction

Historical fiction takes a fictional story, typically using fictional characters, and places it in a real historical setting. The characters live their lives and experience a world exactly how someone from that place and time period would. Probably the most research-heavy fiction drama, it often covers coming-of-age or romance story lines. Some of the most commonly used time periods include monumental historical events such as World War II or iconic periods such as the 1880s or 1920s.

I have always been curious about the past, particularly in details such as clothing, what people ate, or how they acted. These details are rarely covered in the classic history book. Getting to learn while also participating in an engaging story is super fun to me. It is also comforting sometimes to place yourself in a time in which everything seemed more calm and people more polite and predictable.

Dystopian Fiction

Dystopian fiction creates a world in which our current government and politics have either fallen or become incredibly twisted. It is realistic enough that it can be very convincing. Typically, the characters are trying to escape or reconstruct the ruined society they live in. Think classics like The Hunger Games, The Giver, or 1984. These books can be incredibly eye-opening and sometimes even predict the future.

I am never in doubt that a dystopian is going to engage me. Often they are quite heavy, and they always make me think very hard about our current society and how I am to act in it. I can count on these books to make me think and think hard about the world around me. In addition, they consistently have arrived with intense stories that keep me on the edge of my seat. I find myself wanting to raise my own revolution. It can be quite motivating because of this.

Mystery

Mystery is pretty self-explanatory. The book follows a mystery, almost always a crime of some sort, from its dark beginning to revelatory ending. One of the most popular kinds is a murder-mystery. Many of them speak from the point of view of the detective (as we see in Sherlock Holmes) but that is in no way an absolute. Mysteries can also be seen in any time period but we see a height of popularity reached during the first half of the twentieth century.

I love mysteries for many reasons. One, I can always be sure of a suspenseful read that keeps me engaged. Also, I love trying to figure out the mystery for myself. I think through every clue and make my own guesses about the culprit. I also really enjoy the periods you often find mysteries set in. But most of all, the plot twists in mysteries are far better than in any genre I have yet discovered. They are rarely predictable (despite what you may think) and always leave my mind spinning at the end. One of my favorites was when the narrator, who we think is only a witness for the entire book, turns out at the very end to be the killer.

While I am a fiction nut in almost every way, my absolute favorites are historical fiction, dystopian fiction, and mystery. Each one has something that keeps me engaged and works my mind the entire time. However, we should never restrict ourselves to one genre. Each one has something beneficial for us. I am constantly working to read outside my comfort zone and try new things, and I encourage you to do the same.