February 07, 2023

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Would You Read a Book by Your Favourite Author if It Was in a Genre You Don’t Normally Enjoy? (+ Life Snippet)


Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real LifeJen at That's What I'm Talking AboutKaren at For What It's WorthLinda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is...

WOULD YOU READ A BOOK BY YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR IF IT WAS IN A GENRE YOU DON’T NORMALLY ENJOY?

Before I answer this week's question, a brief life update, because hey! guess what? new chapter in my health issues and general misfortunes saga! 😭 My left eye problem ultimately evolved into a retinal hole, and I got a laser treatment on Friday. Now I have to be patient and wait for the outcome, vision-wise. My eye is full of floaters and everything looks blurred - only time will tell if I'll need a vitrectomy (but I'm afraid I will, because of course 😬). I'll tell you the whole story in my next Offbeat Offline installment at the beginning of March...Also, I have a ton of your posts bookmarked for commenting, and I swear I'll get to them. This new incident threw yet another wrench into my works, as if everything wasn't a mess already...😩 On top of that, due to the turn of events, my announced review for The Valley and the Flood has been postponed. The other posts for this month have already been written, so at least there's that. My next one is scheduled for Wed. 22nd.

Back to the topic at hand - would I read a book by one of my fave authors if they decided to write a story in a genre that I don't love?
I guess no. If you know me, the three genres that I really, really dislike (no shade to anyone reading them of course! πŸ’š) are romance, historical fiction (I mean stuff from long before I was born) and fantasy (unless it's urban/contemporary). While I can make an exception for books that dance around last two genres if they're mysteries (historical fiction) or the premise is REALLY intriguing (low fantasy), I don't harbour any desire to read about worlds that are firmly rooted in those. So, for instance, though I love Seanan McGuire to bits, I'm fairly sure I'll never read her October Daye series...I mean, half-fae changelings? hardly my thing πŸ˜‰.


Well, that's it for now. Did you enjoy this post? Would you like to participate in the meme on a regular or semi-regular basis, and get emailed the prompt list? Just head over here and fill in Jen's form! (Of course, you can jump in anytime you like - you are under no obligation to actually do all the posts, or even most of them, just because you signed up, and you can remove yourself from the list at any time). And if you're interested in participating in a more casual manner, or only in commenting, here is the TMST prompt list for the rest of February and the month of March:

  • February 14th: Share some books covers you love!
  • February 21st: Time for a pet update! Tell us about yours
  • February 28th: Which books are you looking forward to reading this Spring? (March-May)
  • March 7th: Travel: are you getting out? Where have you been?
  • March 14th: How do you measure blogging success? Followers, page views, interactions, etc.
  • March 21st: Tell us about some famous author from your city/state/country
  • March 28th: What is your ideal book/audiobook length?

I'll be back for the meme on February 28th, since that post is already scheduled...so, even if life decides to kick my ass in a new and improved fashion, it won't be able to undo it at least...

Now tell me something...would you read out of your comfort zone if your favourite author experimented with a genre you're not a fan of?

28 comments:

  1. ((HUGS)) my friend. You can't seem to catch a break. Sending lots of good vibes. I agree with you. I like the genres I like. It's so rare for me to step outside. I know authors I have read many books by (Sawyer Bennett, Karina Halle, Katie McGarry, etc) have all written some SFF stuff, but I have not read it. It's not my go-to. I still have love for those authors, but no interest in those books.

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    1. Thank you 😭. Ah, yes, isn't it a pity? I applaude authors for branching out, but when a genre isn't your jam...🀷‍♀️

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  2. I probably wouldn't either. One of my all-time favourite authors, Cherie Dimaline, has a book coming out about witches, but fantasy/paranormal books are really iffy for me. Idk if I'll ever give it a shot in the future, but it's definitely not a priority for me to read from favourite authors in genres I don't normally enjoy.

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    1. It's also a bit scary, isn't it? One is afraid to bet let down by an author they love, even if it's not the author's fault...

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  3. I tend to read outside of my genre a lot. For a while I only read fantasy books Classic novels, Gothic, detective fiction, and some historical fiction here and there (because those were all the books that were in genre that I am writing), and since then I've moved in directions of reading books from all different genres.

    I find that for me, sometimes even if it doesn't connect to my current story in terms of genre, reading books that I normally don't gets me a wider view of fiction as a whole. This year, I started reading Stephen King's books (starting with the The Shawshank Redemption), and while they aren't books I would usually read, I felt as if I got something out of it by reading it. A new perspective, that I like. :)

    Also for college, I have had to read a lot of books I wouldn't usually, I don't like all of them, of course. But the ones I realized I liked (that are in genres I wouldn't usually read: low fantasy (I prefer high fantasy) magical realism, realistic fiction, etc.) help me understand myself better as a writer.
    -Quinley

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    1. That's an interesting perspective. I guess when one writes - and it's maybe aiming at becoming a published author - the more they read, the more they grow and expand their horizon. I mean, this is something everybody would probably benefit from, but when you mostly read for escapism, it's hard to get in the mood of reading something you're mostly sure/suspect you won't like.

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  4. P.S. I hope the surgery goes well. I'm sorry that happened, and I hope it gets better.

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  5. I blame myself. There can only be one of us and my blogging roll means you were thwarted. And I may have yelled rutabaga too loud. It should have been a controlled whisper. Maybe we need a new vegetable.

    As tot he TMST question, yes I will read something in a new genre. I like when authors try new things - even if it isn't always successful - sometimes it's a push into a new genre for me while still being a tad familiar.

    Karen @For What It's Worth

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    1. Also...I just realized that the vitrectomy is what my FIL had done to both eyes.

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    2. "It should have been a controlled whisper. Maybe we need a new vegetable."
      πŸ˜‚ 😭 Jicama? Dulse? Fiddlehead? (I've researched weird vegetable names for our purpose LOL).

      You're become so adventurous in your (more) mature age πŸ˜‰. Like reading (and liking) What We Buried...

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    3. Yes, I'm wild now! My genres are still my favorite/comfort genres but I have found a few that veered off course and I still enjoyed them. Does it make me want to dive in to read more like that? No, not really, but I'm glad I read them.

      May the jicama be with you....

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  6. I do hope the eye problems are a thing of the past now and you won't have any more problems with that. I really hope things start to get better for you.

    You already know what I read and I have a few favorite authors who write in genres I don't read so I don't read those books.

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    1. Eh, more a thing of the present for now, but thanks! I don't know yet if my eye will need an intervention - at this stage I'm having weekly check-outs.

      I didn't know some of "your" authors branched out...anyhow, no shame in avoiding genres that you don't enjoy when you read for entertainment πŸ™‚.

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  7. Oh no, best of luck with your eyeπŸ˜₯ I would definitely read another genre by a favorite author! I love reading outside my usual genres at times, just for variety.

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    1. Thank you! Oh, you're braver than most of us then! I hate the idea of not reading ALL the books my fave authors wrote/will write, but genre-keeping is a thing for me LOL.

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  8. Oh no- sorry to hear about your eye! I'm hoping you don't have to have eye surgery but either way sending you lots of healing vibes.

    I guess I would- I mean, I'll branch out and if it's a favoritre author I might give it a shot. Sepends on the author of course. And funny about October Daye- I've thought about trying those so many times but I just don't know if they;d work for me lol.

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    1. Thank you...I should probably rename my posts "Medical Emergency of the Week"...πŸ˜‚ 😭

      Have you ever been pleasantly surprised by a book when branching out?

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    2. Yes. I have had mostly good luck with branching out. Not always. Usually for me though it's trying a new author or genre. Like a few years back I tried urban fantasy and really liked the Kitty Norville series, 3 Days to Dead, and a few others.

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    3. Interesting! Here I'm afraid to read books in genres I don't (particularly) like by my favourite authors, and you go wild and try both new-to-you genres and authors at once πŸ˜‚.

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    4. I never thought I'd like urban fantasy or cozies before (or more accurately I just never really thought about trying those).

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  9. It really depends on the book. I don't bother looking for authors when searching for books to read, I hardly remember their names which is probably a bad thing but what the heck.

    It used to be that authors stayed in their genres but now authors are doing whatever they want which I guess it's fine but I have noticed some romance writers writing mysteries and you can tell those books were written by romance authors.

    Anyway, I hope you'll get good news.

    Have a lovely day

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    1. "I have noticed some romance writers writing mysteries and you can tell those books were written by romance authors."
      I suppose you're talking about cozy mysteries? Because in that case, I guess they don't stray too much.

      "Anyway, I hope you'll get good news."
      Thanks! So far, so good.

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  10. If you need to rest your eye, please do, my blog posts are not important! I'm sorry you're still having more health troubles.

    So many people talk about auto buy authors, but I'm with you. I'm interested in what I'm interested in, regardless of the author.

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    1. The eye is fine (I mean, it doesn't get tired), if foggy, but of course I've lost yet more time and sanity during this last ordeal (and now I have check-ups). Thank you though!

      I follow my authors unless they stray too much from the path I like LOL. But yeah, it's more of a genre thing for me too. We're so focused LOL.

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  11. Sorry to hear about your eye/vision - it sounds scary!

    I'm glad I read a fairly large number of genres. But if you don't like something, you don't like it!

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    1. It was indeed scary...still is...but I hope the worst is over...

      LOL, yeah, I guess you do - from what I can see. Me too, but the few things I don't enjoy, I REALLY don't! πŸ˜‚

      Delete

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