The Insecure Writer’s Support Group meets online on the first Wednesday of every month to prop supports underneath struggling writers and offer their own insecurities to the fresh air and sunshine. Fresh air kills insecurities, they’re exactly like viruses. Just trust me on this. To sign up for the group yourself, click here.

Our fearless moderators for the March 3 posting of the IWSG are Sarah – The Faux Fountain Pen, Jacqui Murray, Chemist Ken, Victoria Marie Lees, Natalie Aguirre, and JQ Rose! Don’t forget to thank them today.

March 3 question – Everyone has a favorite genre or genres to write. But what about your reading preferences? Do you read widely or only within the genre(s) you create stories for? What motivates your reading choice?

I get asked this question pretty often. I think it’s a standard bookworm query and it’s always fun to answer this while also finding out what genres other bookworms like. Quite often we have a lot in common!

So here is my standard answer: it’s easier to list what genres I *don’t* like to read than to list all of the ones I do because I read just about everything.

The two genres which are a hard sell for me? Thrillers and Mysteries.

That’s it. Really.

  • Before you grab your torches and pitchforks, yes, I have read at least one thriller and a few mysteries. I tried a Dean Koontz (Intensity) and had to put it down around the 3/4 mark because I was starting to jump at every little noise, my hands hurt from clenching the book so hard, and my heart rate was doing unhealthy things. I also read The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo because my sister would not shut up until I tried it. I did finish that one, and enjoyed it. And those are my thrillers. I’m not feeling the urge to read any more particularly, thank you so much for understanding this.
  • For mysteries I’ve pretty much only ever read Agatha Christie. And Then There Were None surprised me by being one of my favorite reads ever? The other books of hers I’ve tried have been popcorn reads for me; slightly salty, mostly full of air, and easy to pop one after the other. For some strange reason I enjoy her outdated, upper-crust, pretentious British slang dialogue ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I don’t know either, I just go with it.

As to what I do read, Romance and Horror are my top two genres out of all the varied choices. Don’t shake your head at me, the dichotomy makes sense. I like to tell people that both of my favorite genres include bodily fluids in some way or shape. They always make this slightly incredulous yucked-out face when they get what I meant by that and I like to have my fun where I can. Enjoy the little things.

But if you think about it, all jokes aside, romance is about humans feeling intense love, devotion, affection, and need. Horror is about humans feeling intense fear, shock, hatred, and the need to survive. Both genres deal with emotional extremes, and that’s why I like them.

Fantasy and SciFi take my next top spots (I am a lifetime, devoted, slightly obsessed Terry Pratchett fan, if I could live in Granny Weatherwax’s cottage I would) and I occasionally dip into YA, Middle Grade, Classics, and Nonfiction. General Fiction falls far down my TBR but I do get to it eventually.

If you’re at all interested in seeing which books from my top genres I recommend and love, here is a romance post and here is a horror rec post for you. Always, always feel free to throw your own recommendations in the comments for me. What is life for if not to fill it with a completely unmanageable TBR?