Exercises for readers: Step outside your genres

Every year I like to challenge myself to read one book that is in a genre that I have never read, had no interest in, and probably looked down on in the past. Sometimes my preferences turn out to be totally valid, and other times I have been surprised at what great books you can find lurking in previously-unexplored genres.

It's always important to keep yourself nimble when it comes to reading choices. I'm sure we all know someone who only reads one genre, and they will read nothing but that genre until the day they die. I have an aunt who has read every mystery novel ever written, and only mystery novels, and will never read anything other than a mystery novel under pain of death.

Think of all the amazing books she's missing out on! Well I'll tell you: The same goes for you and me.

It's important not to pick any old book, though. That's a recipe for disaster. Start by choosing the genre you want to try. Then do a bit of research to find out what is widely considered the best book of the genre. Browse the Amazon listings sorted by top sellers and user ratings, ask your friends and acquaintances, ask bookstore employees, and scour the bestseller lists. These methods should allow you to triangulate the best book in that particular genre.

In my experience, I would also urge caution about starting an unfamiliar genre with any book that's more than about 20 years old. Often, the older the "best book in this genre" is, the more impenetrable and unrelatable it is to newcomers.

I'm sure you can think of plenty of examples of this from your own favorite genres. Off the top of my head I'm reminded of Napoleon Hill's 1937 hit Think and Grow Rich in the personal finance genre (which is terrible), and Philip K. Dick's 1962 novel The Man in the High Castle (which is amazing, but not the first book I'd hand to a science fiction newbie).

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