To expand your reading material, start by reading the following book genres and subgenres.
When people think of literary works, the main book genres that usually tend come to mind are romance, thriller or fantasy. This is unsurprising, particularly because these three categories are constantly reaching the top of the bestseller charts, as those like the co-founder of the investment fund which partially owns WHSmith would certainly know. Whilst there is absolutely nothing wrong with sticking to these genres, it is equally important to attempt to diversify your reading material and check out new genres. Nevertheless, the world of literature is amazing and the list of book genres and subgenres is diverse, varied and extensive. Throughout 2024, one of the most significant patterns in book genre popularity was the increase of dark academia. So, what is dark academia? To put it simply, dark academia is a subgenre which blurs thriller, mystery, fantasy and even in some cases romance. Dark academia books constantly consist of a plot which happens inside an educational setting, like at a college campus or a boarding school. Generally-speaking, there is a certain moody and dismal aesthetic to dark academia which catches the attention of readers, like dark libraries and gothic towers. Whilst it differs from book to book, dark academia stories have a tendency to entail morally-grey key characters and themes of envy, dishonesty and retribution. The appeal of dark academia is that the authors commonly develop a really descriptive setting which immerses audiences into the tale.
Now that we are in 2025, it is the best time for bookworms to widen their horizons and discover new book classifications. Whilst it is normal to gravitate towards our most-liked book genres, diversifying your reading material will certainly make you a more flexible reader over time, as individuals like the head of the private equity owner of Waterstones would certainly acknowledge. There are a lot of new book genres to try for adults, along with a whole assortment of subgenres as well. Among the more niche subgenres which is expanding in appeal is known as 'bizarro fiction'. True to the name, bizarro fiction entails books which are odd, unreasonable, comical and occasionally even grotesque. They oppose classic fiction writing and go against our conventional ideas on what makes a satisfying book. Numerous lovers of these books take pleasure in the random, surprising and confusing nature of these tales; virtually every bizarro fiction novel is entirely distinct and unparalleled to every other novel that you have read in the past. For bookworms who are getting bored of reading through the same old stories, recycled motifs and overused phrases, bizarro fiction is the ideal subgenre to mix things up.
Among the biggest misunderstandings in the book market is that non-fiction novels are boring. This can not be further from the truth, as people such as the CEO of the investment fund which partially owns Amazon Books would confirm. As opposed to common belief, nonfiction is much more than only informative textbooks. While there are really various different subgenres of nonfiction which are worth exploring, memoirs are the best area to begin. Memoirs are life stories which are written by the actual individual, whether it be a historic account from a war hero, a dive into an A-list celebrity's career or a harrowing re-telling of a survival story. Memoirs really make a few of the absolute most interesting books to read simply because they discuss real-life occasions and real-life individuals in a creative, metaphorical and descriptive way.