A Good Thriller discussion

Definitely romance.

Science fiction, fantasy and politic themed books.

Autobiographies, self help, politics and science fiction

Tom wrote: "Autumn wrote: "When my babies are picked on I take it personally. "

I apologize if you and others took my comments as an attack. I meant no offense to anyone. The comment was directed at the threa..."

Tom, I appreciated your comments! I have not had a good debate in a long time. It feels good sometimes to have a cause you feel strongly about and be able to express your opinion. So thank you!

Literary fiction is something I have a hard time reading. I like active books that move quickly, I don't always find the action in literary fiction.

No true crime or erotica,nor vampires,or other paranormal fictional creatures.

Fantasy (dragons, fairies, blah blah blah), romance/erotica; romances masquerading as Thrillers; any books,in any genera which are sloppily written & padded with irrelevant filler; illogical plots & diabolical dialogue.

Erotica, fantasy, or sci-fi. I've tried each genre but was never able to get into them, although I did enjoy The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter (but not all).

I loved "Lord of the Rings', when i read it in my late teens. I read Sci-fi & Horror until my mid 20's, but i had also been dabbling in thrillers around this time & although i'' occasionally read 'hard' sci-fi, Psychological Thrillers, Mysteries & Hard-boiled detective novels are my preferred oeuvre now.

I will read pretty much anything, and have done. I'm not keen on erotica or anything overly religious, though

Romance, vampire love type of stories. I really don't read graphic novels, even though I'm reading one currently to complete a challenge.

I'm another of those "reads across the spectrum" people. While mystery/suspense is my favorite, I read anything that looks interesting and well written.

When I was young, I read science fiction almost exclusively. I even attended quite a few sf conventions and met a lot of the big name authors.

As I grew older, I began to read almost anything, mostly mysteries and thrillers.

But I won't read romance/sex. I barely remember what sex was, and don't need reminded. :)

Many times this question really irritates me. Ruling out a complete genre because of some innate prejudice or assumption just rankles.

For instance science fiction and mystery/thrillers. Many don't even consider them "proper literature". They also oversimplify them.

I encourage everyone not to just make a blanket assumption in genre fiction. The spectrum in each genre is huge. For instance, sci-fi has speculative, space opera, military sci-fi, dystopian, cyber tech, etc.

That being said, I am very leery of Christian fiction. I am always afraid of it being too "preachy".

PS - There's quite a bit of romance without sex, Bill

Kirsten wrote: "Many times this question really irritates me. Ruling out a complete genre because of some innate prejudice or assumption just rankles.

For instance science fiction and mystery/thrillers. Many don..."

I stirred up a hornet's nest a few pages back when I made a similar comment.

I can get really crazy about this. I used to only read a few genre. But once I got on Goodreads and especially after I joined the Goodreads Choice Awards book club, I have tried quite a few genre. Ones I would never have tried before.

Also, sometimes after reading a book review I will read a book I had never considered before.

I can understand not reading a certain book for a certain reason. But ruling out an entire genre because of maybe one experience or an assumption just makes me crazy.

I'm with the non-romance crew. I seems like an alienating topic for many people.
Even though I have some love scenes in my books I avoid the genre generally.

I am always reading romance, especially romantic suspense and historicals. I like having a little romance in ALL my books. But maybe that's because I'm single and childless and in my 40s and it's the only way I can get it.

Romance is another topic that I think is unfairly denigrated. It also has so many sub-genres.

Tom wrote: "Kirsten wrote: "Many times this question really irritates me. Ruling out a complete genre because of some innate prejudice or assumption just rankles.

For instance science fiction and mystery/thr..."

LOL!!! I remember that Tom.

I choose not to read Romance novels; however, I do not mind a little romance from time to time in my thrillers.

I step outside of my preference from time to time if the book sounds interesting to me. I read Aleatha Romig's Consequences trilogy and that is definately not my normal read. It was kind of a twisted, sick romance series. I actually enjoyed the series very much. I also recently read The Boy Who Drew Monsters which was more horror than crime thriller.

I definately do not go searching for books in genres that do not interest me; however, if I run across a book that looks good but falls under a genre I do not care for, I may read it.

Kirsten wrote: "I am always reading romance, especially romantic suspense and historicals. I like having a little romance in ALL my books. But maybe that's because I'm single and childless and in my 40s and it's t..."

LOL Kirsten, my situation isn't much different to yours but the reason I resist romance is because it tends to be too cheesy. It's difficult to do Romance well but as I read most genres I could accept a good Romance, if I could find one. It's not my genre though so I don't know what to look for generally.

Romina wrote: "I'm with the non-romance crew."

What, no Jane Austin?

Tom wrote: "Romina wrote: "I'm with the non-romance crew."

What, no Jane Austin?"

Nope, she's a little lacking on the blood, guts and gore side if memory serves ;)

Tom wrote: "Romina wrote: "I'm with the non-romance crew."

What, no Jane Austin?"

if into JA kind of romances, i strongly recommend Elizabeth Ann West.

she's a fellow indie author and a very good one.

I don't know why some ruling out a genre find it irritating?!! :))

I'm not going to read certain types of books and nor am I going to apologise for it. There must be millions of books out there, am I going to read them all, not a chance?!! I read for PLEASURE!! We can't even all agree within this genre, so what difference does not reading other genres make? I love words and how they're put together, where I find that is up to me. Where other folks find their pleasure in whichever genre is up to them. I'm just happy that people like to read and sharing that sometimes.

Janet wrote: "I don't know why some ruling out a genre find it irritating?!! :))

I'm not going to read certain types of books and nor am I going to apologise for it. There must be millions of books out there, a..."

Agreed Janet, I compare it to listening to a song, it'll either resonate or it won't, it's highly personal. I don't know of anyone who just listens to one type of composer/singer and no others-ever!
I too have read romance in my day, it's just not a priority genre.
Also because of the fact that out of most genres it's highly emotive and personal, not even a recommendation will swing it for me. I followed the crowd with 50 Shades for example and hated it.

Well said ladies. How boring life would be if we all shared the same interest, made the same choices and enjoyed the same things. There are simply way to many books out there that I know I want to read and will enjoy to waste time on books that I have no desire to read. Janet hit the nail on the head, most of us read for PLEASURE. Live and let live I say.

Hm, I think it the the NOT read- that absolute refusal to consider that is off putting. Like I tell my kids, at least try foods to see if you like them and try them again occasionally to see if you've changed your mind. You might be surprised. OTOH, everyone reads for different reasons, and I'm glad there's no book police to enforce variety ;)

I also try to read all genres, but have noticed that the combination of romance and werewolfs... well it's just not for me. I would definitely finish a book like that if I've started it, but it would have lost it's magic a little bit.

Isabell -how have I missed the romance and werewolf genre! Please! recommend a book for me-I must correct this deficit immediately! :)

Still don't like sprouts. Been trying them from as young as I can remember. "They are not just little cabbages; they are not".

David wrote: "Still don't sprouts. Been trying them from as young as I can remember. "They are not just little cabbages; they are not"."

Have you tried roasting them?http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recip...

Hah!! I might not read every genre..... but I like sprouts!!! :-D

Cabbage - forget it - the smell!!

Anyway, I digress, as you were!!

Janet wrote: "Cabbage - forget it - the smell!!

Anyway, I digress, as you were!!"

It's all in how you cook it, or not as the case may be. I love plain cabbage thinly sliced with vinegar-yum!
But it's true we have gone off course :)

Romina wrote: "Janet wrote: "Cabbage - forget it - the smell!!"

But it's true we have gone off course :) "

For the sake of getting us back on track, I hate cook books. ;-).

Hah!! :-)

Obesity is on the increase all over the world. My theory is that it is the proliferation of food shows on TV and cook books.

You go to any part of the inhabited world and I will bet there will be at least two food shows on Prime time TV on any given night.

I'm sorry but I disagree with that. Recipe books have been around for many many years and I remember cookery programmes from the seventies. There is is profileration of virtually everything now because our viewing has changed due to so many tv channels being available to us. Obesity in my humble opinion is on the increase because of the easy availability of 'junk food'. I remember when McDonalds, Burger King and the like were introduced in the UK. There are way more takeaways and fast food places than ever before. If anything cooking shows promote 'healthy foods/cooking, different foods from all over the world and an insight into high end Michelin star rated cooking. That's my experience anyway. I love the way that people have embraced cooking different foods at home, my kids love watching MasterChef!

Tom, you are saying this is a genre you do NOT read?!?!

Hands down it is Harlequin Romances. You couldn't pay me enough to read those books. Star War type books not my thing either.

Perri wrote: "Tom, you are saying this is a genre you do NOT read?!?!"

Isn't that what the thread is all about? I had to say something to get the conversation back on track. ;-)

Poetry/Shakespeare stuff , I got burnt out on it in high school!

Freda wrote: "Poetry/Shakespeare stuff , I got burnt out on it in high school!"

Then Your English teacher should have been taken out and shot. Their job was to create an interest in that stuff, not destroy it.

Another aspect of this discussion. I've discovered that books that I hated in school really should be rediscovered. The person I was in high school is not the person I am now.

For instance, I hated The Grapes of Wrath in high school. But I reread it in 2008 and it meant so much more to me.

I think that we should all think hard about ruling out books from school ... they could surprise us later!

Tom wrote: "Freda wrote: "Poetry/Shakespeare stuff , I got burnt out on it in high school!"

Then Your English teacher should have been taken out and shot. Their job was to create an interest in that stuff, no..."


Haha, I couldn't agree with you more. However, I did try to pick it back up in my 30's and again in my 40's so it wasn't for lack of trying.

Is it just the language of Shakespeare? Have you tried watching Shakespeare? Or is it just one play you didn't like?

Kirsten wrote: "Is it just the language of Shakespeare? Have you tried watching Shakespeare? Or is it just one play you didn't like?"

The language, I can't get my head around it. I've not tried watching it. Though I'm deaf, so I'm not sure they have something like that in closed captions. It's definitely something I should look into huh? Thanks for the suggestion!

Freda wrote: "The language, I can't get my head around it. I've not tried watching it. Though I'm deaf, so I'm not sure they have something like that in closed captions. It's definitely something I should look into huh? Thanks for the suggestion!"

Shakespeare is one of my favorites and that's mainly because of the wordplay he uses. Almost everything he says has multiple meanings and at least one of them would have parents calling on the school board to ban the book if they knew what he meant by it.