Top 5 Wednesday is a group on Goodreads hosted by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes on Youtube.
Sam is currently on hiatus/vacation from Top 5 Wednesday this summer, but I have been thinking about these things for a while and thought I could share them with you now.
If you have been around here a little bit you will have noticed that I read quite a few books, and for the past 5 years I have read over 300 books a year. It would be hard to read that many books without learning a thing or two about your reading preferences. Sometimes preferences change, I have gone through years where I can't get enough romance and other years where I pretty much only read fantasy or historical fiction. But here are some things I have discovered about my reading that have become pretty consistent.
1. The books that have the biggest impact on me are often Children's picture books or Middle Grade books. For some reason the messages in these books just really strike me and stick with me. Maybe it is that they often take on a difficult subject with clarity or that the message is simply stated but those books really stand out to me.
Examples:
2. I prefer contemporary or historical fiction in Middle Grade but really struggle with Middle Grade Fantasy. I don't know what it is but I just can't get into MG Fantasy, which is odd because fantasy is one of my favorite genres, and I started out in MG fantasy. I recently had to DNF a few very popular MG fantasy books:
3. In reverse, anymore I cannot stand YA Contemporary but love YA fantasy. I think this ties into my complete intolerance for teen drama, the constant feeling that if this one thing doesn't happen the character's world will come to an end, as an adult I know there are way bigger problems. However, you put those same issues in a fantasy book and I can swallow it a little more, maybe because the perceived struggle tends to affect a bigger picture, like whole kingdoms survival. Like in Down and Across the basic premise is a teen striking out on his own to find his path in life and I had to DNF it but in Spin the Dawn the MC basically does the same thing but I gobbled it up. The setting and character attitudes can really make or break a book for me.
4. Growing up in a small town out west seems to really have determine my preference in romance. While I do enjoy a good billionaire romance, I much prefer small town, preferably with some kind of ranch/farm setting. Maybe I am missing that atmosphere and am absorbing it via text in a book. Some of my recent favorites are
5. As intimidated as I am by big books, they seem to often be my favorites! I really enjoy big chunky fantasy books that have time to develop with lots of characters and plot lines.
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