Books aren’t just a man’s best friend, but are a ticket to anywhere in the world you want to see. This extraordinary world is no less than a bullet train fuelled by your imagination, reaching your destinations like Narnia, Hogwarts, 18^th century Europe, 21^st century Missouri or sometimes even the set up of a mental asylum (Creepy yet imaginative) in a second , that too everyone visualising a world better than the other and none looking the same.

Despite the variety this world offers, most of us adore only a single genre, maybe two, and some of us prefer movies over books (highly offended). However, reading books has helped people unlock talents hidden and burdened by mundane routines and made them mentally stronger, sometimes emotionally stronger, and inspired. All this has been achieved by millions across the world just with the help of a few other people who have weaved a magic so strong that it has touched hearts and souls of the hardest shells. While I prefer reading mysteries, the genre only offers a certain aspect of life, making me think on one track. Thinking about the logic or reason behind a certain action is all my mind could process, which was an exhausting and unhealthy exercise, for I found it hard to think any other way. One of the things that stopped me from trying to read anything apart from mystery was a waste of my time doing something I was not interested in. Remember, no knowledge ever goes to waste in vain.

Fear not, for there is a way to break out of this comfort zone of a single genre. Reading! Read any genre other than your usual liking. It’s hard; you’ll drag the book for a month and will avoid it, but you cannot judge a book by the cover or your interests without trying something new.

These are the 5 Genres everyone should read once in their lives.

Books in Library

Science Fiction

This genre is for those with a narrow spectrum of imagination as to what the future holds. Science fiction has a lot to offer in terms of imaginative futuristic science like space fights, time travel, robots and androids, parallel universes and extraterrestrial beings, to name a few. The setting of science fiction is often contrary to that of reality. Still, most science fiction relies on a considerable degree of disbelief, which is made believable to the reader’s mind by potential scientific explanations or solutions to various fictional incidents/elements.

Recommendations

• Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood 
• The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
• Neuromancer by William Gibson

Self Help

A major player on my bookshelf, self-help plays the role of that one friend who instructs you with your life problem through trustworthy (and tried and tested) advice on how to approach a situation and resolve your issues. These books truly explore the way the human mind works and how this psychology can be used to help one seek happiness, satisfaction, and motivation. You never know how one day these books might change your entire life.

Recommendations

• Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
• Getting Things Done by David Allen
• Give and Take by Adam Grant 

Fiction

Often considered the conceit to narrate a story within a story, fiction is one of the most common and popular genres read worldwide. The best thing about this genre is that it is not bound to faithfulness to reality or any explanation to the description of situations, people, or places. Being open to interpretation, this genre can help you imagine and ponder the situations and climaxes.

Recommendation

• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
• The Mothers by Brit Bennett
• Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett
• The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan
• Moonglow by Michael Chabon

Mystery

One of my favorites, this genre usually represents a story where an individual solves a murder or crime mystery. Even though the definition of this genre is really simple, the twists and turns in these stories leave you hanging into every single word and thrilled for the irresistible ending that has kept you at the edge of your seat for so long. However, keep an eye out for anything unusual, maybe you’ll solve the mystery before the protagonist (something only avid mystery readers are able to).

Recommendations

• The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
• A Simple Plan by Scott Smith
• Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
• Arthur & George by Julian Barnes
• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Autobiographies/Biographies

There is nothing more interesting and inspiring than a real life success story. This genre doesn’t simply narrate someone’s story of rags to riches, it motivates one to study the protagonist’s struggles and how they overcame the barriers that lay on their path. This genre is especially recommended to anyone who is feeling down since they couldn’t succeed in a phase of life.This genre guides us to keep rising whenever we fall with examples of people from all walks of life.

Recommendations

• The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
  
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• The Life of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell
• Wings of Fire by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
• Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

So read as much as you can, for you never know when these books will help you in life.

Last Updated on August 2, 2024 by Sathi