Ever get that feeling when you finish a book that you want to read something drastically different, something fresh? I know the feeling well. I remember feeling this at the end of October (a month when I only read creepy books). I was desperate for something – anything – different.

For many of us, we tend to read the same types of books over and over again. Whether it is fiction, mystery, self-help, thriller or non-fiction, we are delightful creatures of habit that reach for whatever comforts us. We like to know that the grizzled detective will get his guy in the end, that the warrior princess will fight for her crown, or that the wizard will come into his powers with the help of a mentor.  These are not bad things - the predictability of genres is what we love about them! Reading a book that has similar flow and themes is like wrapping a warm, soft blanket around yourself. It’s cozy. It’s safe.

But what if you want to break out of that genre? Where do you start? And, better yet, how do you know that the book you’ve picked won’t destroy an entire category of books for you with a bad experience? Reading outside your favorite genres can feel risky. What if you waste your time? What if you hate it?

These are all valid concerns, but fear not: Anythink is here! With the help of my fellow librarians, I am here to recommend to you “safe” books in a few major genres that are sure to delight a new reader and welcome them into a new genre with ease. In fact, we even have a new display up at Anythink Wright Farms to highlight these genres. Stop by to find these titles and more.

Books to help launch you into a new genre

If you want to try mystery/thriller, read:

• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
• The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turnton
• Inferno by Dan Brown 
• In The Woods by Tana French
• The Girl on the Train by Paula Smith
• The Killing Floor by Lee Child

If you want to try horror, read:

• The Shining or It by Stephen King
• The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
• Hell House by Richard Matheson 
• Ghost Story by Peter Straub
• The Terror by Dan Simmons.
• The Invited by Jennifer McMahon

If you want to try sci-fi, read:

• Dune by Frank Herbert
• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
• Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
• Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
• Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey

If you want to try fantasy, read:

• The Magicians by Lev Grossman
• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
• The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
• Uprooted by Naomi Novik
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
• Eragon by Christopher Paolini

If you want to try memoir, read:

• Educated by Tara Westover
• Home Work by Julie Andrews
• The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
• The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
• Small Fry by Lisa Jobs
• Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
• Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

If you want to try young adult (YA), read:

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Dumplin by Julie Murphy
• The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevado
• Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
• Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
• The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

If you want to try Western, read:

• The Son by Philip Meyer
• Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
• True Grit by Charles Portis
• News of the World by Paulette Jiles
• The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson

If you want to try dystopian, read:

• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
• The Handmaiden’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Scythe by Neal Shusterman
• Brave New World by Aldolphus Huxley
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• Borne by Jeff Vandermeer

If you want to try graphic novels, read: 

• The Saga Series by Brian K. Vaughn
• Fun Home by Allison Blechel
• Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore
• This One Summer by Mariko Tamiki
• March by John Lewis
• Maus by Art Speigelman

It might be a lofty goal in 2020 to try and read all this entire list! (Just putting it out there.)