6 Epic Reasons to Read Outside Your Favorite Genre

Some readers love to genre-hop, reading books from every genre under the sun and finding joy in all of them. Others, like me, tend to stick with one or two preferred genres. We know what we like, and our genre of choice delivers precisely that in-the-story package we’re accustomed to. It just makes sense to always go back to the same genre to get what we want out of our books.
Or does it?
Despite being a die-hard “one-genre-man” myself, I’d argue it’s actually better to read across multiple genres—or even all genres—for a number of reasons.

1) Better vocabulary-building
Reading in other genres can expand your vocabulary base and help you learn words you might never be exposed to otherwise. Every genre has its own vocabulary “arena” in which it specializes. Romance novels focus a great deal on words to describe emotions, the “feel” of a location, and the physical elements of people and settings. Thrillers tend to use active verbs and high-tech words that wouldn’t be found in the pages of a fantasy. Sci-fi novels bring in futuristic technology, while fantasy uses vocabulary that is no longer common to our modern usage.

2) Broader memory
If all you read is science fiction, your mind will be filled with information critical to futuristic-set stories (lightsabers, blaster pistols, alien races, spaceship designs, and so on). However, you may find it harder to remember information critical to other aspects of life because you find it less interesting.
Those who read across a broad spectrum of genres find a broader range of information “interesting.” This means their brains are being trained to store more data across a wider spectrum of topics. They will have an easier time remembering elements in every aspect of life because they are storing information relevant to historical fiction and fantasy, modern romances and thrillers, and futuristic science fiction.

Read the entire article in the September 2020 issue of InD'Tale magazine.

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