Burnt Out vs. Moving On: Subgenres We Don’t Read As Much Anymore

old book on the bench in autumn parkRecently Amanda commented internally that she used to read a ton of historicals, but that she hadn’t reached for or even considered one for awhile.

This got me thinking about genres that I used to adore and read like I was starving and had an unlimited supply of those chocolate covered fruit snacks from Brookside. 

Figuring out what I used to read isn’t difficult; I’m packing up most of my possessions and donating at least a third of them. Parting with some paperbacks is much, much easier than parting with others, especially when I ask myself, “Is it worth it to pay a company to move this for you, or would it be better to say goodbye now?” Clearly, the books that are easy to let go of are books I’m not as attached to, and for me, they fell into one of two genres, mostly: angsty historical, and paranormal, some angst.

Brookside chocolate covered fruit snacks

Why? That’s harder to pinpoint. I think my step away from angsty historical matches my disinterest in any book in any romance sub-genre that is described with the words “heart wrenching,” “twist of fate,” “devastating,” “poignant,” “touching,” “tragic,” “moving,” or “heartbreaking” in the cover copy. I’m mentally exhausted and don’t have extra feelings to spare or energy to devote to the deep reactions I have to strongly emotional fiction. Damn you, authors are your ability to make readers have feels! (I mean, really and truly, good job, and I’m sorry I can’t pick up those books.)

But paranormal, I think I burned out by reading too much. For me, a very powerful combination of catnip or an author who is persistently excellent are about the only things that vaults me past my initial, “Oh, yeah, I’m kind of tired of that” reaction to vampires, were-shifters, and demons. I read so many, for so long, and so quickly that I kind of exhausted myself on that particular type of story. The descriptions I have read all seem too familiar and overdone most of the time.

My exception: dragons. Because dragons.

Guards! Guards!
A | K | AB
But I’m also building a “When I Have More Time to Read Again” library of fantasy that’s been very effusively recommend, such as some of the Discworld books  — Tiffany Aching ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au | Scribd ), for example, and Guards! Guards! I also have some of the Anne McCaffery Pern books (see above re: DRAGONS.) I’m very eager to read more fantasy with nuanced and absorbing world building – once my brain isn’t exhausted from remembering and doing 9,365,199 tasks that are currently on the to-do list.

Yet paranormal, not so much. Which is unfortunate because it’s not like I want the genre to disappear or anything.

I think there’s a difference between “I’m burned out on this sub-genre,” and “My reading tastes have changed and this no longer appeals.” Paranormal is, for me, an example of the first, while angsty fiction is more the second, because I don’t see myself gravitating towards emotionally wrenching fiction any time soon.

Amanda:

As noted above, I cannot get into a historical romance for the life of me. I’ve read my fair share – Lisa Kleypas, Julie Garwood, Courtney Milan, etc. But I’d say within the last few years, I haven’t been interested. My closest guess might be burnout since I read a lot of them in a little amount of time, but who the hell knows.

I see my fellow Bitches reading them and enjoying them and it’s hard not to think “WHY NOT ME?!” I want to get excited about the new Sarah MacLean or the new Mary Balogh. But I read the book descriptions and just shrug my shoulders. I recently picked up Meredith Duran’s Lady Be Good and gave it a lukewarm 3 out of 5 on Goodreads. I firmly believe the problem lies with me and my reading tastes rather than with any of these authors or the genre as a whole. There are also so many historical romances getting published in a given month that it’s rather overwhelming on decided where to dip my toe in again.

Madame X
A | BN | K | AB
It’s possible my reading tastes are just focused elsewhere right now. I’ve shifted to reading a lot of contemporary romances, mainly sports romances and those that are darker (see Madame X and my Edie Harris reviews – Blamed and Ripped). With darker themes, I often find them more prevalent in other genres and not in historical romances, so maybe that’s why.

But there are tropes that I love that show up in historical romances all the time, like class differences, and I still can’t seem to be swayed very much. For me, I think my avoidance of historical romances is a little of both the reasons Sarah mentioned earlier: changing tastes combined with burnout.

What about you? Do you have sub-genres that you’ve burnt out on, or that no longer appeal? Do you know why? Which ones?

 

Comments are Closed

  1. PamG says:

    I don’t think I’ve really burnt out on a sub-genre, because I read across a broad range of genres and sub-genres, but I would say that I go on genre hiatus at times when I can’t find authors as entertaining as the ones who originally got me hooked. I also don’t take sub-genres too seriously because they are often such an artificial construct. To me NA and YA are essentially meaningless because they tell me so little about the content of the books.

    I’m more of a moving on person, though not by genre as much as by author or series. I used to read Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, and Sarah MacLean, but I found the constant deluge of current cultural references so irritating, that I just quit. 21st century characters in costume porn just didn’t seem all that witty to me after a relatively short while. Yet I continue to love Milan, Duran, Thomas, & Hoyt. Other authors have such a wide range within their body of work that some become comfort reads while others I wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. Then there are authors that just keep writing the same book or even different books with the same sex scenes. That’s a cue to move on.

    I suppose that the real reason that I don’t give up on entire sub-genres is that there’s always hope that said sub-genre will produce an author that I can love over and over again.

  2. Katie Lynn says:

    A few years ago I was SUUUPER into historicals. A friend gave me the entire Bridgerton series, which turned into me glomming any historicals I could get my grubby mitts on. Then, at the beginning of this year, I subscribed to Scribd (have since ended our subscription, sadly), and so was reading anything that interested me. Paranormal? Sure. Steampunk? Absolutely. Contemporary sports? Yes, please! So now I read basically anything except historicals, seeing as they’re all I read for a good 2 years.

  3. Elizabeth says:

    Regencies or Scottish historicals. I think the problem is that none of the environment is new, and sometimes I feel like the writing can be lazy as some authors just expect you know the world building. I love some of the tropes though, so I love love love when you get similar conflicts/plots in either contemporaries or different historical settings.

    Also burnt out on cutesy small-town contemporaries. Same reasons–world building just tends to be so similar.

  4. Kareni says:

    I burned out on Scottish historicals YEARS ago though I made an exception when I kept hearing about The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. I’m now tired of billionaires. I really loved J.D. Robb’s … in Death books, but I’m about ten behind now. I’m fairly certain that I’ll pick up that series again one day.

    Oh, and let me recommend Dilettante Bing Cherries … yum!

  5. No more paranormal – not even Ilona Andrews’ books? They’re about the only were-anything I still read, the rest were drek. (I’m looking at you, LKH)

    (so, can anyone recommend a good were-story? *is utterly hopeless)

  6. S. Haggerty says:

    I’m SOOOOO sick of Navy SEALs and BDSM books. Seriously, really, really really sick of them.

  7. Janet Krolman says:

    I find I can’t get enough of historicals. I love them, although I am on a Kristen Ashley kick at the moment. Fire Inside was on sale a few weeks ago which led me to the Dream Man Series. I churned through the first three and am on #4 (Motorcycle Man). After this binge, I am back to historicals. Lisa Kleypas has a new one (Cold Hearted Rake). she is my favorite historical writer followed by a bunch of others (Julie Anne Long, Sarah MacLean, Mary Jo Putney, Julie Garwood, Loretta Chase, etc). The good historical writers are great writers, which is why I never seem to tire of them.

    What am I tired of? Alpha male/BDSM/erotica/billionaires. I probably will read the 5th book in the Crossfire series (if it ever gets published), even though I haven’t thought the series was very good since books 1 and 2. Tiffany Reisz is such a compelling writer that I am enjoying The Original Sinners series. Can’t binge on them, because they are too intense. I read about one every six months. Started with The Saint, and then started at the beginning with the Red Years. These books are not for the faint of heart, but they are incredibly well written.

  8. Kelly says:

    I usually read paranormals, so i tend to use other genres as palate cleansers, Regency especially. I do have some contemporary series that I read, but not many. I like the idea of happily ever after, but sometimes I find that the contemporary lifestyles aren’t as real as I would like- I think the consequences of what would happen if you did the same things in real life vs contemporary life tend to be pretty different, which makes me pull from the storyline a bit. Regencies can get a lot of TSTL heroines, which bother to my agency-loving self. I would not do we well in that era as a person, for sure. However, whatever timeline I am reading, if I get to a happy place in the end, that is what I’m after and what keeps me coming back no matter how long its been.

  9. Mina Lobo says:

    I’m totally with you on eschewing the heartrending stuff–but then, I pursue more lighthearted fantasy in general (TV shows, movies, even music). I’m wrecked; gimme some crazy fun good times!

  10. Christine says:

    I’m burned out on the same things you are, Sarah. Sometimes I wonder, though, if it isn’t at least in part the blurbs that are the problem. I’m so tired of high-stakes and high-drama, but I suppose there might be some emotionally-nuanced, subtler books that I’m missing because the blurb has all those high-powered trigger words that I run away from. (I’ll never know, though, because I have such a knee-jerk negative reaction now to devastating, heart-wrenching twists of fate!)

  11. Mara says:

    Like Nicole, I binge read a lot, so burn out is built into my overall reading strategy. I’ve been on a big PNR/UF kick this year, but before that it was small-town contemporary and snappy historicals. I think more than anything I’ve just become pickier about what I’ll read, so I guess in that respect I’ve “moved on” from some subgenres and tropes I used to give a chance… I’ve also implemented a “whatever I’m in the mood for” rule. This can get tricky with the library, but in general, I’m doing my best to read what I’m actually in the mood to read, rather than what I *should* be reading. And to not make any set-in-stone rules about what kind of reader I am. I mean, 2 years ago I wouldn’t pick up a romance or fantasy at all. So who knows what I’ll like next?

  12. Cordy (not stuck in spam filter sub-type) says:

    I feel like I somehow have the reverse of this, where I keep trying other things and then having internal recoil and coming back to the same things I always read: I have tried to get into contemporary romances and paranormals so, so, so many times, and I am never able to do it. Very occasionally I’ll find a new author who does things I like, and then I’ll follow that person, but… I think for me it might be more about the author and less about the subgenre? I generally need things to be a very specific mix of “not fake” and “not depressing”, which is for obvious reasons pretty hard to find. You know what I mean? Weirdly, Terry Pratchett totally fills this niche for me! Of course the settings are outlandish and not pretending to be real, but there is very often an emotional realness underlying it all – it’s real humans with real feelings, even if the humans are actually vampires plotting to form a union of other concerned undead citizens and so on – and pretty much a guaranteed happy ending.

    I am super picky. It’s hard to find things to read. I have a “things I really liked” folder on my Kindle that I keep revisiting whenever the new thing I tried didn’t work out.

  13. Karin says:

    Like @Francesca and a couple of others, I am burnt out on the sassy historicals. If the heroine is described as “saucy” or “perky” I run the other way; the ones that act totally out of character for their time period. But historicals cover so much ground, that I can’t get sick of the entire genre. I’ve gravitated more to the ones that have a lot of adventure or mystery in the plot. Occasionally I get a temporary overdose of my favorite time period, which runs from the late 1700’s to the early Victorian era. Then I switch to medieval, or Tudor, or early 20th century.
    Years ago, before I got so hooked on historicals, I used to read a lot of hard-boiled detective novels and procedurals, like the Dave Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke, and the Easy Rawlins books by Walter Mosley(who is brilliant, by the way, but I don’t think he’s writing any more books about Easy). Now I never touch them, but if Robert Parker were still alive, I would read his books. I also read a lot of British cozies, the ones set from the 1920’s to the 1950’s. I still read them occasionally.
    I also stopped reading contemporaries after Elizabeth Lowell and Linda Howard switched from romance with a little suspense, to suspense with just a little romance. I quit the Kinsey Milhone books at around the letter “M”, and the “In Death” books after about a dozen of them.
    When I can’t find something new to read, the older historicals still hit the spot, there is such depth and richness to those stories.

  14. SandyCo says:

    I gave up on Laurell K. Hamilton after “Narcissus in Chains”; I knew where she was going with the “ardeur” and wanted no part of it. Every so often I look at the one-star Amazon reviews for her latest release purely for amusement.

    I never thought of myself as having burned out on any particular genre, but I just realized I’ve been staying away from paranormals. I’ve been gravitating to darker BDSM novels, like “One Cut Deeper” by Joely Sue Burkhart.

    I’m also beginning to burn out on Harlequin Presents; I’ve been a faithful reader of that line since the late 70s, but lately most of them have been awful. Too much unrealistic sex (a virgin experimenting with bondage, really?) and way too much psychoanalyzing of the “tell, don’t show” variety. Yuck. I miss the better authors in that genre, like Charlotte Lamb and Michele Reid.

  15. I’ve been in a huge reading slump all year. I think it has to do with greater time restrictions as well as burnout. I just can’t seem to get into anything, no matter what genre it is

  16. bookworm1990 says:

    Chick-lit. I know that’s controversial to say since some think it’s a subgenre of fiction, some think it’s a subgenre of romance, and some think it’s its own genre. Since I gravitated towards chick-lit that was more heavy on the love-story side (though they were never quite baby enough for me), I say it’s a subgenre of romance. I did not read for leisure so much in my high school and college years because of all the reading I did for school and all of my extra curriculars, so vacations and school breaks were dedicated to reading (causing me to earn my “antisocial” reputation, but that’s another rant), and my mom always treated me to a book of my choice from Books-A-Million. At the time, my teenage self loved stories about young women going out and finding careers and a successful man despite their faults and insecurities. But after a while I started feeling as though all of the books I read had the same ingenue who is literally incapable of doing anything and then by the end of the book sort of knows how to adult. And the three chapters of hot-guy-with-no-character-development were unsatisfying and consistent as well. I decided to branch out and try some Debbie Macomber romances for a while for a change of pace, but once I tried doing chick lit again (because I was ashamed I liked old lady romances … the mind of a teen), I realized my tastes had just completely changed and it was time to move on. I needed stronger women, some good influences on the ingenues, and a hero with a real personality outside of his sexy smile and sexy bank account. I think Kleypas’ Brown Eyed Girl is as close as I’ve gotten to chick lit in years.

    I also haven’t been able to read a Cinderella retelling troupe in a few years. Too often the Prince Charming is a douchebag once he finds out the Cinderella is poor and lied about it, and after I’ve sat there and read about her abuse for pages on pages, I just wanna slap him and tell her she deserves better, no matter how big his apology and how mighty his wang. I just can’t deal.

  17. HollyG says:

    I’m completely burned out of regencies, billionaires (or any too rich and angsty), any ‘virgin’ books unless the it’s a male that is a virgin, BDSM, ménage and romantic suspense. I used to love David Weber until his editors decided they no longer needed to edit him and the books kept getting thicker but not necessarily better.
    Right now – I’m reading more m/m books also – I recently started to get back into some sci-if with Jack Campbell series, and listening to fun shifter novels like (GA Aiken/Shelly Laurenston.).

  18. Virginia says:

    I’ve been a binge reader for as long as I’ve been reading. It’s not a case of burning out so much as how long I avoid a type of book that was recently my 1st choice. For much of the eighties, I was all about categories – all the lines – because they were short enough to finish fast. Then I moved on to books that delayed the HEA for a couple of days. Two decades later I came back to sampling categories occasionally but never considered it as burnout. Now I’m gleefully taking advantage of the current Harlequin sale.

    I’m presently not reading the kind of erotic romances that are 10+ page sex scenes which add nothing to the actual story. If the 1st sex scene occurs before the story gets started, or if it’s full of mechanistic descriptions of who does what without any feeling or emotional connection, that’s a DNF for me now.

    Is avoiding a subgenre when it became a subgenre the same as being burnt out ? I read plenty of Betty Neels but say no to medical romance. Harlequin had many many rich heroes – mostly millionaires back then – but billionaires leave me cold. Bad boys, yes, but MC clubs and crime bosses take it too far for me.

    My reading tastes have changed over the years. The change relates mostly to the quality of the writing rather than the subject matter.

  19. Susan says:

    I haven’t totally turned my back on any (sub)genres, but there are some I’ve scaled way back on. I used to be a *huge* mystery reader, for instance, but I got sick and angry with the proliferance of depraved serial killers, especially since the targets were overwhelmingly women. And erotica, most notably the BDSM variety, just seems to be more about sexual humiliation and degradation than anything else these days. I used to be fairly unperturbed by this, but then my tolerance suddenly tanked to almost nil. I still read these genres, but I’m very, very choosy when I do.

    Now, there are some authors that I’ve broken up with or gone on a break to think things over. In romance, that includes some of my old favorites like JAK, Howard, and Lowell. Thanks for the good times, ladies, but we’re quits. In SF, I’m hoping for a reconciliation with Weber and Shepherd but, frankly, they’ve been boring me to tears. Reading your books should be a joy, not a task to mark off on my checklist. Jennifer Estep falls into that category on the UF side, along with so many others. So. Many.

    I think the deal is that I’m reading a greater variety of books/genres than I used to. I’m still a big-time glommer, but then I’ll listen to something totally different in the car than what I’m reading on my Kindle. So, if it seems like I’m reading fewer historical romances, maybe it’s just because I don’t have time because I’m immersed in a new space opera series. But I’ll get back to the historical as soon as I’m done. Or maybe right after the UF, or cozy mystery. . .

  20. Allison says:

    I definitely go through fits and starts with genres. I have not read romantic suspense in years and tend to gloss over that completely now. Mostly I think I glutted myself on romantic suspense and I don’t feel that authors are being very original in the plots (Heroine has to go to Central/South America/Middle East/etc and hero is a commando/mercenary/CIA/Interpol). My first romance was Julie Garwood (I think The Secret or Castles were my firsts) and I have loved historical romance ever since but in the past year, I just can’t get that interested. I keep buying the historical authors I’ve always loved (Sarah Maclean and Julia Quinn to name a few) thinking that it will spark my interest again. I think I will go back to historical but I need a break.
    I have also taken a break from the BDSM genre. I was a little sick of it before 50 Shades (which I have NOT read and never intend to). I’m not sure yet if its a permanent break or just a temporary one. I think if one is recommended, I will, at the very least, download a sample to try. It just depends on my mood
    One thing I will always avoid is first person. When I download a kindle sample and as soon as I see “I” I automatically delete. The exception being new adult. For some reason with new adult, I can look past first peron and get into the story. I think its because I’m not in that age group so its easier for me to read past the “I’s” and get into the story. Or maybe I’m just really odd.
    I love contemporary and shifter stories. For some reason I can’t suspend disbelief for romantic suspense but I totally buy into shifters,vampires and other supernatural beings. I love the fated mate thing though I know its not for everyone. I am always looking for new authors and something else to get into.
    I know that I can always depend on Smart Bitches and Dear Author for recommendations! I also love the podcat!

  21. morganlefake says:

    I think I’m burned out on paranormal right now. It was my gateway drug into romance, but I strayed away during the past year to books with less supernatural themes. On a whim (and because it’s so highly rated) I picked up Christine Feehan’s Dark Carpathian series and, although I’m reading through the series, I’m getting angrier and angrier as I go.

    I am super tired of supernatural romances that have issues with consent, especially between a supernatural alpha and a human (or less supernaturally strong) woman. And, since most supernaturals tend to follow this trope, I am just DONE.

    I have been reading around some wonderful M/M romance and BDsM romance, thanks to recommendations here, which has really broadened my horizons and (I think because of this) now I’m ruined for supernatural, at least for now!

  22. Melanie says:

    A few years ago, I had an awful period of extended unemployment and family health issues. During that time, I read scads of contemporary category romances, including sweet small-town ones, which had never appealed to me before; I’d always preferred historical romances (and historical mysteries and historical fiction, for that matter.) For awhile, at least, I just couldn’t cope with the detailed descriptions and world-building that I usually enjoyed. I needed the straightforward settings of contemporaries. The shorter length felt more manageable with all the stress I was dealing with, and of course there was always a happy ending. Things got better, and after a while most category-length contemporaries didn’t appeal to me as much. In my most recent move, I got rid of the ones I knew I wouldn’t reread. I still read a handful of favorite category authors, but I’ve returned to reading mostly historicals.

  23. Joan says:

    I agree with Melanie less challenging literature, with simple plots and happily ever afters is a respite from real life drama.

  24. Scoyphenson says:

    I burned out on paranormal anything a while ago. No more shifters, vampires, weres, succubi, incubi or witches (with the exception of the Mayfair witches). Though now that I re-read that, maybe it’s more moving on….

    As for moving on, that has happened a couple of times, but it’s author-focused rather than genre-based. In high school I read Danielle Steele novels almost as fast as her team of monkeys could write them. Then, in my early 20s it was Nora Roberts. I tend to move on when I read a new book that highlights how unsatisfying an author’s work has become to me.

    Like a lot of other readers here, I shuffle genres depending upon my mood and what is available.

  25. I’m completely over anything vampire that wasn’t written by Joss Whedon. I can re-watch Buffy and never feel burnt out on it. But books? Nope. No more. There’s just so much angst. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a single vampire in literature that was happy about being a vampire. They’re all of the “woe is me” variety, and yes, Angel fell into that bottomless pit, but at least he was given the hope that he’d one day be human. (I recently read something in which Joss was quoted as saying that had Angel gone to a season 6, he would have been human.) Personally, I don’t think he’d know what to do with himself if that ever happened and he’d probably go as insane as he made Drusilla back in his Angelus days.

    Maybe if there was a DIFFERENT vampire story out there, I’d be able to get back into it, but I just can’t do it right now.

    I also read a lot of small town romances and I think that they’re all becoming cardboard cutouts of one another. Kooky residents, quirky elderly people with too many social media accounts, and a shit ton of big city shaming. I blame Jill Shalvis for the first two. Her Lucky Harbor series was so good that every other author had to do the same exact thing.

  26. Trish says:

    I totally burned out on mysteries a while ago, probably because of my subscription to Mystery Guild (don’t judge me). I think the series that drove me the craziest was Diane Mott Davidson’s Goldy Schultz mysteries–after maybe five books I was like “damn, Aspen Meadows seems to have a higher murder per capita rate than Chicago.” It’s the rare series that can sustain itself over the course of many books; it usually hits the wall around the fourth or fifth book and after that the author just starts mailing it in (I’m looking at you, too many authors to list).

  27. Trudy says:

    I’ve got a lot on my kindle that I keep skipping. I’m reading more contemporary after a lifetime of historicals. I left vampires a long time ago and only like werewolves in small doses. The bdsm stuff is like watching a car wreck. Hope they live but the pain is unbearable. Some so shockingly violent that I don’t believe they can walk ever again. And the heck is with this half brother step brother shite ? For goodness sake. I’m very picky about regencies these days and I reread my favs when I’m in a mood. Great discussion here. I remember the day I couldn’t read one more Steele, Sidney Sheldon. When it’s over it’s over.

  28. Diana says:

    Historicals. They’ve turned into fancy costume parties with 21st century-seeming characters. Plus, it’s just inundated with the same old, same old: shy, awkward virgins with glasses who are spinsters at age 22 and want to save all the orphans!!!!!! But the playboy-rake hero sees past their spectacles and love of learning to discover that the heroine has a smoking hot bod beneath her vaguely Regency-era type dress. VOMIT. Please be more original, some historical authors. Super frustrating. The only authors I read from now, in the historical genre, are Susanna Kearsley, Meredith Duran and Cecilia Grant.

    Also, New Adult. Ever since I got a social work job working with young adults (ages 18-25), I CANNOT with New Adult characters. It’s my every day, so reading about their whining and angst makes me want to leap through the pages and give them a firm, motherly lecture about growing the hell up.

  29. Janice says:

    I’m burnt out on mysterious foreign tycoon romances, romantic suspense, medieval/Renaissance romance and chick lit. I’m on the verge of being burned out on cozy mysteries so have been rationing my intake because I can always rely on the library to have shelves and shelves of these available when I have the free time to read.

  30. I read fast and voraciously (120+ books a year). I like science fiction romance, fantasy romance, mysteries, action-adventure, and straight SF&F, but I’m picky. I still like paranormal and urban fantasy, but not so much the latter if the series would make a soap opera writer’s head spin.

    I have an on-again-off-again relationship with romantic suspense. I’m dipping my toe back onto those waters after having read several execrable examples a couple of years ago. How many serial killers and stalkers are there, anyway?

    I’m burned out on anything with dubious consent. My favorite genre, science fiction romance, is rife with it—too many alien abductions, slave markets, magic hormones, etc. I’m deeply suspicious of “fated mates” and “you were made for me” tropes.

    Back in the Jurassic age when I was young, I read a ton of Regency romances and loved them, but now I find them tedious and trying to hard. Historicals without magic/paranormal/fantasy bore me.

    I cannot read contemp. romance; far too many books could be solved by a 5-minute conversation between the main characters. Zero tolerance for pain=sex=love, secret babies, billionaires, stepbrothers, angsty angst, and new adult (which is the same as angsty angst, near as I can tell).

    Good romantic erotica makes me wish I’d written it; bad examples become wallbangers.

  31. SB Sarah says:

    @April:

    IT IS SO TRUE. Those chocolate fruit bits are EVIL delicious.

  32. roserita says:

    YMMV indeed! When I was a kid I started out with historical fiction and mysteries, then moved on and up to adult historical fiction and mysteries (I never read much YA, because the library didn’t really have much YA). I looooved weepys (Evelyn Anthony, anyone?) with lots of suffering and angst–and sometimes the heroine died at the end. Boo hoo, break out the tissues. Then I discovered gothics, which were kind of a cross between historicals and mysteries, and read those until the genre sort of collapsed under the weight of all the books that got churned out (kind of like where paranormal is now). But at some point I just stopped with the big thick historicals (did not have enough time to keep track of all the characters), and read Regencies, starting with Georgette Heyer, of course. I still like the “Regency-as-comedy-of-manners” books, but there are very few of them written any more–most authors are doing what I call books-with-a-Regency-setting, instead. I still read mysteries, but with a few caveats–no spies, no serial killers, no mobsters–(with a very few, specific exceptions), but I don’t like modern romantic suspense/thrillers, and cozy series are too… cozy(?). Part of the problem is that every author–in every genre–seems to be under pressure to do a series. How many murdered bodies can one small town amateur stumble across before it gets unbelievable? When an historical romance series has to drag the time-traveling long-lost cousin of the brother-in-law of the stepfather of the hero of the first book in the series, just to keep the series going, it might be time to wrap things up. I am still reading paranormal/supernatural–but low-angst, please. That’s why I love Shelly Laurenston/G.A. Aiken. No “Oh woe, the moon turns me into a ravening beast.” It’s all shifter roller derby and shifter karaoke. Plus dragons. I’ve been reading the newest book in Karen Chance’s Cassie Palmer series, which is full of “we must save the world” drama, but it’s not all serious–there are lighter moments.
    I read to be informed AND entertained. Yes, Life Is Earnest, Life Is Real–but I can get that from the news. And fiction-wise, of course we must save the world/catch the killer/find our soulmate/whatever, but it doesn’t have to unrelentingly grim, does it?

  33. […] “Burnt out vs moving on: Subgenres we don’t read as much anymore“. […]

  34. Jessica says:

    I used to be a serious high fantasy reader, read too much, tired of the tropes, and moved on. Then it was urban fantasy but the same happened – I particularly tired of the one-tough-woman-against the world trope. Then historical romance was my biggest… And I worry I’m hitting my wall. It takes either a favourite author it something REALLY special to get me to love an HR now. Sad! Not sure what I will gravitate to next

  35. kitkat9000 says:

    Not sure if what I feel is burnout or moving on, I’m thinking it’s a mixture of both. Although in relation to the -aire trope, I’m just done, period.

    Loved mysteries and read them faithfully for years but I’m so tired of the violence, most of which feels egregious to me now. And anti-women. If I want violence and gritty realism I can turn on the news. Reading is a pleasure for me. I’ve no interest in it becoming a chore just to finish either a book or a series, my OCD tendencies be damned.

    My go-to authors include anything by Ilona Andrews or Aiken/Laurenston, Singh’s Guild Hunter, Milan, and a dozen others I can’t immediately recall.

    Love Shalvis but Lucky Harbor will never be reread by me- that bloody Lucille made me rage and I would have cut her bs off at the knees. There was absolutely nothing cute about that woman’s intrusions into the lives of the people around her.

    LKH & Feehan: hopelessly dull, stupid, boring, mind-bogglingly repetitive, take your pick.

    Harris made me feel lied to and used, never will I trust her again. I’ll wait for whatever new series is done & then get it from the library. Maybe.

    Evanovich: used to love her Plum series but not anymore. May I say now that she’s the reason I loathe love triangles and won’t go near them? Ever again.

    Though I initially got started with Garwood’s historicals, I really only read Regency now (although I’m slowly branching into Victorian on a per author basis) and it’s still my go to even though I dislike the young virginal ingenue/older rogue-rake trope as a general rule. I suppose I can handle it because it’s historical and was what was done then? In contemporaries it’s usually a dnf despite my somewhat obsessive love of HCR’s.

    TBH, accuracy isn’t an issue for me as I read strictly for enjoyment and am capable of tuning out my inner historian as long as the errors aren’t too glaring. I think that’s mostly because I gave up on it years ago when I realized not everyone LIKED history the way I did (as well as disqualifying most author’s works). This includes everything- Scottish, medieval, Regency, Victorian, etc. but only if it’s otherwise well-written as I’m never able to turn off my internal editor.

    I’ve read some NA/YA but it’s not really me. All that angst just irritates me no end. Granted, I’m older now (late 40’s) but my memory is fine. Neither I nor my friends lived like that.

    The MC books are humorous to me and I read them as such. No, really, I do. There’s a chapter house not 1.5 miles from my home and let me just say, not a handsome one in the bunch. Not even good looking if you want the truth. Hard, worn, well-used, dangerous, stab-you-soon-as-look-at-you, yeah, they’re all of that but not sexy. Or misunderstood. And that’s both sexes.

    I have always hated the trope where one decent 5-10 minute conversation could resolve everything, but the H/h can’t get out of their own head/way long enough to do so. And that goes across all genres. If they can talk it out but won’t/don’t, they’re becoming dnf’s for me.

    I am completely over the “cute”, however. I’m also tired of women who exclaim they’re adult and then proceed to show me just how immature they really are. And as for the she’s-beautiful-but-doesn’t-know-it and he’s-handsome-and-smug-about-it, no, just no. I’m over that as well. Unfortunately, that pertains to too many contemporary authors to call out. But, oh, how I wish I could. The SEAL/Spec Ops is a fantasy trope for me so I haven’t given up on that yet but I do read far, far fewer of them than I used to.

    I hate cliffhangers of any kind and won’t read them until it’s done. There’s an historical mystery series my mom reads about a doctor in Victorian (I think) England. 4-5 books into the series and EVERY ONE IS A CLIFFHANGER. She loves it but I’ll never go near it.

  36. Christine Maria Rose says:

    I went through a period of time (about 10 years) where I completely avoided romances (except the Outlander series) and read only historical fiction, fantasy, and espionage thrillers. Then in 2013 I picked up a copy of Joanna Bourne’s The Spymaster’s Lady and got sucked back in to my forgotten love of historical romance. For about 6 months I read that genre exclusively, then started branching out. Now I read all genres of romance (except YA and dark erotica) and I try to switch things up to keep the genres fresh and exciting for me. I’ve only recently started reading pnr so I’m finding those quite fun. But if I read the word ‘tear-jerker’ or ‘heartbreaking’ in the blurb for a book, or a review for it, I avoid it. I don’t need extra angst in my life.

  37. Tiffany says:

    My reading habits keep growing and changing as I get older. When I was in middle/high school I was all about epic fantasy stories and plot driven science fiction. I was also reading heavy emotional YA like Cynthia Voight, and character driven stories were not ruled out. This was when I found Tamora Peirce and Lois McMaster Bujold after all. I was reading for the journey and the adventure and I wasn’t really sophisticated enough to pick up on problematic elements early on. As I got older I began to notice things like sexism in the SF/Fantasy I was reading and I was frustrated. I started looking for female authors specifically and avoiding older SF especially. I managed to burn myself out on epic fantasy (thanks Robert Jordan, why did I keep reading after book 5?) and still mostly avoid big long series in both fantasy & sci-fi.

    Then I went to college and essentially stopped reading fiction for 9 months of the year. This was intentional and necessary for me to get what I needed done, I’m not someone who can just step away and write a paper or do my math homework without a struggle. Even though I wasn’t reading fiction, these years changed how I would look at fiction when I went back. I had words for misogyny, racism, and classism. I was more empathetic than teenage me, and when I graduated I started looking for character driven books that had solid plots and didn’t make me feel like an outside. I was still sticking to fantasy and science fiction though.

    In graduate school I did not give up reading fiction, and that’s really when forays into romance began. I’m not very prone to burnout on much of anything, I eat the same foods every week, listen to the same songs, read the same books. I like routine and repetition, but I keep evolving and growing as a person and as a reader. Right now I’m on a historical romance kick, to the near exclusion of anything else, but I wonder what my life changes will lead me to next.

  38. Mayisoon says:

    Like some of the others, it’s been more a breaking up with authors than genres. Partly I have less time, but previous auto-reads like Kenyon, Feehan, Lindsay, Krentz (Quick and Castle, too) have just been dropped. It tends to kick in for me when I get that eerie sense of dejavu from a book I know I hadn’t read before.

    I’ve also backed off a lot on the fantasy/paranormal genre, partly due to burn out and partly finding authors who are like crack for me (mostly meaning I’m just more picky now).

  39. Kelly C says:

    At one point, my reading was 80% historical/20% contemporary.

    At another point it was 60% erotica/20% historical/20% contemporary.

    At this point it is 90% Harelquin/10% other.

  40. Kim Wyant says:

    For the past three or four years, I too have not wanted to pick up a historical, the exception being Sarah MacLean. I had never read her books and did inhale two after a friend swore I would love them. I did but still haven’t wanted to read any others. Why? I think I read so many in the fifteen years prior to that that they all seemed to be the same. Virginal woman younger than 30 meets handsome, heroic, titled, experienced in the sack man in Scotland or England or very rarely, America, wows him with her charm while escaping some sort of danger, beds him, hates him, marries him, and lives happily ever after. Or something very similar. BORING! So, I’m into contemporaries and erotica. I think a lot of others have left historicals in the dust too.

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