Reading offers a wonderful variety of genres to choose from, and every reader can choose his or her favorites. So whether your tastes lean toward classical literature and poetry, or if you love young adult historical fiction and self-help, someone’s writing about it. Don’t forget history, graphic novels, mystery, and memoir are options, too. There are also many who prefer to read non-fiction. Today the Port Landing at Fife has some excellent book suggestions different genres, featuring Goodreads reviews, to get you started.
Fantasy
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled with benevolent beings who used their powerful magical abilities for the benefit of all. Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod. Ten years ago, without warning, the magic failed. Elantrians became wizened, leper-like, powerless creatures, and Elantris itself dark, filthy, and crumbling.
Fiction
The Light between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. . . . Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel [to the island]. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby. . . . Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them. . . . The Light Between Oceans is exquisite and unforgettable, a deeply moving novel.
Non-Fiction
Guns, Germs, and Steel:The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
A global account of the rise of civilization that is also a stunning refutation of ideas of human development based on race. Bill Gates calls it fascinating and says it, “Lays a foundation for understanding human history."
Historical Fiction
Behind Rebel Lines by Seymour Reit
In 1861, when war erupted between the States, President Lincoln made an impassioned plea for volunteers. Determined not to remain on the sidelines, Emma Edmonds cropped her hair, donned men’s clothing, and enlisted in the Union Army. Posing in turn as a slave, peddler, washerwoman, and fop, Emma became a cunning master of disguise, risking discovery and death at every turn behind Confederate lines.
What’s your favorite genre? Have you read any of our suggested books? If you haven’t head over to the library in Fife and pick up a copy to read soon. Please share your favorite titles in comments.