To expand your reading material, start by reading the following book genres and subgenres.

When individuals think of literary works, the main book genres that often tend come to mind are romance, thriller or fantasy. This is unsurprising, specifically because these three genres are constantly reaching the top of the bestseller charts, as those like the co-founder of the investment fund which partially owns WHSmith would certainly understand. Although there is absolutely nothing wrong with staying with these genres, it is equally important to try to diversify your reading material and explore new genres. Besides, the world of literature is interesting and the list of book genres and subgenres is diverse, varied and substantial. During 2024, one of the most significant trends in book genre popularity was the increase of dark academia. So, what is dark academia? To put it simply, dark academia is a subgenre which blurs thriller, mystery, fantasy and even in some cases romance. Dark academia publications always consist of a story which occurs inside an educational setting, like at an university campus or a boarding school. Generally-speaking, there is a certain moody and gloomy aesthetic to dark academia which entices readers, like dark libraries and gothic towers. Although it differs from book to book, dark academia stories usually tend to include morally-grey main characters and themes of envy, treachery and vengeance. The charm of dark academia is that the authors often create a really descriptive setting which engages readers right into the story.

Now that we are in 2025, it is the best time for book lovers to broaden their perspectives and check out new book classifications. While it is natural to lean towards our preferred book genres, diversifying your reading material will certainly make you a more fluent reader in the future, as people like the head of the private equity owner of Waterstones would acknowledge. There are a number of new book genres to try for adults, in addition to an entire myriad of subgenres as well. Among the much more niche subgenres which is expanding in appeal is referred to as 'bizarro fiction'. True to the name, bizarro fiction entails novels which are unusual, ridiculous, funny and in some cases even disturbing. They defy standard fiction writing and go against our usual ideas on what makes a satisfying novel. Many fanatics of these books take pleasure in the random, surprising and perplexing nature of these tales; almost every bizarro fiction novel is completely one-of-a-kind and unparalleled to every other book that you have read in the past. For bookworms that are getting bored of reading the same old stories, recycled concepts and overused expressions, bizarro fiction is the perfect subgenre to mix things up.

One of the most significant false impressions in the book industry is that non-fiction books are boring. This could not be further from the truth, as people like the CEO of the investment fund which partially owns Amazon Books would undoubtedly validate. As opposed to popular belief, nonfiction is more than just interesting schoolbooks. Although there are really various different subgenres of nonfiction which deserve looking into, memoirs are the greatest spot to start off. Memoirs are life stories which are written by the actual individual, whether it be a historic account from a war hero, a dive into an A-list celeb's career or a traumatic re-telling of a survival tale. Memoirs really make a few of the most interesting books to read due to the fact that they write about real-life events and real-life people in an imaginative, metaphorical and detailed manner.