So after all these multiple genre discussion posts, I’ll finish up on a easier and admittedly open-ended chat about when to read books. This is also be a shorter discussion as I have done a similar posts to this in the past, but I feel the topic fits with the whole multiple genres direction I have been headingin in this month. So here it is – When do I read specific genres, or more accurately, do I read specific genres during a relevant season? Do I read scary books only during the spooky season? What about romance books, are they a February only deal?

Admittedly, I do read more of a specific genre during an associated season, for example, romance books near Valentine’s day or Crime fiction near October. Earlier this year I read a bunch of New Zealand books in March in celebration of Waitangi Day in February and New Zealand Book Month in March, and similarly Māori books in July around Matariki (Māori New Year). With the spotlight Auckland Libraries does for these genres and authors, it is hard not to want to pick up those kinds of books to join in on the reading. Would I say I exclusively read these genres and kinds of books during those times in the year? No.

You may have seen my post where I state I don’t like festive books. I still stand by a lot of these points, and if anything I think it fits in well with this discussion here regarding reading specific genres at specific times. I am all for vibes and reading what feels interesting at the moment, but my library tbr currently has dark academia, crime fiction, romance, adult fantasy, historical fiction murder mystery, horror, literary fiction, classic literature, YA fantasy, and a few other genres. My only guideline for reading these books will be when they are due back at the library. I get that October has tha spooky element to it which transcends genres, so you can read a crime fiction and a dark fantasy and feel both fit in with the mood of the month. But if I use February as an example again, I wasn’t only reading NZ fiction or romance books. I also read fantasy, literary fiction, foreign literature, short stories and poetry collections, and historical fiction.

I guess it can all be summerised as this: I read whatever I feel like reading whenever I feel like reading it, regardless of the time of year, and irrespective of any festivities and seasonal events taking place. I like to read a variety of books across the year and enjoy novels when it comes across my radar. I am not going to hold off on reading a book because it is set in April but I get the book out from the library in September, nor will I hold off on reading a horror book that takes my fancy just because it is the season of love.

Are you a season specific reader, or are you more like me and you read all sorts throughout the year when the stories come across your lap? Let me know!