14 Must-Know Literary Genres & How To Identify Them
It’s one thing to love books and reading, but do you know which genres you’re digesting? While this is not always the most important thing to think about, knowing your genres is handy when choosing books.
Literary Fiction
Literary Fiction books are written works with artistic and literary value. These include political criticism, reflections on humankind, and various social commentary. They are typically character-driven and follow the character's story. Often, these stories are relevant to what is happening at the time they are being written.
Romance
Romance fiction is lighthearted and optimistic, with a satisfying ending centered around the love story of two people. While romantic fiction can contain conflict, the romantic relationship always remains the narrative's focus.
Science Fiction
Sci-Fi is speculative fiction with imagined elements within the story. Although they are inspired by the hard natural sciences and soft social sciences, common elements in science fiction include time travel, space exploration, and futuristic societies.
Horror
Horror is written to scare and leave the reader jumping out of their skin. Often times the themes are chosen to prey on universal fears. These types of stories depict topics that keep you up at night, such as death, demons, evil spirits, and the afterlife. In horror fiction, the plot and characters are combined to elicit a sense of dread. If you want have your hairs stand on end, then this is the genre.
Thriller
Often eerie and mysterious, a thriller has a suspenseful plot. Thrillers keep readers in suspense with clever plot twists, cliffhangers, and false clues, which keep them guessing right to the end.
Mystery
Also frequently referred to as detective fiction, a mystery novel typically has narratives that involve solving some kind of puzzling event, such as a detective solving a case. This genre typically draws readers into the story by dropping hints to a bigger picture. A mystery starts with a hook, keeps the reader in suspense, and ends with revealing the answers to what the reader is dying to know.
Western
Set in the old American West, Western fiction is filled with cowboys, settlers, and outlaws. This genre differs from other forms of fiction because it relies on genre-specific elements to guide its narrative. Western fiction grew in popularity during the 1940s, ’50s, and ‘60s alongside the growing attraction to Western films of the time.
Bildungsroman
Bildungsroman from German is translated as “A novel of education,” Bildungsroman fiction is a type of coming-of-age story. This genre follows the life journey of a character as they grow, learn and mature from youth to adulthood.
Speculative Fiction
This supergenre encompasses several different types of fiction. The stories are often set in a world different from our own, and as there are no limits to what is experienced, speculative fiction knows no genre boundaries.
Dystopian
Dystopian fiction is set in a world worse than the one we live in and exists as a direct contrast to utopian fiction, which is set in societies that are deemed better than the one in which we live. This genre is often considered a sub-genre of science fiction.
Historical
Written with extensive attention to the research of a specific time period, historical fiction is creatively written to transport the reader to a past era. In writing, many historical authors use real characters, events, and settings, while others create their own.
Magical Realism
Born out of the realist art movement and often synonymous with Latin American authors, this genre adds magical elements to a realistic world. These elements are seen as normal within the plot the world that the story is set in.
Fantasy
Fantasy is set in imaginary lands with imaginary characters. They are inspired by folklore and imagination and contain elements of magic, attracting both adults and children alike.
Realist Literature
Realist literature depicts real people, places, and stories. This genre truthfully depicts everyday life and nature as we know it.