What do you read?

So we have threads on why people read and how people find stuff to read, but what do you read?

Fiction or non (or a mix)?

Particular genres?

Any specific themes or subjects that engage you?

And do your preferences in reading show through in your writing?

And anything else you would like to say about your preferences in reading material.

I read a mix of fiction and non .

No particular genre really 

Themes .. good question. I love a good mystery or legal drama 

Sometimes it shows through .

I have one series I read ... Hannah Swensen mysteries by Joanna Fluke (there is 27 books in the series) and one of my favorite characters is Moishe the cat and I get alot of my recipes from the series . 

Quote by Mendalla

So we have threads on why people read and how people find stuff to read, but what do you read?

Fiction or non (or a mix)?

Particular genres?

Any specific themes or subjects that engage you?

And do your preferences in reading show through in your writing?

And anything else you would like to say about your preferences in reading material.

I do read both fiction and non-fiction.

For fiction, I lean to fantasy, horror, and sf, but have also been known to enjoy spy thrillers (went through a spy-fi phase in my teens) and some contemporary fiction (e.g. huge fan of the late Canadian author Robertson Davies, though he did hew strongly into magic realism in his later work).

For non-fiction, I tend to science (physics, astronomy, and paleontology in particular), philosophy, and religion. As a former classics student, I used to read a lot of ancient history and archaeology at one time but haven't read much of that recently. Again, with odd forays into other stuff that catches my interest.

For themes, I like anything that gets me thinking about the world, how it works, how we exist in it. And magic. I love imagining weird and wild things beyond what I know is possible. In my fantasy, I love a feeling that magic is happening, which leans me more to someone like Neil Gaiman than, say, George RR Martin. There's a really magical feel in Gaiman's work that kind of gets lost in deep, detailed world-building like Martin's.

Of course, if you have surveyed my writing on here, you'll know that my taste in reading is very much influential on what I write.

I read most anything that grabs me by the throat. I love a dark mystery and swallow the words.  

Recently I discovered some books on Mythology on my boss's bookshelf. The Greek Myths looked interesting and they are.

Quote by Courgette

Recently I discovered some books on Mythology on my boss's bookshelf. The Greek Myths looked interesting and they are.

I'm pretty much open to anything non-fiction but have a definite proclivity to science, especially physics, and history.

I stick mostly to fiction, though a good non-fiction (usually science) occasionally.

Just finished Mexican Gothic. Probably read The Devil Takes You Home next.

I read mostly spiritual reading. The Saints are very wise and helpful. Books by Russian authors, Dante's works, although I've only read "The Inferno" thus far. And C.S. Lewis books.

Quote by Cora

I read mostly spiritual reading. The Saints are very wise and helpful. Books by Russian authors, Dante's works, although I've only read "The Inferno" thus far. And C.S. Lewis books.

Ever come across The Language of God by Francis Collins? It's about the only Christian apologetics that has clicked with me in recent years. Collins headed the Human Genome Project and the National Institutes of Health so the book is very focussed on reconciling his strong Christian faith with his acceptance of science as a way to know the world. He is a fan of Lewis and cites him. Used to be available as a free PDF but he seems to have taken that down so maybe it is back in print. He also started a foundation exploring/promoting the relationship between Christianity and science, which runs a podcast under the same title.

Quote by Mendalla

Ever come across The Language of God by Francis Collins? It's about the only Christian apologetics that has clicked with me in recent years. Collins headed the Human Genome Project and the National Institutes of Health so the book is very focussed on reconciling his strong Christian faith with his acceptance of science as a way to know the world. He is a fan of Lewis and cites him. Used to be available as a free PDF but he seems to have taken that down so maybe it is back in print. He also started a foundation exploring/promoting the relationship between Christianity and science, which runs a podcast under the same title.

What you wrote piqued my interest. For some reason I'm thinking I know of "The Language of God" by Collins. I might know someone who owns the book. I'm going to ask her. Thank you for sharing this wealth of information, Scott.