Weekly Poll 12/16/09: Favorite Genres

Getting back on my blog feels like coming home after a long trip--I've missed my blog while I've been busy the past week grading, preparing for finals, writing a presentation, and presenting at a conference in Poland.  Even though I returned from Poland just in time to attack ten stacks of grading work that I need to do, I feel quite calm now that I was able to take the preparation work for the conference off my to-do list.  I can return to a more normal schedule, one that includes visiting my beloved blog more often.  It's so lovely to click on the website and know that my blog will be there waiting for me. . .  And I thank all my readers for their patience while I was away (both physically and mentally).

The poll question from two weeks ago was this:

When it comes to your reading choices, do you have a favorite genre?

Naturally, the two answers to choose from were "yes" and "no."  The results are in (and have been in for a week), and 100% of responders answered "no."

I find this interesting because going into the question, I thought that most readers would have one genre that they preferred reading in over others.  My initial response to the question was that I was sure I had a favorite genre--I just had to put some thought into which one I preferred most.  I thought and thought and realize my so-called favorite genre changed with my reading mood.  Some days I prefer reading young adult books, other days I prefer reading any kind of fantasy book, and yet other days I prefer reading books that fit into a genre all on their own.  I used to be the type of reader that picked up one book and read it from start to finish before starting another book.  Now I've turned into the type of reader that has several books started and reads whichever book suits her fancy for the day.  I'm currently reading The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman (and still loving it), Sherlock Holmes by Sir Conan Doyle (I'm making my way through the complete works), and City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.  These three books only have one thing in common when it comes to genre: They are all works of fiction.  So perhaps my favorite genre is simply "Fiction," as I tend to read much more fiction than non-fiction when I read for fun.  But can "Fiction" be a label for reading choices?  I feel like it's entirely too broad to say much about my reading habits (and I feel like using it as an answer is kind of cheating), yet it's the only one broad enough to fit in all my favorites.

The next poll question is up (or will be in about five minutes), so be sure to head over to the left-hand sidebar to get your answer involved in the next weekly poll discussion.

Happy reading in whatever genre suits your fancy!