A Beginner’s Guide to Book Genres

By Ro Ji-min, Incheon Sang-a Elementary School

Do you like books? Then, have you ever wondered what to read? If you enjoy reading, you might have asked this question yourself. “So many books to read! How can I find out what I want to read?” If you have ever felt this way, this article can help you pick the books you want! I will introduce you to some famous book genres. I hope that you find this helpful in choosing what to read next and finding out your favorite genre!

First of all, fiction and non-fiction are broad categories of books, and each contains many genres. Fiction has stories, worlds, and characters that are created in the authors’ minds. Non-fiction has true facts and people who lived in real life. While fiction is usually for fun, non-fiction is usually for education.

Non-fiction genres mainly include newspapers, biographies, and history books.

Newspapers are for learning what happened today or this week. Biographies are books about someone’s life. History books tell you about things that happened years ago.

Now, I will help you get familiar with fiction genres. Since fiction is more accessible to children than non-fiction, I will introduce you to five of the most popular fiction genres listed in the order they first appeared to the public.

First, picture books are often for toddlers who can’t read because they have many pictures. A toddler who cannot read can understand the books by just looking at the pictures. The first picture book for children was published in 1658, called “Orbis Sensualium Pictus.”

Second, science fiction is based on science. It is usually set in the future, often with aliens and space. You have to use your imagination a little because you have not seen the future yet. They are sometimes called ‘sci-fi,’ which stands for science fiction. The first book of its kind was “Frankenstein” written in 1818.

Third, mystery is read by various ages, from adults to children. Mysteries include solving a case, which makes you think as if you were a detective. Sometimes if you are a good detective, you might even finish solving the case before the story is over. I think people like this genre because it makes them feel as if they are in the case just like the character in the book, but they can watch how the story develops from a safe distance. Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie books are famous mystery books. The first mystery book was published in 1841 by Edgar Allan Poe.

Next, fantasy was first published in 1858. The first book was ‘Phantastes’ by George MacDonald. Fantasy is a genre where there is an unreal creature, like dragons or goblins, or worlds made up by the writers. Here again, using your imagination is important in fantasy because things in the books do not exist in the real world. For example, you don’t have to imagine what a golden retriever looks like in a book. But you do have to imagine what a Hungarian Horntail looks like in “Harry Potter.” Two of the most popular books in this genre are “The Lord of the Rings” and the “Harry Potter” series. This is my personal favorite genre, because I love imagining things that do not exist.

Lastly, the graphic novel is a popular genre for children and teens. They are sometimes called comics. This genre has pictures and words mixed together. Because they are usually easier to read than novels, children or teens might read these books a lot. Sometimes other genres are published in graphic novel form. Fantasy graphic novel is one of them. The term “graphic novel” was first used in 1964 by fan Richard Kyle.

These are some of the genres that you can use to figure out what to read next.

Now, have you decided which book to read? If yes, grab one, settle into a cozy spot, and start reading!