Can a book belong to more than one genre?

Yes. A mystery can also be historical fiction, and a speculative novel can use romance or literary fiction conventions. Genre labels are ways into the catalogue, not rigid rules about what a book must contain.

How can I find something different from my usual reading?

Start with one familiar element, such as a setting or kind of narrator, and try it in a neighbouring genre. Compare descriptions and opening pages before committing to a longer book.

The Catalogue

Genres

Every shelf in the shop, from Gothic to gardening. Pick one and wander.

Fiction

Novels, stories, poems and plays.

Classics
The books that outlived their authors and still earn their shelf space.
Literary Fiction
Novels that care as much about the sentence as the story.
Historical Fiction
Other centuries, rebuilt in prose.
Mystery
Locked rooms, unreliable witnesses and the detective who notices.
Crime
The view from both sides of the law.
Thrillers
Ticking clocks, conspiracies and one more chapter at 2 a.m.
Science Fiction
Futures, far planets and the thought experiments that come with them.
Fantasy
Maps at the front, magic with rules, and very long walks.
Horror
Ghosts, monsters and the thing in the cellar.
Romance
Love stories, slow burns and happy endings worth waiting for.
Humour
Comic novels and the writers who make you laugh on the train.
Adventure
Shipwrecks, treasure maps and journeys into the unknown.
War Fiction
Novels of the front line and the home front.
Short Stories
Whole worlds in twenty pages.
Graphic Novels & Comics
Stories told in panels, from newspaper strips to sequential art.
Poetry
Collections, epics and the poems people carry around.
Plays & Drama
Scripts for the stage, from Greek tragedy to the kitchen-sink.
Myths & Legends
Gods, heroes and the oldest stories we still retell.
In Translation
Great books from other languages, carried across.
Gothic
Crumbling houses, secrets and storms over the moor.

Nonfiction

True stories and the world explained.

Biography
Lives, told by someone who went looking.
Memoir
Lives, told by the people who lived them.
History
Empires, revolutions and ordinary people in extraordinary years.
Science
How the universe works, explained by people who measure it.
Nature & Environment
Birds, weather, wild places and the case for keeping them.
Philosophy
Big questions, argued carefully over two and a half millennia.
Psychology
Minds, habits and why we do what we do.
Religion & Spirituality
Scripture, belief and the search for meaning.
Politics & Society
Power, justice and how societies argue with themselves.
Business & Economics
Markets, money and the companies that shape both.
Self-Help
Advice for living, working and getting a little better at both.
Travel
Journeys on foot, by rail and by sea, and the places at the end.
True Crime
Real cases, real investigations.
Food & Cooking
Cookbooks and the culture around the table.
Art & Design
Painting, architecture, photography and the eye behind them.
Music
Composers, bands and the stories behind the records.
Essays & Letters
Essays, correspondence and writers thinking out loud.
Books About Books
Reading, writing, bookshops and the people who love them.

Young readers

From picture books to the teenage years.

Children's Books
Picture books and early chapter books to read aloud (and again).
Middle Grade
Adventures for readers of eight to twelve.
Young Adult
Coming of age, first love and the end of the world, often all at once.

Choosing a reading direction

Can a book belong to more than one genre?: Yes. A mystery can also be historical fiction, and a speculative novel can use romance or literary fiction conventions. Genre labels are ways into the catalogue, not rigid rules about what a book must contain.
How can I find something different from my usual reading?: Start with one familiar element, such as a setting or kind of narrator, and try it in a neighbouring genre. Compare descriptions and opening pages before committing to a longer book.