Readers Day: Diving Into Different Genres
Millions of people around the world would call themselves avid readers. And, with it being National Book Lovers Day, we are Gooroo want to profess our adoration for literature, too. Therefore, in today’s blog, we’ll highlight the first book. Plus, explore the different genres that exist.
The First Book
Storytelling began as an oral medium — they were passed from group to group by word of mouth. Thus, there weren’t a high number of readers in the early days. Around 600 AD, hand-sketched illustration begun to appear of parchment. Thus, setting off the beginning of picture books.
From this came about the first book — The Epic of Gilgamesh. This tale told the myth of an important political figure from history.
Years later, technology developed to welcome in the printing press. Therefore making books easier to manufacture and distribute. The first of these was the Gutenburg Bible.
Becoming Readers
What sort of reader are you? Do you skim? Or does it take you a while to devour a book word by word? What about how you read? Do you prefer to hold a physical book? Or, do you enjoy the endless library of a digital device? Regardless of your preference, at one point in time we were all taught how to read.
Reading as you get older feels simple, effortless, and automatic. However, learning how to read is complex, and builds upon cognitive, linguistic, and social skills developed from a very young age. What’s more, reading is vital in gaining the command of the written language.
But, although our eyes and brains are doing most of the work, it is actually spoken language that is the foundation of learning to read. By our first birthday we have learned sounds in our spoken language. From here, we begin to develop our vocabulary through word association. Thus, when were encounter new words when reading we’re able to understand them depending on the context in which they are presented.
Different Genres for Different Readers
The more readers read, the more the develop a preference for what they like to read. This preference often lies in genre. Check out some of the different types!
Action & Adventure
Keeping readers on the edge of their seat, the main characters in these book find themselves in high stakes situations. Ultimately trying to achieve their goal. Recommendation: Life of Pi by Yann Martel.
Classics
Serving as a foundation for the works we read today, classics are groundbreaking stories that continue to be impactful for generations. Recommendation: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Graphic Novel
Presented via art work and dialogue, these sequential narratives provide further meaning through their highly visual medium. Recommendation: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.
Detective and Mystery
Revolving around a crime of sorts, the protagonists must set out to solve the mystery or foil the plan. Recommendation: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.
Fantasy
Set in fictional imaginary worlds, readers will encounter: elements of magic, mythology, or the supernatural. Recommendation: The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan.
Historical Fiction
While these books use the backdrop of significant historical events, their narratives often never actually happened. Recommendation: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
Horror
Are you a brave reader? Because these books mean to cause discomfort and fear for both you and the character. Recommendation: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.
Romance
Extremely wide reaching in its scope of topics, Romance is a tale as old as time. Recommendation: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan.
Science Fiction
Also known as Sci-Fi, this genre leans heavily on themes of technology and future science. Recommendation: 1984 by George Orwell.
No matter what kind of readers we might be, we known that books teach us resilience, compassion, and the inner truth about ourselves.
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