What are you reading outside your genre?

[jenna]

I don't write in one particular genre, my main project at the moment is fantasy, but my story idea folder contains ideas from sci-fi, historical fiction, historical fantasy, modern literature, trashy romance, horror, and even a non-fiction history book that I'm sure I'll never get around to writing! So in turn, I read everything.. the most recent one is called Codex by Lev Grossman, an easy but cracking read that I've finished in 2 days (they were 2 holiday days though!). Not the sort of thing I would write, but I've loved it, it's kind of a mystery involving rare medieval books and computer games.. lots of fun!

[Culhwch]

I've always read across a broad range of genres. I went through a period where I read mainly crime/thrillers, and I still do read a few of those (Stuart MacBride being one of my current faves). I like to get in a few non-fiction books - recently read Zodiac, and am currently reading A World History by Paul Kelloway which is, well, a world history. And I'm enthusiastically working my way through my library's graphic novel collection, being on Y: The Last Man at present. But generally anything that looks interesting I'll give a shot.

[Dragonlady]

I tend to read anything that stands still for long enough- I recently read a book called 'The buddha, Geoff and Me' which was a present, and 'the time traveller's wife' which I found in a charity shop. I read anything that is recommended, so long as it isn't pure romance, which I have tried to read and found difficult to stomach...

In addition to fantasy I gravitate towards historical detective fiction- Lindsey Davis, Candace Robb and an author I can't remember the name of. These can be quite useful as they accustom you to a legal, cultural and governmental system that is not our own, even if it is related. I also read Alexander McCall Smith, which are great as they focus primarily on the detail of people's lives, and Ian Rankin.

I'm also reading a lot of theology at the moment, simply as it interests me- it makes a change from all the philosophy I read for my degree- and you could say it hones the critical analysis skills so useful in any writer!

I've found it very useful to ask people to give me as presents/lend/suggest I buy books they enjoy- even if you wouldn't read another one, it's useful to challenge yourself and make sure your style isn't infulenced by a narrow range of sources.

[dustinzgirl]

Well I'm not reading much lately, but I did get my 1 yr old niece to put down her silly babysitter club books and pick up the hobbit. Score one more for sf/f!

[Rosemary]

I've been reading about the natural history of the UK. I'm trying to work out which kinds of flora and fauna are native to the land or when they were introduced.

[Lith]

My non-fantasy reading these days is mostly manga, westerns, and NW history. Oregon has a fascinating geological history that I had no idea of until recently.

[JFLewis]

I've been reading the Ender books by Orson Scott Card as well as the Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell.

[Anthony G Williams]

I'm currently reading two books, one fiction and one not.

The novel is The Naming of the Dead, by Ian Rankin, one of the long series of crime stories featuring Inspector John Rebus of Edinburgh CID. Gritty and very literate.

The other one is The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of its Sacred Texts, by Finkelstein and Silberman. This is an unusual read for me, since I'm not religious, but I am interested in archaeology. The book compares what the Bible says with what archaeology is revealing, and is quite fascinating. It has no pro- or anti-religious bias, but is an academic work written by, well, a couple of academics...