I don’t know if it is just me, but my favourite part about blogging and bookstagram is talking about my favourite books and sharing them with other people. I already did a post a while ago about Books I would always recommend and of course there is always some overlap when talking about my absolute favourite books but this time I decided to present you with my favourite book of every genre I read, so there will also be some books I haven’t talked about yet.

Since I don’t like every genre equally, I don’t love all of the books the same (I won’t like a book from a genre I don’t enjoy that much the same as I do a great book from a genre I love, even if said book stood out to me in that genre), so there is a hierarchy between those books. However, since this hierarchy is based on my personal preference of genres, for others it might look totally different.

If you are looking for a book to read in your favourite genre, or if you want to gift a book to a person and you know which genre they enjoy, here are my top books out of every genre I personally read:

1. Fantasy

Fantasy is one of my favourite genres, so it was difficult to find my one favourite fantasy book. But in the end, this one was my winner:

What I particularly loved about this novel was the way it combined an epic and fast-paced fantasy story with social commentary which added a lot of depth to the story. Generally, I loved the way Forna handled the themes she explores in her book, such as oppression, discrimination, stereotypes and ultimately overcoming those problems and creating a better world.

Other than that, I also fell in love with the characters. Throughout the book we get to meet so many different people each with their unique personality and despite a big cast of characters, each character stands out from the rest in their own way. I was glad I could spend more time with them in the sequel, which allowed me to get to know them even better and learn new things about each of them.

Overall, the world in which the story is set was equally fascinating and terrifying to read about because for one, it mirrors problems we are also facing in our real world but at the same time it allowed me to experience a whole different world.

If you enjoy fantasy books that have a connection to real world issues and include social commentary, I can’t recommend this series enough.

2. Dystopian

When it comes to the Dystopian genre, it all comes down to the execution of the story. Of course, this is the case with all genres, but especially when it comes to dystopian books, I have experienced a lot of promising books that just didn’t manage to execute the plot well or were marketed as dystopian when in reality they would have better fit in another genre.

However, there was this one series that introduced me to dystopian novels and that is responsible for me always naming this genre as one of my favourites:

I have learned from exeperience that I shouldn’t let my thoughts flow freely when writing about this series because otherwise I will never get to an end with this part, so here only a “short” summary of why I love this book/the entire series so much.

First of all, I found it easy to develop an emotional bond with Katniss as the main character. Since the novel is narrated from her perspective, we get to see her thoughts and motives, as well as experiencing the events the way she does. I think this factor makes the difference between a novel you simply like and a novel you love (at least, it always does in my case). Especially regarding such an emotional story, if you as a reader aren’t emotionally invested, it just doesn’t hold the same power as if you do.

Like The Gilded Ones, this book also contains a lot of social commentary and mirrors many things that also happen in our world. Some of the main themes discussed are poverty, reality TV and oppression. This aspect of the novels doesn’t seem to be acknowledged that much but for me the powerful messages they hold are one of the main reasons I love them so much.

Another thing I really appreciate about this series is the focus on details and small gestures in face of the huge developments taking place in the world. While at the core of the story is the fight against an oppressive government, it has so many more dimensions. We see the development of each individual as the story progresses and the circumstances as well as their experiences change, we see the quiet moments in between the fights, most of all we see the toll the violence takes on the characters and the way they deal with their trauma. It is not so much the story of a hero who defeats their enemies, it is the story of people who struggle in the situation they are caught in and try to survive while not losing their morals, their compassion and will to fight for what’s right.

Most of all, it is not the unrealistic “teenager with no experience whatsoever is chosen to defeat the evil government” trope but there is actually a reason behind Katniss’ role and we see how she struggles with the responsibility and also how many things are out of her control. This dimension of reality in a fictional world, where of course circumstances are always different to the real world, made this book stand out to me.

Overall, I cannot recommend this book enough. In case you haven’t read it yet, I highly encourage you to do so (otherwise, I encourage you to reread it…) because I think this series deserves all the hype it got and people who think it is just a silly YA novel are not doing the book justice.

3. Historical Fiction

I personally love reading historical fiction, although I am under the impression that many people don’t really enjoy this genre.

However, even if you are not typically a fan of this genre, I recommend you to read this novel:

First of all, this novel is quite short, has an easy to follow story and beautiful (although regarding the topic, that word doesn’t seem to be the right choice…) illustrations. It is not so heavy on dates or intertwining events but focuses more on the story of (fictional) individuals after the nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

I found this book really interesting, since I had never seen a novel about this topic before. I have read quite a few novels about World War II and the Holocaust but never seen one talk about the role of Japan or the dropping of the nuclear bombs. Even in school, it was only briefly mentioned when talking about the chronology of the war. Regarding the many civilian casualties of this event, I think it is important to remember what happened back then and to keep in mind the destruction and suffering it caused. After all, we are still dealing with the danger of nuclear weapons today.

Following the characters in their struggle to survive after the bomb was dropped and seeing them encounter all the dangers associated with radioactivity and radiation managed to translate the facts into an experience and allows the reader to feel the despair of those people, the hopelessness and the uncertainty they were facing.

If you haven’t read anything about this topic before, I think this book is a great introduction!

4. Romance

Everyone seems to love this genre but personally I am not a big fan… I did like some of the romance books I have read (such as this one below) but overall I tend to avoid this genre in favour of other books. I did quite enjoy the following book so I decided to include a Romance section in this post too:

I really enjoyed that this book wasn’t just a romance novel but came with a twist. I don’t want to spoil anything therefore I will just tell you that it includes some fantasy(?) elements as well (I would still label it as romance though, since we don’t see any of that in the first halt of the book and even afterwards the love story is the main focus). I expected this book to be a contemporary romance novel, therefore I was a little confused when the twist was revealed but this was probably one of the reasons I liked this novel more than other romance novels.

Another aspect I really liked about this book was the protagonist’s sister. That girl was a legend and although she didn’t get as much “screen-time” (or rather page-time?), I think she is my favourite character. I am sure many readers can identify with her, since she is also a bookworm and I feel as though she would fit perfectly into the bookstagram community…

I haven’t completely finished the book yet (there was a little mishap with my copy and thus the last part was missing), so I can’t pass an overall judgment yet but so far this book is really enjoyable.

Plus, it is an actual YA romance with no smut (which I personally always appreciate).

5. Biography

So far, I really liked the biographies I have read but I haven’t read that many of them, so I can’t really tell whether or not I like this genre overall. One biography that stood out to me was the following:

Michaela’s journey from being an orphan in Sierra Leone to becoming a famous ballerina was very inspiring to read and as a ballet dancer myself (only for leisure though), it was easy for me to connect to her fascination for dance.

Apart from that, I found her determination to follow her dreams and her perseverance in face of all the obstacles very inspiring and I think that even if you are not a dancer you can enjoy her story and take something from it.

The novel shows you what happened in her life behind the scenes, how she developed into the person she is now. The book doesn’t shy away from the difficult topics and discusses things such as racism in the ballet world as well as the pressure to always be the best. At the same time, we also get to see a lot of kindness and support by the people around her, most importantly her adoptive family.

What made the book so real to me is the fact that it doesn’t deny the fact that Michaela is not perfect but shows that despite her faults she tried her best to be kind to the people around her and to fight for what she believed in.

I cannnot recommend this book enough!

Full review: Review | Hope in a Ballet Shoe

6. Contemporary Fiction

Contemporary Fiction is such a broad genre and I love some sides of it and are not a fan of others. This book, however, is one of my favourites I have read in that genre and it can definitely compete with my favourites from other genres I love:

I cannot stress enough how much I love this book and I think it is criminally underrated! The importance of education is not to be underestimated and this book conveys this message perfectly, while also talking about other important topics like culture and traditions and how to handle those in terms of creating equality and overcoming the oppression of women.

Reading this book made me appreciate the privilege of getting a good education even more and showed me how many problems girls in some countries are facing simply because they want to live the life they have always dreamed of.

The story may be fictional but it draws on the actual accounts of Ugandan girls and I think it is very important to be aware of those problems. When thinking about this issue, I think many people think more about the problem of stereotypes and the general idea that women shouldn’t pursue a career that is still present in some parts of the world but there are so many more dimensions to it that aren’t as obvious and straight-forward.

Make sure to check the trigger warnings beforehand but aside from that I think everyone should give this book a try!

Do you have any further recommendations? Drop them in the comments below!