To ask how your reading tastes have changed as you've got older

[brizzlemint]

I went through phases of reading different books, I wonder if it's down to age?

Teens - books my parents wouldn't approve of plus whatever I wanted that was in the house/the library

20s - fantasy and sci fi plus travel books

30s - chick lit and work related books

40s - mainly modern literature and contemporary fiction

50s - psychological thrillers and non-fiction.

How have your tastes changed in books?

I love all books. Can’t get enough of them. Honestly my taste hasn’t changed, I’ve just expanded what I do read.
Right now I’m back on Flawed, the secret shoppers revenge, the blood cell and marshmallows for breakfast:

Sadly I don't read as much as would like. In my teens and early 20s I was a voracious reader - anything and everything... new/classics/prose/poetry/bestsellers anything ....
I don't have time or energy these days and I'm genuinely sad about it! My attention span is shot to pieces. People buy me books for birthdays and Christmas and they just sit on my bedside table

im 38 and still read ya books
they all got to be supernatural based(witches,vampires etc)

i read lots of eBooks per week as i read all night on my phone

I can't be bothered with chick lit anymore and am a huge fan of non fiction nowadays, particularly history.

I've noticed I get into a rut more often now (eg go on a binge of Victorian mysteries, or Irish comic novels). I don't know if that's age or the fact that I can now look online, see lots of similar books, and get whatever books I want.

In the old days I had to pick the best of a limited selection, so I read a wider range of books, and was more likely to stick with ones I didn't love. I can't decide if I'm reading more efficiently or just more lazily.

I'm in my 40s, and I find that these days:

• I no longer bother with chick lit (used to love Bridget Jones etc)
• I'm much less likely to re read a book
• I read a lot more non-fiction than I used to (although I still love fiction too)

I'm finding I'm reading a lot more women. Not chick lit, though. Deborah Levy, Rose Tremain, Carys Davies, Jacqui L'Ange, Alexandra Fuller. And also a lot of non-fiction, particularly autobiography and psycholotherapy books, or those with a psychotherapeutic slant.

Classics, Shakespeare, Dickens, Steinbeck, etc, when studying English, because they were set texts.
Margaret Drabble, Andrea Newman, Lynne Reid Banks for pleasure.
Flirtation with autobiography and biography afterwards.
Chick lit now. Don’t need to have to think too much. Female authors mostly.

I used to read a lot of terrible romance novels... Now I just get really cross if the women are wet pushovers, or get pregnant by accident! I also liked crime but I've found that some of them are now so gorgeous, unnecessarily so sometimes that I've gone off more stuff of them.

I've gone more into historical fiction, and also ironically read a lot of 'teen' novels!

Aaargh, typo! Not 'gorgeous' crime, GORY crime!!!

Oh dear god, the typos in that post.
I give up.

The main differences for me are pregnant and with a baby I’m too tired for anything not easy/light ie you can dip in and out so I’ve been reading sci do, fantasy, classic crime. I also can’t do anything about children dying.

When I’m retired I’m going to designate a couple of slots a week of several hours to reading. Oh my god.

Primary school/early high school: Point Horror books.... then when I was around 15 I bought a random book at a jumble sale (do you still get jumble sales!?) about a girl growing up during the blitz. Oh my gosh, that book made me sob!! From then on I read so much more. Love Terry Pratchett, Sophie Hannah's crime series, Sarah Waters' novels ... I always leave it at least a couple of years before reading a newly published book which is raved about. Mainly because I don't have enough time to read anymore, but also it's more enjoyable to read something that doesn't have the masses telling you how bloody great it is whilst I'm reading it!

I was thinking about this the other day - I am all about the fanfic, I just move on to different pairings as I get older. I re-read some 'classics' from my teenage years, the fashion really made me giggle. Apparently the height of sophistication/sexiness in 2007 was leather trousers and a green silk shirt.

timeisnotaline.... I think I might join you with the allocated reading time during retirement 👌

My reading tastes have definitely changed. When I was younger it was mostly chick lit and contemporary fiction. Now I'm much more interested in good sci-fi/fantasy, and I've also got into Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta series. The good thing about starting on a 25 year old series is that they can mostly be found in the library or in charity shops!

I moved from children’s/young adult books to a mix of classics and books recommended by my day (the great American novels, quirky but beautifully written books by the likes of Lorrie Moore, Irish authors- Brian Moore, John Banville, Anne Enright, Claire Keegan).
Then I worked in a bookshop for a while and got really into historical fiction.
Then I had babies and reading went off the boil for a bit it was mainly focused on my finding books that validated my parenting decisions

Now emerging from the fog I am revisiting Jane Austen, dipping into some literary fiction again, and also reading some “young adult” books again- especially ones that involve a bit of magic and otherworldliness. I find those authors tend to really focus on story and atmosphere rather than the sometimes distractingly wordy/slightly pretentious prose of the grown-ups books!

I feel now that I don’t need to prove myself with my reading choices because a) I don’t give a shit and b) I realise other people generally don’t either . I read books that bring me genuine enjoyment now- whatever category they may come in- and put back down books that feel like hard work. It’s so liberating!!

Recommended by my Dad that should say!

My preference is increasingly for history, biography, poetry and literary fiction by women, and I read much more in other languages and in translation than I used to. My impatience with novels I don’t feel ‘earn’ their length has increased.

I think I may be going the other way: 20’s - 40’s proper literature, lately more lightweight.

I am a weak reader so now listen to audiobooks more than read but I do love books.

In my teens I never read as I was much to cool and I was never encouraged to. Well unless you count my dads dodgy motorbike magazines.

Early 20s I was obsessed with the vampire chronicles and science of the lambs.

Now in my 30s I love thrillers and I am working my way through most of Stephen Kings books.

I used to permanently have a book in my hand, but my concentration has gone as I’ve got older and I now find I can only get into a book on holiday when I’m relaxed.

I never really liked chick lit, I read one or two in my late teens early 20s and thought it was deathly boring.

My tastes haven't changed a huge amount, I still very much enjoy sci-fi and sword and sorcery type stuff, asimov, ursula le guin, Philip k dick, Douglas Adams and Terry pratchett.

I have got more into modern classics lately though with the catcher in the rye and nineteen eighty four etc. I'm not as keen on horror anymore but that might just be because I can spot most of the tropes now and that spoils it a bit for me.

I'm a fan of non fiction too. I'm currently devouring every book I can get my hands on about vikings and norse mythology, fascinating stuff! It was Greek and roman mythology a couple of years ago.

Also reading about the theory of the monomyth and the hero's journey, all interesting stuff, drawing parallels between the stories humans tell and how no matter the time or the place we all tell the same stories.

I'm a lot older at 70.

When I was a young woman most of my reading was pretty heavy serious stuff, a lot of the classics, poetry.

I remember, in my twenties going through a massive witch trial phase that lasted for quite some time. I was fascinated by the whole period and read everything I could find on the subject. I was living in South London at the time and the local library had a fantastic collection of books devoted to the subject.

Gradually, over the years my reading has become more about light entertainment.

I'm now into all sorts, anything that doesn't require too much of me tbh. Quite enjoy the odd novel, some crime, greatly into anything funny, currently reading one of the Adrian Mole books. Definitely no romance though.

I've always been an avid reader and my local library is my spiritual home. Although, if I'm not enjoying something I have no qualms about ditching it. Life's too short to plug away at something that isn't bringing me pleasure.

As a child I read and read and read.
I decided to pursue English Literature. It sucked all the love out of it. :(
These days I read mumsnet, the news and facebook.