September 17, 2012

Genre Favorites Blogfest


Alex J. Cavanaugh, author of CassaStar and CassaFire as well as the mastermind behind the Insecure Writer's Support Group (#IWSG), is hosting the Genre Favorites Blogfest today. All you need to do is list your favorite genre in movies, music, and books and add a guilty pleasure.

I thought this exercise would be harder, but I went with the first thing that popped into my head on each category. But I'll go on the record now saying picking my favorite book genre was the hardest, because I will read any genre. Actually, if I read too many books in a row of a particular genre, I get burned out.

On with the show...
 
My favorite genre of:
 
Movie

This was the easiest category for me. I love comedies. Life is full of enough of the other emotions, so when I go to a movie I want to escape. What better way to escape than a good belly laugh?

Sadly, really good, laugh so hard you almost pee your pants comedies are hard to come by. Some of my favorites: Caddyshack, Bridesmaids (the bathroom scene had me in tears), Christmas Vacation, There's Something About Mary, Nutty Professor, The 40 Year Old Virgin, and Beverly Hills Cop.
 
Music
 
Music is so mood-dependent for me. When I'm going for a run, I need stuff with a great beat. When I'm sad, I'm all about the ballads. When I'm dancing around the house with my girls soaking up life, it's 80s music all the way, much to their chagrin.

To show my husband how much I care, I listen to Neil Diamond with him. See how much I love my husband!
 
Books
 
Why do I have to choose?!
 
I was going to go with the cop-out answer and say... relationship books with memorable characters and storyline. It's true, but I want to play by the rules here.

My favorite is women's fiction. At the end of the day, I want to be invested in the character and their real-life struggles. As a woman, I most identify with women's issues and emotions. But sometimes I find that theme in a different genre, books like Hunger Games and The Book Thief.

Some of my favorite women's fiction: The Help, Winter Garden, Stones from the River, Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, The Honk and Holler Opening Soon and Secret Life of Bees. I know I'm forgetting other favorites! Back in the day, I would read anything from Judy Blume. Actually, I still will. 
 
I say women's fiction versus chick-lit for a reason. I don't like the books where the biggest struggle is trying to get the guy to notice you on a crowded dance floor. I need a literary leaning.
 
And a guilty pleasure genre from any of the three categories!

My total guilty reading pleasure... celebrity magazines. If you think about it, it's really fiction. I go through the pictures first and then read the articles based on my interest level. (Come on guys, it's the equivalent of your Playboy. You can be honest here.)

Outside of that, it's young adult. I loved the City of Bones books (I've only read the first three), Divergent, Hunger Games, the Lightning Thief series (through book four), the Uglies series, and so on. I have a preteen daughter who loves to read, so I use that as my excuse to enjoy these books. It's been a treat for me. Not only do I get to read some great books, but I get to discuss them with my daughter. We even went on a girl-date to see Hunger Games.

I think my answers show my diverse nature. For movies, I want to escape and laugh. For books, I want an emotional roller coaster ride. For music, I pick based on mood. Finally, for a guilty pleasure, I read total fluff about celebrities or embrace what my preteen is reading. Don't try to figure it out. I know my husband has given up!

Please comment and share your favorites.

And feel free to join in on the fun. It's not too late. Just hop over to Alex's post and sign in.

25 comments:

Juliana Haygert said...

Love romantic comedies!
Haha, the confession about the celebrity magazines is an original one!
I like YA too <3

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Neil Diamond? Now that is love.
And yes, the celebrity tabloids are all fiction.
Thanks for participating in my blogfest!

Sherry Ellis said...

Your guilty pleasures are my favorite books. I enjoyed reading your list.

Nancy Thompson said...

I prefer the romantic variety of comedies. They're my guilty pleasure!

I'ma new follower via Alex's bloghop. Nice to meet you!

Jessica Salyer said...

Oh, I love bridesmaids. Floppen hilarious.

Emily R. King said...

Women's Fiction has some of my all-time favorites as well.

I'm following you!

Melissa said...

My daughter is having to read Divergent for English. I can relate to the YA thing. I liked Hunger Games, too.

Great post! It was nice to learn more about you. :)

Participant #125

Elise Fallson said...

As much as I love action films, I have to admit a good comedy, the ones that make your sides hurt and run to the bathroom are the best, but as you said, they are hard to come by.

And one of the best nights I spent was a few years ago with some good friends dancing to 80's music...it was so much fun. (:

J.L. Campbell said...

Neil Diamond is great! Haven't heard any of his music in a while though.

Tia Bach said...

Thanks again, Alex. This was such fun! Thanks to all the commenters, too. I'm off to enjoy some other entries.

Jennifer Lane said...

Hey Tia, Bridesmaids was a RIOT! Have you ever seen What's Up Doc with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal? That one cracked me up.

I'm glad you and hubs can bond over the Neilster.

I am a former US magazine addict and I also love YA books. I agree that I have to care for the characters to enjoy a book.

Julie Glover said...

I loved The Secret of Bees and Daisy Fay as well. Great novels!

My favorite genre for books is mystery. My favorite genre for movies is action. My favorite music genre is ____: I own everything from Neil Diamond (greatest hits) to Rush to Martina McBride to Tony Benneett to opera to bluegrass to...

I'm glad you mentioned The Uglies. I just checked out the audiobook to listen to while cleaning house. YA would be a close 2nd on my book genre list.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for visiting my blog! I liked Bridesmaids. It felt like something that could really happen. lol

Yeah, I have the Cheetah Girls 2 soundtrack. XD

Susan Oloier said...

Tia, I am off to add Bridesmaids to my Netflix queue right now. I've never seen it.
Your Neil Diamond comment made me laugh :-)

Carrie-Anne said...

I love anything historical. Historical fiction, classic world literature, silent film, early sound film, classic rock, classical music, Medieval music. I was born out of my time on several fronts.

Kyra Lennon said...

I love all of your choices, particularly the movies! The 40-Year-Old Virgin made me cry with laughter the first time I saw it!

shah Wharton said...

I loved Bridesmaisd too, only watched it a few weeks ago, thinking I'd hate it. Who knew? My comedy fave is Woody Allen though (is that a guilty pleasure?)... And I loved the Hnger Games (although I saw the movie and have yet to dig into the Kindle trilogy - As for celeb mags - bring it on! Great list Tia. X

Tia Bach said...

I knew it would happen eventually, I hit "delete" instead of "publish". Sorry, Miranda Hardy. Thankfully my email kept her message...

Miranda Hardy --- You must love your husband. LOL.

Great choices. I enjoy reading various genres, needing breaks between my YA choices. Hunger Games is a favorite of mine.

LD Masterson said...

Someone in your comments recommended What's Up, Doc. I'll second that one. Funny movie. But if you want the greatest comedy of the last hundred years (as voted by AFI), it's Some Like It Hot.

Michael Di Gesu said...

Hi, Tia,

Dropping in from the blogfest. Nice to meet you!

Diversity is what it's all about .... AND you are SO right about comedies... Life is tough enough if we can't have a laugh or three!

Y/A is awesome! One of my fav. genres which I also happen to write.

Unknown said...

Your choices sound like my hubby's - he's the emotional one in our family. Except for the guilty pleasure. I have to admit I love watching celebrity news on TV. Can't get enough and I don't really know why...

Anonymous said...

I'd like to watch Bridesmaids and read Flagg. It's been great reading people's entries.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I read YA to share with my daughter too but I've enjoyed a lot of books I would never have picked up if not for her encouragement.

Shannon Lawrence said...

I love all those movies you mentioned! Bridesmaids was hysterical. It's still hysterical no matter how many times I watch it.

My Genre Favorites & Guilty Pleasures

Tia Bach said...

Yes, it's October 2, and I'm still getting around to all the Genre Favorites posts. Where did September go?! Looking forward to reading all of your entries, and I so appreciate all the comments.