List of Book Types or Genres

Nonfiction books contain factual information, so this type includes most biographies and history books, as well as so much more. Adult and children’s nonfiction genres are more popular than you might imagine. These are some of the most popular nonfiction genres according to book sales:

• Art and architecture - These books can include anything from coffee table books showing photographs and other art to writings on the philosophy and practice of creating.
• Autobiographies and memoirs - An autobiography is a book the author writes about their own life. Memoirs are one type of autobiography. In this type of book, the author puts emphasis on specific moments or events that brought about specific life lessons. A popular example of a memoir is Becoming by Michelle Obama.
• Biographies - Nonfiction books about the lives of real people, biographies cover important historical or literary figures, celebrities, politicians, and many others.
• Business and economics - Tackling everything from how to make a business plan to basic (and not-so-basic) economic theory, these books offer insights about every aspect of business.
• Crafts and hobbies - Craft and hobby books can include patterns, how-to information, and much more for people learning a new craft or delving into deeper information about a hobby they already enjoy.
• Cookbooks, food, and diet books - Nonfiction food books include cookbooks, but more modern food books encompass everything from specific cooking elements and ingredients to specialized diets. You’ll find classic cookbooks with recipes and books that are part memoir/autobiography and part cookbook. Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child is an example of a popular food book.
• Diaries and journals - Covering the real lives of people as they happened, diaries and journals are wonderful for seeing a record of how individuals lived and experienced events. The Diary of Anne Frank is an example of a nonfiction journal.
• Dictionaries and encyclopedias - Most dictionaries and encyclopedias are nonfiction because they contain facts about words.
• Guide or how-to - How-to books that teach real skills, like the classic Betty Crocker Cookbook, are considered factual.
• Health and fitness - Health and fitness books cover everything from diets to exercise plans or strategies. These might also include sports history or biographies of important people in the health industry.
• History - Nonfiction history books include any books that lay out the known facts about a particular, time, culture, or event in history. Killing England by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard is an example of a popular history book.
• Home and garden - These nonfiction books cover decorating, home repair, how-to advice related to homes, types of garden plants, techniques for gardening, and much more.
• Humor - Joke books and humorous memoirs or essays fall into this category.
• Math and science - Covering theory and other aspects of math and science, these nonfiction books include textbooks and others.
• Philosophy - These are nonfiction books about reason, thought, language, human existence, and more.
• Poetry - Although a few types of poetry are considered fiction (like epic or narrative poems), most are nonfiction. A book may include lots of poems from a single author, such as a chapbook, but it could also be an anthology of poetry from lots of authors.
• Politics - Political nonfiction books can include books written by career politicians, books that explore political systems, or books that discuss the politics of a certain period. A Promised Land by Barack Obama is an example of political nonfiction.
• Prayer, religion, spirituality, and new age - These books cover all aspects of religion and spirituality and may also include memoirs.
• Self-help - Self-help books aim to aid the reader in improving some part of their life. Common topics covered by self-help books include relationships, finances, and mental health. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey is a classic example of a popular self-help book.
• Sports and leisure - Covering everything from how-to texts for specific activities to biographies and memoirs of athletes, these books can provide background about leisure activities.
• Travel - Travel books, such as an atlas, are nonfiction, and so are guidebooks and in-depth profiles of specific travel destinations.
• True crime - Because they are focused on real events, true crime stories can be nonfiction.

Fiction books contain a story that the author made up, such as romance or children's books. The most commonly read works are works of fiction. Perhaps some of their elements are based on hints of truth, but they have been elaborated, fabricated, and used to craft a new story.

There are lots of fiction books out there, but they tend to fall into the following genres:

• Action and adventure - These edge-of-your-seat books keep you flipping pages because they're so exciting.
• Alternate history and historical fiction - If you've ever wondered what would have happened if history had been different, alternate history might be for you. Historical fiction explores real historical events and time periods with fictional characters and events.
• Children's - Children’s fiction is often called children’s literature or juvenile fiction. Books in this genre are written with readers under the age of 12 in mind. Types of children’s books include picture books and chapter books. Classic Dr. Seuss books like Green Eggs and Ham are examples of children’s fiction.
• Classics - Classic literature includes works by some of the greatest writers who ever lived. These are the books you might have read in school or in college.
• Comic books and graphic novels - Pairing fictional stories with pictures that also add to the narrative, comic books and graphic novels are popular with tweens and teens (and beloved by people of all ages).
• Coming-of-age - Covering the transition from childhood to adulthood, these stories often involve a character learning and changing as they mature.
• Crime and thrillers - Thrillers are suspenseful stories, which makes a crime thriller a book that has a crime as its main subject while keeping readers on edge. The main characters are often fighting for justice. John Grisham is a well-known crime thriller author.
• Drama - These books have serious storylines and emotional depth. They are sometimes sad, but they can also be uplifting.
• Fairytale - Adding in magic and other fictional elements, this type of book includes classic stories like Sleeping Beauty, and modern versions too.
• Fantasy - As the name implies, this type of book has imagined elements that make it compelling. These can be things like dragons and wizards, but there are no rules for the type of magical or fantastical aspects that are included.
• Horror - Think scary. This kind of book is intended to thrill the reader with its terrifying plot lines.
• Literary fiction - If a work of fiction doesn’t fit into any of the other available genres, it can be labeled as literary fiction. These books are usually character-driven and introspective. They are sometimes called serious fiction because of their tone. Stephen Crane’s The Open Boat is an example of literary fiction.
• Mystery and suspense - These books keep you turning pages to find out what happens next. This includes murder mysteries, but there are actually many sub-genres.
• Political thriller - The behind-the-scenes maneuvering of political operatives, sometimes coupled with crime or mystery, is the main topic of this type of book.
• Romance - These stories about romantic love can be fun to read, and they include lots of sub-genres like historical romance or paranormal romance.
• Satire - Humorous stories that exaggerate or make fun of people and situations, this type of fiction often targets politicians and other famous people.
• Science fiction - Also known as Sci-Fi, science fiction deals with the imagined future in terms of science or technology advances. This genre includes things like time travel, outer space, and intelligent life. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells is a classic example of science fiction.
• Short story - Not all types of fiction are novels. Short fiction can cover any genre, but the story is compressed or only covers a short period of time. Short stories are often included in anthologies.
• Western - Set in the Western portion of North America, usually in the 19th century, these stories are fun to read.
• Young adult - Young adult fiction is written for readers ages 12 to 18. These books incorporate the typical reading level and worldview of tweens and teens in this age group. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins is an example of popular young adult fiction.

Now that you know more about the different types of genres, you can continue exploring other works of fiction and nonfiction. You may even find a new favorite! If you can’t choose one favorite genre to read, consider reading short stories or an anthology. You might even want to crack open a novella or crack up at some book puns.