There are a lot of books, too many for you to be able to read the entirety of their population within one lifetime alone, especially during your time as a student. There’s also preference that you have to consider; you don’t want to waste your time trying to comprehend a book that tackles a topic you aren’t even interested in, but there are books that make you spend some time on a topic you would have never thought of being interested in.
Having free time as a student and spending it on books is hard to come by, what with several projects, homework and studying you have to do. Luckily, this article will guide you through the best genres for you to focus on as a student.
1. Biographies & Autobiographies
A biography is an account of the life of a real person written by another person while an autobiography is one written by the person himself. Unlike fiction books, biographies and autobiographies are nonfictional and therefore, all the events stated in the book happened in real life, in the real world, to the real person. These kinds of books are aimed at inspiring people and helping them learn from other people’s mistakes.
2. Mystery
There are great contemporary fiction books for kids that inspire critical thinking, and books of this genre are among them. Mystery novels entertain you by making you think. You will go through a journey with the protagonists wherein you try to solve with them a certain crime while seemly on a wild goose chase with the criminal. Stories of this genre often end with either a mystery solved or a cliffhanger. Students reading mystery novels will be able to learn to pay close attention to details and understand cause and effect. Mystery books aren’t only fun and thrilling, they will help you improve your comprehension skills, among others.
3. Fantasy
Fantasy books may be fictional and for quite a time, they were viewed as for little children and incurable geeks. However, the fantasy genre has become cool especially with the popularity of the Harry Potter, The Lord Of The Rings and the Game Of Thrones series. Fantasy novels sharpen our imagination by letting us experience places, lives and cultures we might otherwise never hear of.
4. Science Fiction
Like Mystery novels, Science Fiction or Sci-Fi novels not only encourages students to be more imaginative and creative, they also make these young people think. This genre may scare some people, especially when it poses questions on the future of humanity. It helps you think outside the box and analyse our world, our existence, outside societal values. You get to be on your own, observing the world, which often brings you realisations on the real value of things. Sci-Fi encourages you to look at the possibilities of the future, as there have already been invented things in the book that already became reality such as credit cards and submarines. When reading Sci-Fi, you also get to develop some knowledge and even interest on math and physics, among others, which would help you greatly in those subjects where most people struggle at.
5. Communication & Networking
Mastery of communication is an essential skill that will prove useful not only during your time as a student, but also in all aspects of your life, especially your chosen career, as companies also put great value on people who know how to properly talk to different people and to speak with the public. Having knowledge in communication gives you the confidence to be able to get along with people and if you know how to make yourself likeable, then they will listen to what you have to say.
Reading is a great way to learn new things or get inspired by a certain idea while you while away the time. Above are just some of the genres that can aid you with the skills needed to not just survive school but also real life, while having tons of fun!