Learning to Love New Genres (And How Do You Even Start?!)

I had a friend throughout middle school and high school who LOVED historical fiction. She loved reading the Celia Rees books and anything about England's monarchs in particular, but all historical fiction was fair game to her. It's probably no wonder that she did exceedingly well in her history classes and actually ENJOYED sitting through daily lectures on the subject.

I, however, spent my time doodling and wishing I could be working on literally anything else. History was boring. I had exactly zero motivation to learn about the kings and queens, revolutions and wars, that went on in our past. Lucky for me, I was good at memorizing names and dates, so my lack of interest never hindered my academic performance in the subject. 

We've all heard that old saying that "we need to learn history or we're doomed to repeat it", but that doesn't really mean much when you're in high school and you can't think of how the knowledge of Lady Jane Grey's existence will ever allow you to make a life altering decision. I get it. I do. It seems like you need to have that special history loving gene to enjoy digging up the past and I just didn't have it. At least I didn't think so. 

I am a very nosey person and I feel a connection to people (even if I'm not so great at interacting with them IRL). It's a very similar sensation when I read fiction and I get completely engrossed in a character. I want to know everything about them, because 9 times out of 10, if I'm invested in a character it will make me ten times more excited to see how a character reacts when put in such and such situation. It's also peaks my interest in the situation itself because a character I've grown to love just went through it. 

I recently picked up The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory and it was an enchanting experience. It was a book that had been on my shelf for AGES and for some reason the mood just struck. I was engrossed from the start. I felt so connected to Anne's ambition, George felt like a friendly face in a sea of rivals and Mary... I just wanted to see her escape the life she so desperately hated and be reunited with her children. I began feeling curious about what life was really like back then. Of course I knew about Henry VIII and the Church of England, and who could forget that HE was the one with all the wives... One thing lead to another and after a solid two hours of research I came away with more knowledge of sixteenth century England than I ever cared to memorize in school. And I'm still learning! I'm still seeking out this information weeks after finishing the book by watching documentaries and reading research papers. I feel like I finally understand what my friend saw in all of that history mumbo jumbo.

During school my time in school, we were always taught to the test. We ended up learning just enough to get us through standardized tests or to earn the school some solid AP scores and then we moved on. (My thought on how awful is this system is another thing entirely.) That never gave us enough time to get invested in the people we were learning about, which to me is what it's all about.

So historical fiction. It's my new thing.

...but how do you even get started reading a new genre?

I am a fantasy reader. I've read the amazing and the cringy and when you're recommending something new for a first time fantasy reader, it's important not to start them with something that will inevitably leave them with a foul taste in their mouths. However, I think it's doing them a disservice offering them something that is at the peak of it's genre, because then it's all downhill from there.

So what do I do? I've heard mummers that The Other Boelyn Girl is Gregory's best work, but is Phillipa Gregory herself a master of the genre? Does it only go downhill from here?

I hope not because I never want to stop enjoying learning about the past in the ways that I have here.

So what now? What do I pick up next?

If you have any suggestions please don't hesitate to leave them in the comments. As for me, I'm off to explore! The only question is, where shall I go next?