21st Century Literature discussion

Did you used to like long books, but no longer prefer them? Maybe you once read westerns, but their not your current cup of tea? What literary style or genre did you used to enjoy that you currently do not?

Dystopian. (Enjoyed those when I was in my teens/20s.) Now that I'm in my 50s, parts seem too close to reality so it doesn't feel so exciting or escapist as it once did.

During that same time period, I also read a lot of mysteries & true crime. I still enjoy those categories but rarely read from either of them these days.

As a teenager I read classic mysteries, and also some fantasy series (though tbh I think it was always particular series I was attached to). I don't tend to read those things any more... but I think it might just be that those were my transition to adulthood books, and now I'm an adult I don't feel I need them?

Young Adult really didn't exist much when I was a teenager, so it was classics/mysteries/fantasy. I kept the classics though!

As teenager I read almost everything of Stephen King, but nowadays I almost never pick up horror/supernatural mysteries.

Up to my mid-20s, like many guys that age, most of what I read was science fiction. These days, I can stand little of what gets marketed as such. I still find some of the ideas attractive. But a lot of what I come across just seems to be committed to common genre practices: a "data dump" approach to world-building, extended ruminating about the small details of fictional technologies, too much thriller mechanics and expository dialog, and a weakness for constipated prose.

Now I completely agree that none of these complaints are "necessary" in science fiction (or exclusive to it). There are one or two writers, with books sometimes marketed as science fiction, that I have admired and enjoyed. And if 21st Century Lit denizens have good recommendations, I'd love to hear them. (Yes, I love Brian Evenson.)

Henk wrote: "As teenager I read almost everything of Stephen King, but nowadays I almost never pick up horror/supernatural mysteries."

I feel the same way. I used to read these back in high school, but have gravitated away from modern horrors. I will read more of the classic varieties though.

I still love historical fiction but I'm now into books that are a bit more political/societal and less character focused. I got burned out by too many Lesley Pearse novels!

Historical fiction. I used to predominately read it, but now am drawn to more spare writing with contemporary settings.