Top Ten Tuesday – Why I Love Reading Contemporary Fiction

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Reasons Why I Love [insert your favorite book title, genre, author, etc. here].  Since I’ve been reading a lot of contemporary fiction lately, I decided to share some reasons why I’m enjoying reading it so much.  Many of the reasons I’m sharing of course also can be applied to other genres, but they just specifically add to the charm of contemporary fiction for me.

 

via GIPHY

 

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Reasons Why I Love Reading Contemporary Fiction

(in no particular order)

 

  • I love the modern settings — places I recognize from having visited, or even places that I want to visit.  As much as I might enjoy reading about the same exact city in a historical fiction, there’s just something comforting and familiar for me reading about it in a contemporary. New York immediately comes to mind as I’m typing this.
  • I love the overall timely feel of a contemporary, especially in terms of its inclusion of modern technology, social media, current events, etc.  Those things that make it so relevant to right now.
  • Along similar lines, I love reading contemporary novels that are sprinkled with familiar pop culture references.  Whether it’s Star Wars, Harry Potter, or something else iconic, it’s just fun to actually “get” the references.
  • I’m a huge fan of fantasy and all of the magic that typically accompanies those kinds of stories, but another appeal of contemporary fiction for me is just seeing ordinary, everyday people (Muggles, lol) facing and overcoming difficulties without the assistance of any kind of special powers.  Anne from Books of My Heart commented on one of my reviews this week and she says she calls this “Life Fiction” and I I really liked the term.
  • Along the same lines, I also love contemporary fiction in that it often just gives us a snapshot of a character or characters’ everyday lives.  Sometimes I just think it’s fun to get a glimpse into a day in the life of someone else.
  • Another huge appeal of contemporary fiction for me is that it feeds my inner mood reader because there’s such a wide range of subject possibilities, not to mention that you can easily find either a light, fluffy read or an emotional one that will have you grabbing for the tissues.  There’s a book for every mood!
  • I can’t forget to talk about the diversity.  Contemporary fiction is doing such a wonderful job with representation these days.  I love that there’s so much representation out there for different races, cultures, religion, the LGBTQ community, mental illness, and so much more.
  • I also love contemporary fiction because it is in these kinds of stories that I most often see myself in the characters.  They are definitely more relatable to me than a fantasy character or even a character from historical fiction.
  • Romance is also a draw for me when it come to contemporary fiction, mainly because it seems to be the place where I find my favorite tropes and that snarky, witty banter that I love so much.
  • Last but not least, the covers!  I know I shouldn’t judge books by their covers but I totally do and I adore the covers for contemporary fiction reads, especially if they’re those cute illustrated covers that seem to be the trend now.

 

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Question:  Do you read contemporary fiction?  What do you enjoy about it?

 

45 replies
  1. Marg
    Marg says:

    I’ve done the opposite of you with mine – I did historical fiction, but I do love contemporary fiction as well!

  2. Olivia Roach
    Olivia Roach says:

    I share a lot of the same reasons you mentioned! I like an everyday slice of life kind of story from time to time, and I love learning about different people, cultures and countries through a book. Contemporary fiction allows me to do that! And we definitely do get a lot more diversity in contemporary fiction more than anywhere else. Great list x

  3. Angela
    Angela says:

    I definitely agree with all of these! I love the illustrated cover trend, and I also enjoy contemporary fiction because the characters feel more relatable than with other genres. I also love books that explore social media and its role in our lives, because it’s so timely.

  4. Lydia
    Lydia says:

    I haven’t read contemporary fiction in quite a while. You’re making me want to change that, especially due to the diversity in it these days.

    My TTT .

  5. Jo
    Jo says:

    See your last reason is why I tend to not love contemporaries so much, romance tends to be the major component of a lot of them and I’m not a big romance reader. I do like the familiarity of the settings, and the diversity though.

  6. ShootingStarsMag
    ShootingStarsMag says:

    I love contemporary fiction. That was almost exclusively what I read for a long time. I think it’s fun to have modern aspects to these books – social media, etc. – as well as fun pop culture references!

    -Lauren

  7. Jess @ Jessticulates
    Jess @ Jessticulates says:

    Great list! I don’t read an awful lot of contemporary, but I completely agree that it’s nice to see characters overcoming obstacles without fantastical assistance.

  8. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books
    Tanya @ Girl Plus Books says:

    I’m a total contemporary reader and rarely read outside the genre. There are a lot of reasons why but the main one is that I connect with a story and the characters better when it’s based in reality, and in the here and now.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      Yes, the here and now definitely makes it easier for me to relate to a character. Their struggles are usually something I can more easily imagine myself facing than with other genres.

  9. Louise @ Monstrumology
    Louise @ Monstrumology says:

    I love contemporary fiction for a lot of the same reasons as you! I love how it’s kind of a time capsule of the time a book was written in and can be looked back in a different light in the future.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      I agree about how interesting it is to look back. I guess a lot of the books we consider contemporary now could be classified as historical at some point.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      I love my fantasy reads and all of their magic too but yeah, there’s just something I really like about watching an ordinary person using their own wits and resourcefulness to confront obstacles.

  10. Vi @Inkvotary
    Vi @Inkvotary says:

    It is absolutely interesting to see how this TTT was interpreted and to get to know you all a bit better. Thank you for sharing this with us and happy reading. Stay safe and well.

  11. Sam@wlabb
    Sam@wlabb says:

    I absolutely love, when characters visit some place I have been. That’s a thing with me, and you’re right. There are so many different flavors of contemporary fiction, which can cater to different tastes and moods.

  12. Susan (Bloggin' 'bout Books)
    Susan (Bloggin' 'bout Books) says:

    I agree with you on seeing ordinary, just-like-you people struggle to overcome obstacles in a book without the aid of magic, superpowers, etc. It’s easy to relate to characters like that and to root for their success. I find real people overcoming real problems (even if it’s fictional people with fictional problems – you know what I mean!) inspiring.

    Happy TTT!

    Susan
    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com

  13. Brittany
    Brittany says:

    I don’t read a ton of Contemporary fiction but my favorites are the ones with Lots and lots of pop culture/Harry Potter/Star Wars references 😀

  14. O
    O says:

    Contemporary isn’t exactly my go-to so I had to read this. I have to say I can see the appeal now. I even agreed with a lot of these statements I also like more inclusion of diversity, and pop culture references. I guess I like contemporary more than I thought.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      I read a lot more of it now than I used to. I used to consider contemporary mainly chick lit, but there seems to be a lot more variety now.

  15. Crystal @ Lost in Storyland
    Crystal @ Lost in Storyland says:

    I agree that contemporary fiction can be timely. It’s fun to see the characters go through experiences that I go through as well. I especially love that you mention how contemporary books are about “ordinary, everyday people . . . facing and overcoming difficulties.” Those are the best stories.

  16. Flora
    Flora says:

    Most of the reasons you’ve listed, Suzanne, are the same reasons I love paranormal romance and urban fantasy! 😉

Comments are closed.