Pigeonholing One’s Reading Is ‘For The Birds’

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Helen Fielding. (Photo by Joel Ryan/AP.)

One of my reading maxims is “Don’t pigeonhole yourself.” That means I, as a male, often read novels by and about females. That means I, as a white person, am interested in books by and about people of color. That means I, as a “straight” person, like to read novels by and about LGBTQIA+ people. That means I, as an older person, enjoy the occasional young-adult novel. That means I, as an American, love many works by and about people from other countries. That means I, as an Earthling, gravitate toward some books by…well, maybe I should stop there.

Why avoid self-pigeonholing in reading? The answers are obvious: You learn more stuff, see things through different eyes, get a chance to empathize with those of diverse backgrounds, don’t get stuck in a reading rut, and so on.

This topic occurred to me as I read Bridget Jones’s Diary, which I’m currently about halfway through. Helen Fielding’s hilarious, at-times-poignant novel gives great insight into the psyches of women — well, particularly the psyche of one smart, funny, neurotic, self-deprecating, somewhat shallow (?), thirty-something woman. Definitely an education of sorts amid the entertainment, and a reminder that any male reading a novel like that will gain a better understanding of a female spouse or partner, and/or his mother, and/or his daughter(s), and/or his sister(s), and/or his women friends, and/or his female boss and co-workers, etc.

Bridget Jones’s Diary has been called “chick lit,” which I find a sexist and derisive way to categorize many wonderful works of fiction. Among my favorite women novelists — whether they lean to the lighter or heavier side in approach — are Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Isabel Allende, Margaret Atwood, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Octavia E. Butler, Willa Cather, Colette, George Eliot, Diana Gabaldon, Kristin Hannah, Zora Neale Hurston, Barbara Kingsolver, Harper Lee, L.M. Montgomery, Liane Moriarty, J.K. Rowling, Mary Shelley, and Edith Wharton, to name a few.

Female authors of color are obviously part of the above list, and just as obviously I have enjoyed novels by male authors of color such as James Baldwin, Richard Wright, and various others. In our multiracial world, white readers can only benefit from including authors of color in their literature mix.

Young-adult novels give us a sense of what young people are thinking, and, when these books are read as grown-ups, evoke memories of our own youth. Some of the YA books I like best include L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables and its sequels, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ The Yearling, Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give, Louis Sachar’s Holes, and John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars.

Among the novels with full or partial LGBTQIA+ themes I most like are Rita Mae Brown’s Rubyfruit Jungle and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, to name just two.

Favorite fictional works by and about people from countries other than the United States? Way too many to mention, so I won’t — even though I’m a writer of relatively short blog posts who likes to avoid self-pigeonholing by occasionally writing longer blog posts. 🙂

Your thoughts about this topic?

My literary-trivia book is described and can be purchased here: Fascinating Facts About Famous Fiction Authors and the Greatest Novels of All Time.

In addition to this weekly blog, I write the 2003-started/award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column every Thursday for Montclair Local. The latest piece — about a rather large proposed office building — is here.

101 thoughts on “Pigeonholing One’s Reading Is ‘For The Birds’”

  1. Dear Dave
    thanks for your post and quoting some non-white, not straight American authors. As a European writer I usually avoid USAmerican literature. It’s too action centred for my taste and tries to hard to make the reader identify with the dramatis personae. Of course, to get out of my pigeon hole means to read American novels for me.
    I absolutely agree with you, pigeon hole reading makes our thinking one-dimensional. On the other hand it’s laziness that makes us do it.
    We wish you a happy weekend
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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    • Thank you, Klausbernd! I enjoyed your excellent comment. 🙂

      Yes, not pigeonholing is a good thing. And I agree that a lot (too much) of American literature is action-oriented, fortunately with some notable exceptions. Action-oriented novels can be compelling, but they’re best as a once-in-a-while thing rather than as a steady reading diet.

      Hope you’re having a great weekend, too!

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  2. This is exactly why I joined a library book club. I read almost entirely mysteries but wanted motivation to branch out. If I hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have read YA The Hate U Give (Thomas) or fantasy The Rules of Magic (Hoffman). Most recently, I loved The Paris Bookseller (Maher), which is historical biographical fiction about Sylvia Beach. I still love mysteries, of course!

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  4. Three battered books on our shelves, from an older generation’s childhood, about the Ruggles family, ‘ working class’ . far too many kids , tired but loiving mum and dad. The first – The Family From One End Street won the Carnegie medal. No boats, no boarding school, no ponies.  Two more, and in all three, scholarship child Kate knows there’s a different world beyond One End.

    Pigeon holing ? Stigmatising ? Or closer to the lives of many child readers, 

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    • Thank you, Esther! I think many kid readers like a certain amount of predictability in their reading (which can also lead to reading a lot of series and doing more rereading than adults). As long as kids are reading, somewhat less variety is fine with me. 🙂

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  5. Dave, I love this: “Why avoid self-pigeonholing in reading? The answers are obvious: You learn more stuff, see things through different eyes, get a chance to empathize with those of diverse backgrounds, don’t get stuck in a reading rut, and so on.”

    This is the reason why I absolutely abhor these book bans that I don’t understand the insane and extreme reasons given. This is why we have such a diverse world of books. You aren’t being forced to read what you don’t want to, but it is available in case you are curious. Just READ because our reading stats have been plummeting for some time now. Great message Dave! 📘📚📕

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  6. When younger I loved the Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle. He was British and so were Holmes, and Watson.

    They may be old fashioned today, in a world of forensics, but at the time were milestones in crime fiction.

    I must note Gabriel García Márquez (Columbian) & the winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature.

    His novel of the Buendía family (100 Years of Solitude) takes place in Columbia. Taking place in the early 1800’s until mid 1900’s, it’s also about another place in time.

    I have read a half dozen of the authors you mention, so I feel somewhat read.

    BTW – The Toronto Library system is still shut down due to the hacking. Sigh!

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  7. Rereading a Russian novel, Andrei Bley’s “Petersburg” set in that city circa in 1905, after having read a few fantastic short stories by GB author Angela Carter, and before that a leftist noir by French author JP Manchette– and most mornings, waiting out my computer’s warm-up period, I read a Chinese Tang Dynasty era poem. As a reader, I do like to get around to places I otherwise could never be.

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  10. What an interesting subject, Dave, and I am also very greatful for having explained so well the expression Pigeonholing! I still remember, when I was still girl of about 14 years, that I read “Resurection” by Leo Tolstoy. A book about the Russian unjust law system. During a trial a young girl, who had been sexually abused by one of the jurors and who became aware of his sins was ready to atone for what he had done! This story still gives me goose pimples! I also read the Count of Monte Cristo when I was very young. In general, however, I read the great German writers, such as Hermann Hesse or for exemple “The Glas Bead Game”, Kafka “The Methmorphosis” or Martin Sutter “Small World”. I don’t mention Schiller and Goethe! So these seem to have been more or less books by men! When I started to really study the English language and to travel I had a great desire to learn more about the countries I visited and their cultures and I read many books by women and learnt a lot about their political systems or their lives, which often times were very different from Switzerland.
    Last but not least, I think I also learnt a lot from AMERICANAH by Chimamanda Ngozi, who you also mentioned. Many thanks, Dave

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  11. I agree with you, Dave. An example of my being rewarded for reading outside my usual fiction pigeonhole was when I was persuaded by a friend to try The Boys in the Boat (2014) by Daniel James Brown soon after it came out. A nonfiction book about rowing? Why would I read that? I loved it! And now I’ve read that it has been made into a movie (which hasn’t made it to Switzerland yet), so I imagine even more people will read the book.

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    • Thank you, Kim! Great example of diversifying one’s reading! I’d like to read “The Boys in the Boat,” too, if I ever have the time to get to a nonfiction book. I’m especially interested because my daughter is on her high school crew team. 🙂 The team even had a group outing a couple months ago to see “The Boys in the Boat” film you mentioned. 🙂

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  12. As I started following authors, I found myself frequently starting a comment or review with, “I’m not normally a fan of…” I stopped after I realized that I am a fan of good writing. That can fall in any genre by any author.

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  13. I’m in complete agreement. When I discovered reading in my youth I read just about anything I could get my hands on, which meant I found certain types of books that I didn’t like–but how could I have known that, unless I’d read them? When the BBC embraced much better content than it does now, they often dramatised books by authors from other cultures, which is how I came to read Balzac’s ‘Cousin Bette’ and Zola’s ‘Nana’ amongst others. When I got to university in my 40s I studied Comparative Literature, which covers and compares world literature from the Classics onwards–in translation, but what a great way to discover Tolstoy and Turgenev, Ibsen, and the ‘1001 Nights’, to name a selection. Living in another country is a good way to discover the local literature, if you’re lucky enough to do so, so living in Egypt for two years gave me Nawal El Saadawi and Naguib Mahfouz–not to mention the work of another Brit abroad in Lawrence Durrell’s ‘Alexandria Quartet’ (I’d discovered his brother Gerald’s take on Greece in my youth too, and later found Kazantzakis for myself). My husband’s sci-fi tastes have informed my own too, so Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov and Ursula K. Le Guin found their way into my TBR, and then there’s writing for the young–who doesn’t love ‘The Hunger Games’ from Suzanne Collins. Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ is generally taken to be YA, I think, but I also believe that he stated it to be written for anybody, of any age. I could go on but I think I’ve made my point–what a lot we’d all miss if we limited ourselves. Great post, many thanks for it. 🙂

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    • Thank you, Laura! Great comment! Very nice to hear about your wide-ranging experiences with literature, and how that happened over the years.

      So true that we don’t know what we like or don’t like until we read a variety of writing we like and don’t like. And, yes, living in a different country — as exemplified by your time in Egypt — can help introduce a person to literature from that country. Even visiting a country for a few days or a couple weeks can spur that as well.

      I’m also a major Balzac and Zola fan, reading many of their novels a while ago. Also “Old Goriot,” “Eugenie Grandet,” “The Magic Skin,” “Germinal,” “The Drinking Den,” “The Masterpiece,” “The Beast in Man,” etc.

      And, yes, “The Hunger Games” is basically YA, though it certainly doubles as an adult-oriented trilogy as well!

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  14. I totally agree with you on this one. Reading books that you would otherwise not know to pick up, is partly why I enjoy being in a book club. Discussing them afterwards is also adding to the experience and widening your understanding and perspectives of the books.

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    • Thank you, Thérèse! Great mention of book clubs and how they spur members to sometimes or often read what they might not have read on their own. Glad that you’re in a book club! I’m not, but I consider this blog to be a book club of sorts. 🙂

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  15. I also don’t pigeonhole myself as a reader, and that includes works of non-fiction, biographies, memoirs, poetry, and others. To see the world through the eyes of “the other” makes for greater understanding, tolerance/acceptance, and, hopefully, compassion. I haven’t read “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” but I’ve seen the movie.

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  17. My reading is definitely not systematic, so I seem to manage a fairly good mix of genres and literatures. But this post reminds me of something that bugged me while I was a cataloguing librarian in a large public library (from 1992 to 2016). We separated the fiction collection by genres. There were separate sections for Mystery, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Romance, and Westerns. Everything else was lumped together in General Fiction.

    I argued against this arrangement. Supposedly it served the demand for convenience by readers who preferred those genres, which were the most popular. I thought it limited readers’ opportunities to explore other kinds of fiction. Also, with genre bending and blending, it meant we cataloguers sometimes put something in the “wrong” place, or had to do extensive checking to figure out the “right” place.

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    • Thank you, Audrey! Un-systematic reading can be a good thing; lots of room for variety and serendipity. 🙂

      And, yes, segmented library sections encourage segmented reading. My local library’s fiction section is similar, albeit with fewer categories — just three: general fiction, sci-fi, and mysteries. There’s definitely something to be said for having all fiction under…fiction, with people finding what they want by author last name. Good for you for arguing again shelf segmentation! And, yes again, it can be tricky to place novels that blend genres on segmented shelves. Should Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” for instance, go in the sci-fi or general-fiction section? Wilkie Collins’ “The Woman in White” in mystery or general fiction? Etc.

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  18. I agree, and I love your list of favorite authors. You have to read from a diverse field of writers. Margaret Atwood is my current favorite, but that will change once I finish reading her.

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    • Thank you, henhouselady! I totally hear you about our favorites changing, even as our previous favorites stay near the top of our preferences. 🙂 I also love Margaret Atwood’s work — with my favorites of hers including (not in rank order) “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Testaments,” “The Blind Assassin,” “Alias Grace,” “The Robber Bride,” “Cat’s Eye,” and “Oryx and Crake.”

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  19. Although it’s fine to have preferences, in my opinion it’s not so good to confine ourselves to one thing only re food, music, art. Why do so with literature? I love to read world lit. Consequently, I turn to Words Without Border. Here is a link to this wonderful organization: https://wordswithoutborders.org/ Thanks Dave for encouraging readers to explore their world. Susi

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    • Thank you, Susi! I totally agree — we all have preferences, but it’s wonderful to have a diversified bunch of “sub-preferences” as well. 🙂 And I appreciate the link; it looks like a great organization and website!

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  20. Wholehearted agreement from me, and really I have lived my life this way from being a teenager immersed in Dostoyevsky, listening to Jamaican music in my 20s, reading South American literature as a young man, and more recently making sure I’d read some Chinese literature, some arabic novels, Portugese, Italian, South Africa etc etc. Great post

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  21. I am in awe of your reading spectrum, Dave. You even read Nancy Drew based on my recommendation. A wonderful post – I’ll be back for the follow-up discussion.

    I have a feeling that we don’t intentional tend to choose books based on our interests, preferences, and goals. When a book aligns with our tastes or offers valuable information, we are likely to be motivated to read it. On the other hand, books that do not resonate with us may seem less appealing, leading to neglect.

    In my experience, I have discovered that I need to be more intentional in my reading choices. I recognize that reading a diversity of books exposes me to different perspectives, cultures, and experiences, broadening my understanding of the world. Other benefits for me include developing empathy, critical thinking skills, and open-mindedness.

    We have many books, compared to the our limited time. I believe that engaging in a diversity of reading allows us to expand our time. Books allows us experience the breadth and depth of humanity’s story.

    Dr. Seuss says it the best “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

    P.S. I have set my sights on Faust for 2024. YIKES!!!

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    • Thank you, Rebecca, for the wise and well-said words! You also have very wide interests — in books, poetry, art, etc.! And I’m very glad that I read Nancy Drew (“The Secret of the Old Clock”). 🙂

      It’s true that many people might choose certain kinds of books that fit their interests, sometimes almost in an automatic pilot kind of way — meaning it takes a bit of conscious effort to get outside our comfort zone. But SO worth that effort.

      Dr. Seuss knew what he was talking about. 🙂

      Good luck with Faust! A strong example of diversifying one’s reading!

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    • Hello Rebecca, I will not be following you down the Faust rabbit hole but I am currently reading The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. I’m not actually sure who recommended it. So far, it is quite fascinating. You recommended Nancy Drew to Dave, but did you also recommend The Three Investigators by Robert Arthur Jnr. I have never forgotten The Dead Man’s Riddle which included London rhyming slang. I found it several years ago so I could read it to my sons.

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  22. I also enjoy mixing up my reading as I think, especially as a writer, it helps to broaden my scope. Anne of Green Gables is my all time favourite book and I recently listened to an audio version narrated by Sandra Oh. It remined me why I love that story so much. As for Bridget Jones, I was going through a bad batch, was about to have a big birthday I was not happy about and hubby took me away for the weekend to an island that required two ferry rides. I was reading Bridget Jones and was laughing so hard he wanted to know what was so funny. So I read some of it out to him. We laughed together and had a great weekend! Books can save your life. (or at least a weekend)

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    • Thank you, Darlene! Great point about another benefit of diversifying one’s reading being the way that can help one’s writing!

      “Anne of Green Gables” is one of my favorite books, and my favorite YA novel. Of course, L.M. Montgomery’s classic is basically a YA/grown-up novel hybrid. 🙂

      And I love your memory of reading “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and how you and your husband reacted to it! It IS a laugh-out-loud-funny novel. Books can definitely have savior tendencies. 🙂

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    • Hi Dave, I’m delighted that Bridget Jones gave you a laugh. I still haven’t written my review; I have a significant backlog of reviews – eek! I don’t think in terms of women’s fiction or men’s fiction, I read what I fancy. I have recently read three war books by Jeff Shaara, Interview with a Vampire, A Town like Alice and The Chequer Board both by Neville Shute (I intend to read On the Beach), all of which have been phenomenal. I also read The Sealwoman’s Gift and I have actually written that review. I also read books from our writing community and a lot of poetry. I think I’m pretty well rounded with my reading choices.

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