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How Do I Find The Genre Of A Book

Picked up a few used novels with no dust jackets and no obvious categories listed on the cover or Goodreads page. Feeling lost.
2025-08-01 23:53:48
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10 Answers

Best Answer
Purvik Vekariya
Purvik Vekariya
One way to find out a book’s genre is to read the book’s description or the back cover of the book. Most publishers clearly state a book’s genre in the description. Online stores and reading apps also clearly state a book’s genres in the book’s details. Recently I came across the book ‘Turned (Book #1 in the Vampire Journals)’ which was clearly tagged as paranormal romance and urban fantasy. From this I gathered that the book was about vampires and relationships in a modern setting. The tags/categories clearly answered my question.
2026-07-21
Quentin
Quentin
I decide on a book’s genre based on first appearance. The cover tells me whether a book is fantasy (dragon), mystery (dark), or romance (two people almost kissing). The title also gives me a clue as to whether a book is epic fantasy (The Crimson Throne) or a thriller (Midnight Whispers). I read the blurb and look for phrases like ‘forbidden love’ or ‘deadly secrets’ to give me more of an idea as to what kind of book I’m looking at. The first few pages of a book will also give me an idea of whether it’s going to be a ‘lintery’ fiction book (written in flowery language) or an action-packed adventure, possibly of science fiction. The sections that books are placed in within a store also give me a clue. It’s highly unlikely that horror books will be placed next to cookbooks. My gut feeling is usually right too. If it feels like horror then it probably is.
2025-08-03
Mateo
Mateo
Determining a book's genre can be a fun puzzle to solve and, in reality, is quite straightforward. Many book descriptions and back covers of published books will include the genre or categories of the book. If it isn't obvious, reading the book summary will give you an idea of whether it is a dystopian, romantic novel or even a noir. For further research on genres, Amazon and Goodreads categorize books and users leave reviews stating the genre of the book as well.

Occasionally, it is clear from an author’s previous works what genre he or she will be writing in next (typically more of the same). Sometimes, the inside of a book contains Library of Congress cataloging data that tells you what genre a book is. I often turn to online forums and Reddit for help from my fellow readers. Genre can be a very grey area and there are many books that are a mix of several genres. Being able to determine a book’s genre can be lots of fun!
2025-08-07
Rommel Gomez
Rommel Gomez
An author’s dedication or note at the end of a book can sometimes provide a bit of insight into the type of book it is. In the case of a fantasy or even a LitRPG book the dedication might read “To all the dungeon masters” or “To all the readers of my historical newsletters” for a work of historical fiction. While it’s not a foolproof method for guessing a genre it can at least give you a clue as to what kind of community an author is writing for and why they wrote a particular book. As an example, a cozy mystery author might write “To my cats” or “To my book club” which will immediately give you the sense of who she’s writing for and therefore probably where her work fits into the genres of fiction.
2026-07-31
Dilip Salgaocar
Dilip Salgaocar
Read a book's plot summary with a critical eye. Try to identify the hook that draws readers to that book. If the magical system is the hook then it's a work of fantasy. If it's a new technological advancement then it's sci-fi. If it's a murder then it's a mystery. If it's a romantic relationship then it's a work of romance. Most plots can be summarized with a one-sentence high-concept pitch. This sentence is usually the central premise of the book. Most summaries are written to highlight the hook of a book and attract readers of a certain genre. So rather than reading on and becoming buried in the details of the summary read the sentence and try to find the genre keyword, either explicitly given or implied.
2026-08-01

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I'm basically planning to camp out in this comment section.
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