💬 Friday Thread: Which Themes, Tropes, And Genres Do You Love the Most?

And what have you been reading lately?

Hello!

I hope your first week of December has been a good one. Here in Ohio we got way too much snow earlier this week—for context, my ideal amount of snow is zero haha. But I do have a dog who loves walking in the cold, so I pulled out all of my winter gear and off we went to the park for our walks this week…..

As for my reading, I’ve started reflecting on my 2025 reading year and some of the things I like to take stock of are which themes, tropes, and genres I’ve gravitated to, especially with respect to books I’ve rated four stars and above.

I’ve also got an idea percolating for something I want to roll out in 2026 and that is where you answering today’s question will really help me.

Before we get to this week’s question, I thought it would be fun to put together a little guide that highlights the difference between themes and tropes. It’s fun to think about these particular elements of stories that are often the first details that hook us and get us anticipating what could be our next great read.

I’ll also share some of my favorite book recommendations for both groups below and then share what I’ve been reading this week in the comments. Feel free to share some of your book recs for themes and tropes too.

Themes vs Tropes

Themes are the big ideas or messages a book explores.
They answer the question: What is this story really about underneath the plot, setting, characters, etc? What is the author exploring, challenging, making a statement about?

Tropes are the familiar story elements or patterns that show up across many books.
They answer the question: What common situations, setups, or character dynamics does this story use?

Some of My Favorite Theme Examples:

• Complicated love - Slanting Towards the Sea by Lidija Hilje