Reading Revolution or Evolution

This is a photo from the mountains behind my house (I found it at the L.A. Times website. It would take me about 20 minutes to get there from my house. Isn't it pretty? That's about the only nice thing I can say about the weather right now. I'm a weather wimp. I don't like the cold. Winter for me means I have to put on a sweater. And when you have kids, rain sucks. They spend the entire time at school inside their classrooms and they get home so wired and obnoxious, they could be mistaken for rabid chimpanzees.

I hate going out in this weather. I just want to cuddle up with a book and a cup of tea. I have a stack of books calling my name and little time to read right now. I could sit and read at night, but by the time evening rolls around, I'm so tired and my brain is so numb, I just want to watch t.v. However, previous to this, I had been reading quite a bit and I've noticed how much my reading has changed. My choices have broadened considerably. I notice I go through changes periodically. When I was young, I read nothing but romances, historical romances, nothing else. Even in college that's what I read. Then I moved onto techno thrillers a la Tom Clancy. Then I moved on to Robert Ludlum. I slipped there into John Steinbeck and into non-fiction adventure. Then somehow I slid back into romance although I moved away from historicals and read other sub-genres. I discovered paranormal romance and that was it, I read paranormal romance exclusively. But that has petered out. I think I got tired of angsty vampires searching for their soulmate. I moved onto dark urban fantasy, but I choose books with little romance. And that isn't my exclusive reading. I've been reading cozy mysteries, literary fiction, horror and whatever else strikes. Except for romance. I have no taste for it. Odd considering I'm a card carrying member of RWA, a board member of my local chapter and have a stack of Golden Heart entries to judge.

Of course I haven't been writing romance much lately either. Perhaps as I start writing in the genre again, my interest will pick up. I have nothing against the genre, but perhaps a break is necessary to bring a fresh perspective?

Does your reading tastes change on a regular basis or are you stalwart of your favored genre?