Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility.

Non-fiction is any document or media content that attempts to convey information only about the real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to present topics objectively based on historical, scientific, and empirical information.

Children's literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader, from picture books for the very young to young adult fiction.

Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other types of narrative, including theatre, opera, cinema, and television, as well as video games and graphic novels.

Books in the lifestyle nonfiction genre are about the ways and circumstances in which people live. The books in this genre discuss habits, attitudes, tastes, moral standards, economic level, and social class. They also pertain to the manner in which people live, mostly defined by money and morals.

Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime.

Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction, which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. It is related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres.

Technical books provide comprehensive information on specialized technical subjects in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics areas of study. This includes textbooks, schematics, reports, compilations, how-tos, and other bound volumes whose main focus is to impart expertise and knowledge to readers.