Challenge: Mixing It Up

Okay, I'm entering another challenge:  Mixing It Up, hosted by Musings of a Bookshop Girl.  Maybe it's because I'm already reading two books that will fit this challenge, or maybe it's just that I like the variety in this one.  Anyhoo, I'm in.  Here are the rules:

The premise is really very simple.  It's all about mixing up your reading, pushing your boundaries and exploring new genres.  Take a look at the categories below, and choose one book for each category.  It's that easy!  You can choose to try anything from a gentle 4 to the full 16 different genres, and the book you pick for each is entirely up to you!

~ THE CATEGORIES ~

1. CLASSICS

2. BIOGRAPHY

3. COOKERY, FOOD AND WINE
4. HISTORY
5. MODERN FICTION
6. GRAPHIC NOVELS AND MANGA
7. CRIME AND MYSTERY
8. HORROR
9. ROMANCE
10. SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY
11. TRAVEL
12. POETRY AND DRAMA
13. JOURNALISM AND HUMOUR
14. SCIENCE AND NATURAL HISTORY
15. CHILDREN'S AND YOUNG ADULT

16. SOCIAL SCIENCES AND PHILOSOPHY

~ LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION ~

MEASURING JUG: Playing it safe with 1-4 categories
CUPCAKE MIX: Livening things up with 5-8 categories
MIXING BOWL: Branching out with 9-12 categories
TWO-TIER CAKE: Getting ambitious with 13-15 categories
ALL THE TRIMMINGS AND A CHERRY ON TOP: Going for gold with the full 16!

The Einstein bio that I'm reading now would obviously fit the biography category, and Great Expectations, which I've just started, will work for classics.  I think I'll try to make all 16 categories.  Although I've never been interested in graphic novels, this may be an incentive to try Maus, of which I've heard so much over the years.