Does reading taste run in families?

My daughter was an avid reader from an early age. But pretty early on, she decided that fantasy was the only genre she wanted to read. I read some fantasy and enjoy it, but I also read mysteries, literary fiction, memoirs, science fiction, and anything else that grabs my attention.

I used to always hear friends talk about exchanging books with their mothers, and thought to myself, "That would be nice." But unless the book was written by Terry Pratchett (who I do love), Piers Anthony, or any other fantasy writer, my daughter never seemed interested in the books I suggested. That all changed, however, when I gave her my old Kindle. Since I already had a boat-load of books archived at Amazon, she discovered hours of free reading. She also discovered that Mom had read some pretty interesting books. It's so exciting now to be able to share books and talk about them once we've both read them. And I must say, the sharing goes both ways. I probably would never have read The Hunger Games if she hadn't read it first and encouraged me. Likewise, I'm pretty sure she would never have read Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

So maybe reading taste isn't an inherited trait, but, as with shrimp and mushrooms, it's possible to develop a taste for different things as you age.