What's Your Favorite Genre?

I like a balanced meal.  Let's have some sci-fi, some fantasy, some thriller.  I'm down for a good mystery, a slice of life, or something more medieval.  YA is fun, Adult can be thought provoking.  Sometimes it's nice to sit down with a kid's book and enjoy the art.

So can someone tell me why authors need to write in just one genre?

"They don't need to."

No, readers just like it a whole lot more when they can rely on Brandon Sanderson to write a fantasy novel instead of a random horror book. 

"Authors write better when they cultivate a thorough understanding of a genre."

Yeah, deep is better than wide and all that, but after a while don't the books all start sounding the same?  Steak is pretty good, and if I cooked steak every day for a year, I'd get pretty good at making steak.  But don't you think the meal would be improved if I also made mashed potatoes?  Salad?  Dessert?

"Listen, if you want to make money, you've got to follow the rules."

Fine!  Screw the money then!  I want to make good books more than I want to make money!  I wasn't looking for a fast track to monetary "success" anyway. 

Sigh.

Where do you stand on this matter?  As a reader or a writer.  Do you stick to one genre?  Or do you like to have different flavors for every week? 

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