Talk to Me Tuesday #5 - Your Favourite Genre

Tuesday, February 1, 2011






Talk to Me Tuesday is a brand new weekly meme where we will discuss anything (and everything) literary-related in an open forum of honesty. Questions for the next week will be posted one week prior to the post on the Features page. If you'd like to participate in this weekly feature, simply create your post, link back to me, and add your post to the wonderful Mr. Linky below. Have fun, and have at it!
This week's question: What is your favourite genre to read, and why?

I've actually seen this question floating around the blogosphere a lot recently, and it got me to thinking...why do I read what I read? It's no secret that young adult is my preferred genre, though I read pretty much everything, but that's an all-encompassing category, and if we're going with a true genre, I think my favourite would have to be fantasy or dystopian. There are so many reasons why this is, but when I actually thought about it, the main reason is pretty simple. I read to get lost in a story. I get my heavy dose of reality in every day life, so when I read a book, I want to be involved in a world that's a little different than my own.

Dystopian novels like Life As We Knew It and Delirium presented harrowing tales of a future world where hope is lost, but manage to keep the humanity of the characters and plot alive while showing us, in various shades of gray, the difference between right and wrong. Take, for example, the dystopian world of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It's not a happy world, yet it has elements of our own, weaving characters through a world where there's a clear right and wrong, but there's a sense of a gray area that keeps you thinking and feeling for each character.



Then there are fantasy books like Graceling, by Kristin Cashore. It was one of my first ventures into a higher level of YA fantasy beyond my safety zone of Harry Potter (which will always be my absolute favourite). It's a world completely outside of our own, but the human elements let me lose myself in a world that nothing like ours. It has kingdoms, and royalty, and deadly battles. It's every bit as adventures as my wildest dreams, and reading those words is like living someone else's life. That's what I want from a fantasy novel, and that's what I've come to expect.

Here's what some of your fellow bloggers shared as their favourite genres:

A Buckeye Girl Reads says, "Urban Fantasy. (no surprise!) I like it because the heroines are strong and kick butt-there's also just enough romance without it consuming the whole story."
Linda from Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell says, "Fantasy! Because it has magic, new lands, battles, and well, it just is the best ;)"
Hannah from Every Little Thing says, "I like to read paranormal. Everything you read about is practically non-existing, so it's easy to escape into."
Theresa from Fade Into Fantasy says, "Paranormal romance, hands down! There's nothing like escaping to another land with a hot, sexy, dangerous vamp!"
Jen from Makeshift Bookmark says, "I know it's "tired" now, but I love paranormal romance. The way I see it, I'll never fall in love with a fairy prince. Why not get in the head of someone who does?"
So, while I'm doing my best to get into contemporary fiction more, fantasy and dystopian books will always hold that special place in my heart and on my shelf. I just can't replace the feeling I get from reading those stories!

Want to weigh in and do your own Talk to Me Tuesday post for this week? Go ahead and link up!

31 comments:

  1. I have always preferred contemporary and realistic fiction to paranormal. And, I like traditional fantasy better than paranormal. If I had to pick a least favorite genre, other than self-help books and those genres that I avoid, Paranormal would fall right about the bottom.

    I do enjoy the occasional PN, but I can tell when I've been reading too many, and I do what I can to avoid them for a time... No more vamps/weres/angels etc for me for a while!

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  2. My favourite would be either contemporary or paranormal. I don't mind dystopia but struggle with fantasy. Although I have just read Graceling and agree that is really good.

    Thanks again for hosting this meme :)

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  4. I'm not a fan of fantasy, but HP is an exception! :D

    btw, since I see you like dystopian, you should read The Declaration trilogy by Gemma Malley. It's food for thought and beautifully written.

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  5. I can't say I have a favorite because if I read too much of one type I get bored. I'm constantly switching my books. I admit it goes along with my moods but I do get bored so I'm not strictly anything.

    Graceling... It didn't capture me hardly at all. There was action, lull, assassin awesomeness, lull. Just too many boring lulls for me. But I was told that the audiobook for it is amazing because they have a full cast! Which is something I would be willing to check out.

    Mad Scientist
    Steampunkery & Book Reviews
    Forbidden Steam  Adult- even the Mad Scientist gets naughty!

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  6. I like the same genres! I haven't read Graceling yet. It's in TBR pile. I've heard the heroine really kicks butt! I'd like to get into more high fantasy. I recently purchased Life As We Knew It. I'm looking forward to reading it.

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  7. I read varied genres. My favourites are literary fiction, historical and women's fiction. I don't read much fantasy but I LOVE HP and LoTR trilogy.

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  8. I must seriously be the only person on earth whole likes books and has not read all of the Harry Potter books. I couldn't finish Order of the Phoenix.

    Don't you all hurt me now!

    Mad Scientist
    Steampunkery & Book Reviews
    Forbidden Steam  Adult- even the Mad Scientist gets naughty!

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  9. I believe I love epic fantasy the most. I enjoyed the world that the author created, the quest that the characters have to go through and also the level of creativity that the authors instill in every single aspect of the book. I love that the books/series are generally thick, which means that it will keep me in that world for quite some time. Plus, I also love maps and epic fantasy books almost always have maps at the beginning of the book. How cool is that??

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  10. My favorite genre would probably either be contemporary or dystopian. I enjoy contemporary because I usually have an easy time relating to the characters and situations in the stories. On the other hand, I love dystopian because I find it fascinating to see what some people think the world may be like in the future. Better yet, I feel the main characters are always pretty strong and cool so to say. My second favorites would probably be urban fantasy (which I'm starting to like more and more as time goes on) because of the characters and paranormal aspects and science fiction, because while I was a bit hesitant about it at first, the more I read books in that genre (like Academy 7 or Graceling/Fire) the more I come to like and the more I feel it may become a favorite genre of mine down the road. Though, the bottom line is that as as long as the book at at hand is able have me to get involved and lost in a story for a while, I love it; no matter what genre it may be.

    Anyhow, great question as always!

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  11. Yes, a very good question!

    My favourite genre right now is steampunk, contemporary fiction, dystopias of any kind and fantasy (always) but it changes. Generally if I hear about an awesome book which doesn't belong to my favourite genre I am very often even more eager to read it. Oh AND I love bios.

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  12. Until recently, I always preferred contemporary fiction. But post Twilight, I've become a huge paranormal romance fan. And also thanks to Twilight and Harry Potter, I've fallen in love with fantasy. I say I equally split my allegiances between contemp fiction, fantasy, and paranormal romance.

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  13. I think I read mostly contemporary...but Im all over the place. My favorite is dystopian and I enjoy the fantasy and some paranormal stuff. I like the nice wholesome reads as well....:)

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  14. I read to get lost in the story as well Melissa, that's a perfect way of putting it. I tend to get lost more in paranormal stories than in other genres, but since I've started blogging, I've definitely been branching out a bit more and giving the dystopians and the contemporaries a try and loving them:) And maybe a little romance thrown in there (BONES!) to break things up a bit:)

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  15. Dystopian was a new to me genre last year, and I started with The Hunger Games. After that I read The Last Survivor series, and became completely addicted. For a long time I was stuck on PNR, but now I try to mix it up and read a wide variety of genres. When I make my reading list for the month, I make sure mix in different genres.

    But I know what you mean about getting a heavy dose of reality in every day life. For exactly that reason, it is fun to get lost in books. Thanks for this feature Melissa. It is fun.

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  16. Lol, I am so bias, I just love fantasy way too much ;) I can't even explain why I love it so much, and how it was fantasy that just etched itself into my soul

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  17. This is so fun! ;) I absolutley love paranormal romance and fairy tales.I cannot get enough of those two types of books.

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  18. For me, it's very hard to pick a favorite genre. Of course I love YA the best, but I do like to read paranormal romance. When I read YA, I normally like to read contempary, historical fiction, paranormal, fantasy, and others and I try not to read too much of one genre in a row so it doesn't get tiring to me. I guess if I had to choose just one, it would be paranormal.

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  19. I like all YA. Except I'm having trouble with the Dystopian. But, I'm getting there. There are just too many coming out that I want to read. Not if some author would just be kind enough to send me a couple for review, I'd be so happy! See the rest of my answer at my blog!

    Heather

    I'm enjoying this meme I never do them but now I do this one and a Library one on Thursdays since I've been utilizing it more these days!

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  20. Good question. I gravitate toward UF and PNR, but I also read almost everything else. I just like a good story no matter what genre it is in. :)

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  21. I'm with you Melissa... YA and me are BFFs. I am pretty a-okay with anything in the genre, but I seem to always gravitate towards fantasy/ the likes of.
    ;)

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  22. I like anything that I can get something real out of.
    I like reading dystopian, fantasy, contemporary, a little bit of supernatural though I prefer it to be very light on romance--really, my reading taste is limited only by content. I hate sexual content because it usually goes against my moral stance on several issues, and that's about the only place I draw the line.
    What I love the most about reading is that you can really draw anything from anything depending on how you read it, how you use your imagination, where your mind is. I like looking for spiritual and religious truths in everything I read--even in movies I watch, though in that instance fantasy is easier to work with.

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  23. I am not sure I have a favorite genre anymore. As a young adult I was mostly into fantasy, but now I read just about anything YA and depending on the writing they all have the power to engage and entertain.

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  24. Mystery = keeps me guessing and thinking

    Dystopian = causes me to look around, pay attention, and think about the consequences of our current actions

    Fantasy = because I love to visit extraordinary people and places :)

    Awesome post!

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  25. Oh I agree! I do love dystopian novels and YA Fantasy if they're anything like Harry Potter. I will check out Graceling!

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  26. 6 months ago I probably would have answered with paranormal or fantasy, but I honestly think that dystopians or contemporary YA are my favorite kind of books to read. Dystopian because they resemble our world, but are off in such a way that it can be terrifying, but entirely plausible. And contemporary because I like to read about something that could happen to me, or you, or someone I know - and contemps tend to be the ones that make me cry. I like a good cry every once in a while.

    I suppose if I want to cry I can just re-read all of Harry Potter because J.K. Rowling is a master at making me cry.

    Great topic this week :D

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  27. I'm a big fan of contemporary fiction because I can usually relate to the characters and situations, which is why two of my favourite authors are Sarah Dessen and Elizabeth Scott. I also love paranormal though because it's fun to read about "people" that are different in one or another and imagine myself in their place.

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  28. I'll pretty much read anything YA, but I guess I prefer fantasy and fairy tales. I like to be whisked away from reality whenever I read and I've always loved fairy tales since I was little.

    Great post! Happy reading:)

    -Leslie
    booksandmakeup.blogspot.com

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  29. Graceling is easily one of my all time favorite YA books. I really love Cashore's writing and her kick ass heroines. I can't wait for bitter blue!

    I'm also dystopian obsessed :)

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  30. Melissa - I'm rather upset that I missed yesterdays TTMT, so I'm going to post this comment and participate next week.

    I flitter around through YA and Adult, this wasn't always the case. I used to get all my necessary jollies from YA, but then I found Adult fantasy and realized that both (YA/Adult) were pleasantly amazing. So, this threw me into a world of fantasy where I went from vampires to werewolves to ghosts to witches to anything thus related. My vampire genre faze (can we call vampires a genre?) was longer lived than I thought it would ever be and as I still love the genre and read it, I don't think I'd specify IT specifically as my favorite. In all reality, my genre's flip mostly, it's fantasy or sci/fi or anything related in some way.

    What it really comes down to is that I want to escape the bonds that being human and Earthbound have placed on me, meaning I want to soar through a world that could be possible if anything were. So, I join you on the fantasy front. It doesn't have to be a pretty and wholesome read, it just has to be original in some way and intrigue and entertain me. I recently read a book where Death was a main character and kind of the love interest. Not in a Joe Black kind of way because that would have lacked the originality I search for, but nonetheless in a way I loved. So, there is my diatribe about my favorite genre. Til next time...

    Jen
    In the Closet With a Bibliophile

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  31. I'll ready anything but contemporary is my favourite. I find it to be such an inspiring genre plus it just effects me so profoundly in a way that other genres do not.

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