So, the bibliophile is back and rendering opinions. This time on genre. I love books of all sorts: mysteries, romance, horror, children's books, westerns, sci-fi, fantasy and that deep adult literature.
And don't tell me paranormal is a genre, sorry, it's fantasy, people.
Anywho... my favorite genre is fantasy. I am crazy about fantasy. I almost hate to say it, because there are people out there who don't give you the time of day when they find out you read fantasy or sci-fi. Why is that? Why are those genres associated with geekdom or I don't know... being less worthy.
As though somehow, Toni Morrison is more worthy than George R. R. Martin. As though a book picked by Oprah has more merit for culture or learning or entertainment than fantasy. (Although, I must admit, Oprah did choose Harry Potter for book club once, but I don't think anyone took that seriously.)
I've read Toni Morrison: Sula, The Bluest Eye. I've read The Reader and Anna Karenina and Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and Gone With the Wind and many, many other works of literature. And believe me, they are WORK. Rewarding, ultimately, but not the easiest.
Fantasy, is easy because even if there is deep writing there is always something there, drawing you in deeper to the story. For me, I love fantasy because it reminds me of being a child. It reminds me of that magic of believing in Santa or fairies. Fantasy reminds me of how I used to prance around in my dress up clothes playing make believe.
Fantasy is a true escape. It's transportation to another world that may be similar to our own or so completely different that there is no hope for comparison.
It's worth reading and incidentally, worth writing. Both books that I've written are fantasy, Six Keys is "urban" and I don't know what to call Compis. It's not high fantasy -no elves or wizards.
I digress. My point is, read fantasy! Don't be a snob! :)
Soon to Follow: A list of my favorite fantasy authors. That is an entry in itself.
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