I know people may roll their eyes at this statement. However, Twilight is what led me, along with many other fellow females, to the realization that fantasy and science fiction stories are fun to read. Since having this realization, I have enjoyed reading more than ever. Twilight led me to read Interview With a Vampire by Anne Rice, and after that, I started a journey by reading books like The Hunger Games, The Golden Compass and Brave New World, and I haven’t looked back!

What the heck was I reading before? Many of the books I read were very much like real life, or appeared to seem like real life. In other words, there were never any aliens, vampires, space ships and the like. I definitely still read “real life” fiction, but I find reading books that are so unlike reality a better way to escape my actual reality. It also improves your own imagination!

Girls look at fantasy/science fiction books and they usually appear massive, and there tend to be 100 in a series all of the same size. Definitely not somewhere you want to start. I found children’s fiction and teen novels were a great starting point! As said earlier, books such as The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman were a few favourites. Other ones that I have enjoyed are Uglies by Scott Westerfeld and Graceling by Kristin Cashore. After reading these stories, you will probably start looking for something more adult. May I suggest graphic novels? Graphic novels are a great way to look at pictures and still feel like a grown-up. They also have intricate plot lines and fabulous art. Two of my favourite series are Y the Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan and Fables by Bill Willingham.

After reading teen books and graphic novels I started to get into fantasy and science fiction television shows. My all time favourite is Doctor Who. You may find that you just can’t get enough of these shows, so you should try reading television spin off books! My favourite Doctor Who book so far is The Way Through The Woods by Una McCormack. Many science fiction shows have spun novels out of their rich universes, such as Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Star Wars, etc.

This is when you might start to feel willing to hop into bigger or more classic fantasy and science fiction books. You are well prepared at this point. Still worried about those thicker titles? Try picking up the Chrysalids by John Wyndham, or The Hobbit (NOT The Lord of the Rings) by J.R.R. Tolkien. Finally, those big stories don’t seem so bad! I am currently reading Dune by Frank Herbert and Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin!

Another anecdote about this genre: men who work at bookstores are SO much more helpful when you are a girl looking for a work of fantasy or science fiction. They will jump over bookshelves for you. Liking fantasy and science fiction may be more appealing to men than asking where the latest Jodi Picoult book is (Still love Jodi). I hope my travels through fantasy and science fiction have helped all you females out there who need some spice in their reading list, or have helped suggest a few new titles for the veterans out there!

*Note* The above blog post is a guest blog from our Twitter friend, Sarah Gauthier. This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, Sarah, go scifi!