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 [email protected] if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, Sarah, go scifi!
If you haven’t done so already, check out The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis.
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Interesting, I would like to say I detest Twilight with a passion! Most of those first few books, in my opinion, are nothing to be proud of either. They are all extremely popular and books most people have read or the same sort of Sci Fi/Fantasy that Twilight is, that is to say rubbish (or as book stores now call it “Dark Fantasy” – don’t make me laugh) On the other hand those last four titles are very good if still on the fringe. I would suggest those really trying to get into SF and Fantasy read ‘The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant’ by Stephen Donaldson, ‘Ubik’ by Philip K Dick, ‘The Saga of the Exiles’ by Julian May, and even some Terry Pratchett!
In the end if Twilight leads its readers to read SF and Fantasy like the blogger is now then it is a good thin(I think). But I seriously doubt that many readers read past the likes of Anne Rice.
I totally know what you mean! Even though I’m a guy, I got into fantasy and science fiction through stuff that I’d have a hard time admitting having read (if I was concerned with sounding cool, anyway) but I’m so grateful for the road I turned down. The rich and wonderful worlds I’ve discovered due to reading silly kids stuff like Goosebumps have been a delightful literary journey.
So for something like the Twilight series, that so many look down their noses at, to have turned you into a science fiction and fantasy fan, is a beautiful thing! I hope you continue to enjoy the journey, and maybe we’ll bump into each other on the way!