Many Genres

What is the line between fantasy and real life? Usually, they are separated by pure impossibility or logic. Monsters don’t roam the streets, dogs don’t talk, dark and life-changing secrets probably aren’t hidden away in the oldest buildings. But if you read enough, you’ll find that at some points, the line between fantasy and real life becomes smeared, mixing the two, blending them. Sometimes, the line can disappear completely. Those are the books I like -- ones where I can imagine myself in those situations, where I can see them happening in the near future. Those are the books that leave an impression on me, make me think, draw me in so much that in some part of my mind, I can believe I’m in the story.

Surprisingly enough, though, I didn’t start out like that at all. My reading origins are filled to the top with lessons, realistic fiction and books with facts and the truth. Junie B. Jones, The Giving Tree, Dr. Suess -- If it had something I could take from it, anything I could learn, I’d read it without a single word. If I tried that now, I wouldn’t make it a page before I started complaining! And, out of all those, Junie B. Jones was my absolute favorite. Funny and I got some knowledge out of it? Count younger me in! I remember reading one book every night, and when I ran out, I’d even reread them. I just could not get enough of those books!

It was in middle school when I started leaning into the popular current, following the flow and letting it sweep me to book after book, liking some, hating others -- And before I knew it, I found my feet planted in the horror section of the library. If all my friends had taken a curious dip in there, too, why shouldn’t I? So I grabbed a popular scary book, sat down in a chair and began reading. Right away, I realized how much they terrified me. I was constantly tempted to throw the books out a window and curl up under my blankets in fear. But I kept reading, hoping that I’d get used to it. And while I never got used to those books, I did find some that were fun and terrifying -- R.L. Stine’s Choose your own Adventure books. They let me have control, so if I needed to I could try and steer away from horrible situations. My favorite one was called Please, Don’t Feed the Vampire! though I’m still not entirely sure why.

After a while, I started going off towards my current state, hunting down books that mixed fantasy and real life. I haven’t yet changed that -- I still run around looking for those types of books. Once in awhile, though, I’ll go a find a horror book of sorts and I’ll read it, because I’ve still got a slight tug towards that genre. I seemed to have jumped around in favorite book genres a lot in the past, but I’m sure I’ll stick with my current favorite!