If I had to describe my reading life a year ago, I would have said it was conservative. I only really read chick-lit or crime novels and would never entertain the idea of reading anything remotely historical, fantastical, science-fictional: basically anything that wasn’t women’s fiction or books about people killing each other. But then I started to take blogging seriously.
For years I had a ridiculously embarrassing book blog that was pretty much only viewed by myself: the view statistics were hilarious (I might get one or two hits a day) but at the time that didn’t matter to me. Really, the blog was a place for me to get all my feelings down about the books I had read so I could always look back in years to come and see my reading life as one big, beautiful list. However, I then discovered that people had these AMAZING book blogs that attracted a huge audience, had authors guest writing for their site and were in contact with publishing houses: book blogging was a real thing and was full of awesome people! So I set up Laura’s Book Reviews nearly a year ago and my eyes opened massively.
I now run this blog, She Loves To Read, and I am pretty fearless when it comes to reading these days: give me a book and I’ll give it a go. Recently I discovered the fantasy genre. For years I had tried to enjoy books from this genre but never succeeded; my brain didn’t understand how to suspend disbelief and enjoy the story for what it was. This all changed a while ago. I read a fantasy book, I fell in love and now I am addicted to the genre.
It got me thinking, why has it taken me so long to discover the beauty of this genre? And I think there is only one answer: I found the right book to open the door for me. I found a book I understood, a book I enjoyed and a book that meant something to me. Every other book I’d tried to read in this genre before hadn’t been any of those things so I’d always given up on the genre but, by finding one book and falling in love with it, I was able to understand the genre, understand the magic of adventures and imagination and fall in love with a new way of storytelling.
Instead of giving up on a genre, you should stick with it, keep reading books, try and find one you fall in love with. I did the same with historical fiction; I read one book and fell in love with the genre and now always have an eye out for my next historical read.
The message of this blog post is don’t give up on a genre just because you haven’t –yet- fallen in love with it. It could take years, it could take months but all it might take is one book; one book that opens your eyes to a whole new world of fiction.
I am so excited to have discovered the fantasy/dystopian/sci –fi (whatever you want to call it) genre. I have a HUGE wish list of books that I can’t wait to read and I can finally catch up with the rest of the world and read the books I always struggled with when I was growing up: Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, Narnia. They’re all waiting for me to discover them, and I am SO looking forward to the next stage in my reading adventure.
So, next time you disregard a book because of the genre, stop and think…that could be the one book that opens your eyes to a whole new world of books. Give it a chance…what have you got to lose?!
For years I had a ridiculously embarrassing book blog that was pretty much only viewed by myself: the view statistics were hilarious (I might get one or two hits a day) but at the time that didn’t matter to me. Really, the blog was a place for me to get all my feelings down about the books I had read so I could always look back in years to come and see my reading life as one big, beautiful list. However, I then discovered that people had these AMAZING book blogs that attracted a huge audience, had authors guest writing for their site and were in contact with publishing houses: book blogging was a real thing and was full of awesome people! So I set up Laura’s Book Reviews nearly a year ago and my eyes opened massively.
I now run this blog, She Loves To Read, and I am pretty fearless when it comes to reading these days: give me a book and I’ll give it a go. Recently I discovered the fantasy genre. For years I had tried to enjoy books from this genre but never succeeded; my brain didn’t understand how to suspend disbelief and enjoy the story for what it was. This all changed a while ago. I read a fantasy book, I fell in love and now I am addicted to the genre.
It got me thinking, why has it taken me so long to discover the beauty of this genre? And I think there is only one answer: I found the right book to open the door for me. I found a book I understood, a book I enjoyed and a book that meant something to me. Every other book I’d tried to read in this genre before hadn’t been any of those things so I’d always given up on the genre but, by finding one book and falling in love with it, I was able to understand the genre, understand the magic of adventures and imagination and fall in love with a new way of storytelling.
Instead of giving up on a genre, you should stick with it, keep reading books, try and find one you fall in love with. I did the same with historical fiction; I read one book and fell in love with the genre and now always have an eye out for my next historical read.
The message of this blog post is don’t give up on a genre just because you haven’t –yet- fallen in love with it. It could take years, it could take months but all it might take is one book; one book that opens your eyes to a whole new world of fiction.
I am so excited to have discovered the fantasy/dystopian/sci –fi (whatever you want to call it) genre. I have a HUGE wish list of books that I can’t wait to read and I can finally catch up with the rest of the world and read the books I always struggled with when I was growing up: Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, Narnia. They’re all waiting for me to discover them, and I am SO looking forward to the next stage in my reading adventure.
So, next time you disregard a book because of the genre, stop and think…that could be the one book that opens your eyes to a whole new world of books. Give it a chance…what have you got to lose?!