Books are my escape to the real world. Contemporary books are too close to the reality that I found myself shying away from them. When I read a book, especially a good one, I feel like I was transported to whatever world the book has opened up for me. I was part of the magic, the chaos, and the politics. For this reason, fantasy has been my go-to genre ever since I’ve become a reader.
I was not tagged by anyone but after seeing this Get to Know the Fantasy Reader Tag from Sammie of The Book Wyrm’s Den I know I have to do it.
So I will keep this intro short and get into the tag.
1.) What is your fantasy origin story? (How you came to read your first fantasy novel.)
Growing up, I have the fairytale books given by my relatives that I really loved to read. I remember that my fairytale book is a bit of a Grimm’s Fairytale version because the story of The Little Mermaid ends with the mermaid dying. After all, the prince marries someone else. I think that book scarred me for life.🤣
But the book that initially started my reading adventure to the fantasy world is The Unusual Suspect by Michael Buckley. I picked it up at my school library back in my sophomore year in High School. My friends are book lovers so we also head over to the library during free time. And I was pretending to read something as well when I found this book. The story is about two sisters who live with their mysterious grandmother and realized that they will not be living in an ordinary town because this town is a place where fantasy and fairytale characters lived. The moment I started this book, I know I have to finish it so I borrowed it from the library. I ended up finishing it in a day. Sadly enough, the next book in the series is not in our library so I never continue on with this series. Plus, I learned that this is the second book.
2.) If you could be a hero/heroine in a fantasy novel, who would be the author, and what’s one trope you’d insist be in the story?
The answer to this question is very easy, Laini Taylor of course. Her writing style is beautiful and she is a genius. Although I am guilty that I have not read Strange the Dreamer yet, but I have already read The Daughter of Smoke and Bones and wow that was everything. I think that was the first urban fantasy that I have ever read. So of course, I want my fantasy novel to be written beautifully.
As for the trope, the superpower is a must. I love reading fantasy novels where the characters have different superpowers depending on which family they come from. I love learning about the historical heritage of the powers of each character. So it is a must for me. And besides, if my life is a fiction better have some kick-ass power to make the world more epic.
3.) What is a fantasy you’ve read this year, that you want more people to read?
I know that Brandon Sanderson is a very popular author. And according to Goodreads, this book has 163,293 ratings, and compared to underrated books, this surely is popular. However, we are talking about Brandon Sanderson. Whenever I heard about his name before, it’s all about Mistborn Trilogy and The Stormligth Archive. I have never heard about Elantris until I joined the Cosmereverse readathon. And this book is pure genius. People need to talk about it more.
4.) What is your favorite fantasy subgenre? What subgenre have you not read much?
My favorite subgenre is Urban Fantasy. I love this subgenre because it was set in our world and yet some people have hidden magical ability that is unknown to the mundane world. And I used to think that maybe there are magical world right under our noses.😉
As for subgenre that I have not read much, it is High or Epic Fantasy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t like this subgenre, in fact, it’s the other way around. However, this particular genre needs my full attention if I were to really get into the story. I need to focus on the characters and the terms that are used in the whole story or else I would get lost. I wanted to read more from this genre, but it is a laborious work and I wish I have the time but my attention span is not that great so I rarely pick up books in this genre. Maybe Brandon Sanderson will be my key to this.🤣
5.) Who is one of your auto-buy fantasy authors?
My auto-buy author is Laini Taylor. I probably have almost every book that she has written in my bookshelf. Though I am still looking for a copy of her Faeries of Dreamdark books. This is an unfinished trilogy and I don’t know if Laini Taylor even has a plan to finish it but I really want to get my hands on this.
Also Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner but not their individual works. I like their writing style as a duo. Though I have read Illuminae Files written by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, I still like their duo better. I have already read their first trilogy together, I am making my way through their duology, and I am so excited about their new book coming out this year.
6.) How do you typically find fantasy recommendations?
My fantasy recommendation is mostly from Regan from Peruse Project. I really like her reading taste when it comes to fantasy so I usually add some books that I’ve seen on her channel in my TBR.
I also read some recommendations from the Epic Reads website. Although, sometimes I find the recommendation a bit mainstream but I still find a few books there.
7.) What is an upcoming fantasy release you’re excited for?
In the past year until now, the only books that I am anticipating are the next book from the series that I have started. I find it more enjoyable to binge read the whole series instead of buying it and reading it in the year that it was released. However, The Other Side of the Sky is probably at the top of my list of new series that I am excited about.
As for the other books from a series, A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4), One True King (The School for Good & Evil #6), The Last Confessions of Mara Dyer & Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions #3), and of course, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (The Hunger Games #0)
8.) What is one misconception about fantasy you would like to lay to rest?
Fantasy is hard to get into. I think this misconception came from the stereotypical idea that fantasy is equivalent to high fantasy where there are epic worlds and too many characters and different terms that are hard to remember. There are other subgenres of fantasy that suits whatever the reader likes. I think it was just a matter of finding the book that suits you.
9. If someone had never read a fantasy before and asked you to recommend the first 3 books that come to mind as places to start, what would those recommendations be?
I have the same reason as to why I would recommend The Chronicles of Narnia & Wayward Children Series. Both series might have several books in the series but those are quite short so it is a good recommendation not only to people who have not read fantasy before but to people who have not read any books for leisure. Both series have an interesting storyline that showcased how broad the fantasy world is and yet it does not felt overwhelming. The Chronicles of Narnia has a lot of magical creatures that one would encounter in different fantasy novels while Wayward Children visits different magical worlds that might interest a non-fantasy or a non-reader while they read the books.
As for Death Note, I think that manga is a good recommendation to people who do not have time to read chunky books or just books in general. You can fly through mangas and get yourself lost in the graphics and all that. And so I recommend this manga because I feel like the fantasy aspect was blended quite well with the story.
10.) Who is the most recent fantasy reading content creator you came across that you’d like to shoutout?
Since I’ve been lazy this past week, my go-to with reading content is YouTube. And I’ve been loving Chloe from Books with Chloe lately. Do check her out.😊 (Though I’m pretty sure most of you know her.)
That is all for this long tag. I did not actually expect it to be this long but it was fun.
Until next time!
Maria❤
A Daughter of Parchment and Paper 