This meme has been making the rounds lately, and I find it utterly delightful.
I always knew I was probably crazy. And I've always loved reading. So it sounds about right that this hobby of mine involves intense, hours-long hallucinations that make me laugh, cry, and wish I could live in a fictional universe.
Some teenage girls daydream about boy bands and handsome movie stars. I had crushes on literary characters.
I still do, actually. Peeta Mellark, if he were a real person, could potentially steal me away from Ben. (The book version, of course, not the movie one.) Luckily for Ben, Peeta is a fictional character.
Lucky for Ben, sad for all the ladies in the world whose hearts Peeta has stolen.
My favorite books typically fall into the fantasy genre. I've read and enjoyed epic fantasy, modern fantasy, dystopian fantasy, sci-fi/fantasy blends, reimagined fairy tales, satirical fantasy, young adult and children's fantasy, etc. Pretty much all of the above.
The only thing I don't like is when books are really graphically violent, profane, or x-rated. In other words, I tried Game of Thrones, and I loathed it. It was way too dark. Hallucinating that world was like living a nightmare.
Ugh.
Books like that are not on my reading list. But I love everything by Brandon Mull, Terry Pratchett, Marissa Meyer, Sarah J. Maas, Brandon Sanderson, Suzanne Collins (her Gregor series is lighter and more fun than Hunger Games, but just as gripping), Kiera Cass, Orson Scott Card... I could seriously go on and on. But I'll stop, because that would get boring real quick.
There are some non-fantasy books I enjoy as well. I loved Nancy Drew when I was growing up. There were several classics I read in school that I really liked. And, in college, I went through a thriller/suspense era where I mostly read Dean Koontz and a little bit of Stephen King.
But for the past ten years or so, I've become more and more genre-specific. I love worlds full of magic, crazy technology, weird rules, and battles of good vs. evil. I love it when an author can create a reality that I've never dreamed of before, and get me invested in the characters. I feel like it opens my mind to ideas I'd never have otherwise known.
And the hallucinations in my head are always so much better than anything Hollywood can come up with. That's not to say that I don't enjoy movies based on books - provided they're done right. But they never live up to the fantasy.
I will, however, be seeing Mockingjay Part 2 as soon as I possibly can. Those movies have, thankfully, been very true to the books - although Josh Hutcherson will never live up to the Peeta in my mind. ;)
I'm grateful for books, and for all the inspired people who write them! They truly have a gift.
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