DanTheSeamonster he/him Posted May 30, 2015 Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 (edited) Hello, people of the interwebs! It recently occurred to me that I'm not really sure which genre most of the Sharders prefer. I would assume that they all at least enjoy fantasy novels, since good ol' Bandersnatch writes mostly fantasy. My personal favorite happens to be (surprise, surprise) fantasy! Sword and Sorcery, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Heroic Fantasy, I love all shapes, forms and versions. I love the swords, the close-up-in-your-face-take-your-head-off action scenes. I love the world building behind it and getting to know all of these different creatures and races and landscapes. I love the magic, whether that is the classic fireballs and summoning spells or the innovative drinking metal kinds. I love the medieval setting, with armor and horses and castles and keeps. I just really enjoy fantasy. What genre do you love, and why? Vote now and let your voice be heard! Edited June 28, 2015 by The Crooked Warden 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobold King he/him Posted May 30, 2015 Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 Science fiction! I can't tell you how much Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov, White, Crichton, Card, and Wells I've devoured over the years. Science fiction--especially what science fiction deals with alien races and their psychologies--is the genre that inspires my deepest thoughts and most broadens my perception of the universe. While they all have merit, there's nothing quite like the transformation of scientific fact into literary art of the highest order. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriele she/her Posted May 30, 2015 Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 Why can't we pick more than one option? I voted Historical Fiction, but there's an equal amount of Fantasy books on my shelves. Some SciFi and Adventure, the odd YA, but no Romance, Thriller or Mystery stuff. Biographies of course, but I count those as non fiction I also have a pretty large collection of works by Dostoyevsky, Balzac, George Eliot, Thomas Mann and a whole bunch of other literary writers. Yes, my tastes are all over the place. I started reading the big literature books at an early age. My parents luckily never screened my reading but were always there to answer questions (even the ones I had after reading Lady Chatterley, lol). But I also read YA historical fiction like Rosemary Sutcliff or the German Barbara Bartos-Höppner (seriously, her books should be translated into English) and that got me hooked on hist fic pretty bad. Sir Walter Scott and Dumas didn't exactly help, either. I came to Fantasy (1) comparably late when I read Lord of the Rings at university and then hunted down more of that. Though it was the time of Eddings, Brooks and their ilk, so I burned out on the genre for a time until I found Tad William's Memory, Sorrow and Thorn and eventually A Song of Ice and Fire and other more 'adult' Fantasy. Now I'm back full swing. 1) What is traditionally considered Fantasy, that is. There are Fantasy elements in a number of older books never labeled as such. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Deleted- Posted May 31, 2015 Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 I didn't see satire/humor, So I went with biography/autobiography, although there are a lot of other nonfiction genres I prefer more. So, out of the above, biographical works are my preferred. Ever since I read a biography on William S Burroughs. Loved it ever since. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briar King Posted May 31, 2015 Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 I'm on Mobile so I never see poll options. I like High/Epic Fantasy. I can't get into Old School Generic Fantasy anymore esp if Dwarves/Gnomes play a part and I blame that on Tad Williams. He writes under ground settings so well I get claustrophobic reading. Some of the best books I've ever read are Historical Fiction. Ex James Clavells Sho Gun! Epic book! Colleen McCulloughs Masters of Rome also. Currently on bk 5 of 7. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheSeamonster he/him Posted May 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 (edited) I didn't see satire/humor, So I went with biography/autobiography, although there are a lot of other nonfiction genres I prefer more. So, out of the above, biographical works are my preferred. Ever since I read a biography on William S Burroughs. Loved it ever since. Satire/Humor has now been added to the poll! Does anyone else have any genres I missed? Keep in mind I'm trying to avoid subgener and just going for the big ones. Thanks! Edited May 31, 2015 by The Crooked Warden 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriele she/her Posted May 31, 2015 Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 I'm on Mobile so I never see poll options. I like High/Epic Fantasy. I can't get into Old School Generic Fantasy anymore esp if Dwarves/Gnomes play a part and I blame that on Tad Williams. He writes under ground settings so well I get claustrophobic reading. Some of the best books I've ever read are Historical Fiction. Ex James Clavells Sho Gun! Epic book! Colleen McCulloughs Masters of Rome also. Currently on bk 5 of 7. Jim Hines' goblins are fun, though. I love the Masters of Rome series (I got the Roman bug myself pretty bad and write in that setting as well ). And if you like that one the Kushiel books mentioned in the other thread should work fine for you. They got all the political intrigues and sex, too. Have you tried Dorothy Dunnett? Not for the faint hearted; her books are incredibly complex and take some time getting into, but the reward are 14 books worth of an intelligent, fun read. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briar King Posted May 31, 2015 Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 Never heard of her. I ll look up on Amazon when I get a chance. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briar King Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Out of curiosity what are the poll choices since I can't see them on mobile? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Deleted- Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Satire/Humor has now been added to the poll! Does anyone else have any genres I missed? Keep in mind I'm trying to avoid subgener and just going for the big ones. Thanks! Wow, thank you That was really awesome of you. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orlion Blight he/him Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Hmm... where would Steinbeck and Anthony Powell fit in these categories? And Golding! Nothing lifts one's spirits on a cloudy day like William Golding! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Deleted- Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Hmm... where would Steinbeck and Anthony Powell fit in these categories? And Golding! Nothing lifts one's spirits on a cloudy day like William Golding! Anthony Powell, I assume you mean the masterpiece. You see, things like that and Proust are interesting, because they're not historical fiction. They read like family sagas but are much more than that. They are the perfect example of what an epic novel is as its own genre. I suppose Dance to the Music of Time could actually be placed in satire, since the nature of the story satirizes and overplays particular different lifestyles and human behavior and reaction to events. Though I hesitate to call it a satirical novel, that is how the book treats these subjects: it overplays them (and beautifully.) So, since it's kind of its own thing, I guess satire is closest, though I'm still not sure I agree with that being its genre. Now writers like Hemingway, Faulkner, and Steinbeck are hard to place. Steinbeck's all over the place, with comedy, history, fantasy, realism, and genre isn't even really prominent in the books whose genres can be identified; authors like these have styles that are more prominent than the genre or movements their novels belong to. Because you can say Grapes of Wrath is realism ,or that Faulkner wrote Southern Gothic, but its theirs styles that fill the entire novel rather than genres and movements. Stylistic authors like these ones are on a different playing field outside of genre. Genre-specific novels and stylistic novels are like baseball and Chess: they're both games, they're both widely played amongst pretty much everyone, but they are two completely different games, with completely different focuses and motivations; they require different kinds of thinking. I've only read one Golding book, and it's the one that everyone's read. I would classify Lord of the Flies as an adventure in the vein of Robinson Crusoe and the movie Cast Away; it also goes in Dystopian, which is a subgenre of sci-fi. However, I can't speak for the rest of his books. I'll get to them someday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orlion Blight he/him Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Anthony Powell, I assume you mean the masterpiece. But of course Have an upvote, you deserve it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Knight Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 NECROMANCY! I love epic fantasies, but only if they're done well or modern. For some reason, I just can't read the Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. I just can't! It feels like the writing style leeches all the excitement out of a good story. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheSeamonster he/him Posted September 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIIIVVEEEEEEEEE!!! But yeah I completely understand what you mean. I practically hard to force myself to read LotR. But for whatever reason, I adored (and still do) The Hobbit. It just has a completely different vibe for me. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allomancy she/her Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 Fantasy books are the only ones that keep my attention. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Knight Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 Same here. There's just something about fantasy, be it the world, the creatures, or whatever, that makes it amazing. But only if it's done well. Ever since I started reading Brandon, I can't really read any other fantasy author (except Brandon Mull). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briar King Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 Same here. There's just something about fantasy, be it the world, the creatures, or whatever, that makes it amazing. But only if it's done well. Ever since I started reading Brandon, I can't really read any other fantasy author (except Brandon Mull). Have you tried SF? It can be all those things just with a side of tech lol. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkness Ascendant he/him Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 I wish you could add more answers. Generally, I prefer Fantasy, Sci-fi, Dystopian, Humourus and Adventure books although the occasional spy thriller. SCI FI FTW!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkness Ascendant he/him Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 (edited) IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIIIVVEEEEEEEEE!!! But yeah I completely understand what you mean. I practically hard to force myself to read LotR. But for whatever reason, I adored (and still do) The Hobbit. It just has a completely different vibe for me. I still cant make myself pick up Lord of the RIngs. The Hobbit was good though. The only things I know about LotR are Gandalf and YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!! Sorry for double posting. I swear it was a complete accident. If you could delete posts then I would (I dont want to hide this) Edited September 8, 2015 by Pleasant Peasant 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestis the Spider she/her Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 NECROMANCY! I love epic fantasies, but only if they're done well or modern. For some reason, I just can't read the Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. I just can't! It feels like the writing style leeches all the excitement out of a good story. That comment is just 100% truth. I voted fantasy, since that's what I commonly read, and it is definitely my favourite genre since I was 7 years old, since I've got my first proper book in my life, which was the first Harry Potter. But I also absolutely adore sci-fi, and I really like historical fiction, horror, psychological thrillers and mystery. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheSeamonster he/him Posted September 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 Ohhhhh yes. I'm definitely a major fan of sic-fi, humor and historical fiction as well! I just love fantasy so, so much. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Knight Posted September 11, 2015 Report Share Posted September 11, 2015 (edited) I also really like satire, especially Terry Prachet. Edited September 11, 2015 by The Potato 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mallamp Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 (edited) Fantasy is easily my favorite genre, but I occasionally read literary fiction too. Literary fantasy makes me bored though, I want either good escapism or real world stuff, nothing in between. Otherwise I like most subgenres, from urban fantasy to epic fantasy. I prefer well-written traditional stuff with clear heroes though. Fantasy has spoiled thriller, mystery and historical fiction for me too, they make me bored too, as they feel like fantasy without fantasy to me... Sometimes I read sci-fi, but only when it focuses on adventure and wonder before technical details... Edited September 27, 2015 by mallamp 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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