I've discovered that I'm completely unknowledgeable about fantasy. I haven't read a lot and what I have has mainly been children's fantasy, of the Harry Potter or Narnia ilk. I have some fantasy on my shelves, like the Tales of the Otori series by Lian Hearn. Inkheart and Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. And the Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix waiting to be read, among some others but again they are mainly YA fantasy. I do have a Guy Gavriel Kay book. He's for adults I believe. And I've read Gaiman's Neverwhere. I'm currently reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and thoroughly enjoying it, by the way. And there are probably a few more books here that could be classified as fantasy. And I keep meaning to read more fantasy but other books always seem to take precedence.
Carl has of course launched his tempting Once Upon a Time Fantasy Challenge. But this is where the problem lies. I have a hard enough time separating fantasy from science fiction. Never mind sub-genres! Trying to figure out which categories (Mythology, Fairytale, Folklore, Fantasy) the books on my shelves fit into was starting to make my brain hurt. Hey, I never said I was clever! So I gave up. I honestly don't really have time right now what with all the other challenges I'm doing but I was curious all the same. For the time being I think I'll stick with Jonathan Strange, and then have my Harry Potter binge and with any luck, toss a bit of fantasy, without puzzling over which type of fantasy it is, into the mix down the road. I'm looking forward to reading the reviews though and getting ideas for possible future reads. And I'll be cheering you all on from the sidelines.
I understand exactly how you feel and was starting to have the same thoughts!! Perhaps I'll join you in cheering everyone on!!
ReplyDelete(Thank you so much for the lovely bookmarks!! You're very talented.)
I agree, Nat. Many times, I don't really know or try to figure out what genre a book is.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anything about the genre either. I just chose 5 books and I'm going with those :)
ReplyDeleteI just checked out how many challenges you are doing - wow! That is a lot. Especially the Biblio Files challenge is well challenging to say the least :)
You could've written this entire post for me! I've decided I don't have the time or energy to try to figure out what to read for the challenge. And, I really wanted to stick to books I have on my TBR shelves and all I could come up with were the Harry Potter books (which I'm already re-reading) and Lord of the Rings (which I want to read, but not in that time frame). So, I'm sitting this one out, too. I do hope someone hosts a sci-fi challenge later in the year, though, as I have several I'd like to read.
ReplyDeleteI kind of think I'm fantasy illiterate, too, although I decided against doing Carl's challenge because I'd already decided to go for the Spring Reading Thing. The reason I eliminated the decade challenge (can't remember the name of it - reading through the decades?) was because it made my head hurt just *thinking* about trying to choose a book from each of 15 decades. Ugh, too much work!! LOL
ReplyDeleteHeather,
ReplyDeleteWe'll be the official cheerleaders! And you're welcome, glad you like them.
Booklogged,
Especially before I've read a book. But yes, I don't usually think too much about genre beyond fiction or non-fiction. I've been more interested in nationality and books from other countries than type of book.
Iliana,
Yes I've certainly got a lot on the go. At least 3 of them are year-long so I still have time for them. I'll be looking forward to your reviews.
Les,
It was starting to give me a headache trying to work out which books might fit where. And I agree, except for a very few most of the books I choose for the challenges come from my own piles. A big part of the appeal of the challenges for me.
Nancy,
LOL! Exactly. When making a list of books for a challenge is no longer fun, it's not worth it!
I joined the Fantasy challenge, Nat. It's all your fault. :P
ReplyDeleteDonna,
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see you in the blogosphere! Have fun with the challenge- they're pretty addicting!
Thanks, Nat. I think I might have finally got it right this time. :P
ReplyDeleteThis is great info to know.
ReplyDeleteChelsea - Thanks for stopping by. :)
ReplyDelete