The Book List is a meme created by Rebecca from Lost In Books. This week she wants to know what our 3 favorite genres are. I think I may actually be able to follow the directions with this one.
Mystery
Mystery was my first love, literary genre-wise at least. When I was young all I would read were mysteries, especially ones with paranormal elements in it. The first book I remember thinking was better than others was The Ghost Wore Grey by Bruce Coville, where two young girls solved the mystery of where an artist left his last painting with the help of Civil War-era ghost.
Even though I haven't read a lot of mystery in a while, I think the basis of all great books, in any genre, is mystery--wondering what's going to happen next and keeping the reader guessing and interested in the outcome. Will the hero and heroine get together? Will the day be saved? Etc., etc. It's questions that I want answers for that keeps me reading.
Romance
Romance is another early love of mine. The first book I read where I was really engaged by the romantic elements was The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart. One of the fun things about Mary Stewart books is that it's usually a secret who the heroine is in love with until the end (mystery again).
I don't remember what the first romance novel I read was, but the book that definitely got me hooked on the genre was Stranger In My Arms by Lisa Kleypas. Of course, right now I'm kind of in a downswing with romance novels, but I might get deep back into them someday. I probably will.
Fantasy/SciFi
My third favorite genre is fantasy. It's a great genre because you can do so much with it. You can set it in any time period, play with any mythology, and bring in all sorts of different story elements--including fairy tales, mystery, and romance.
The first SciFi book I read was in grade school, and I loved it--but I have no idea what the title was, or even what the general plot was other than it was about interstellar soldiers and there was a romantic sub-plot. The book was really, really good though; I wish I could remember it.
I think I love these three genres because they distill my favorite things about stories into a concentrated format--being transported to different worlds, places and times; wondering what's going to happen next; and love, which as Poirot said in tonight's Masterpiece Mystery, is "The mystery that even I, Hercule Poirot, am unable to solve."
What are your three favorite genres?
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