We all have preferred genres. Yes, we love to read in general, but certain subjects, certain scenarios, are particularly attractive to us, and when given the choice between that type of book and another, we will almost always pick the book with those preferred elements. But why? Which one is your favorite, and what book made you love it?
For me, the answer is easy: Urban Fantasy.
I love it. I could read nothing but UF for a solid six months.<——I know this for FACT, b/c I have done this, and when I did, it was before blogging, so I was averaging a book a day. That’s 182.5 UFs in a row, people.
I regret nothing.
I know that the very first UF book I ever read (not counting Anne Rice, although to be fair, between her and her sister Alice Borchardt, they are pretty much responsible for my interest in all things paranormal) was Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning.
My sister let me borrow her paperback, and I know that the second book hadn’t been released when I finished it, b/c I looked for it. That means I read my very first UF book some time between August 28, 2007 and October 16, 2007. Less than 7 years ago. C-R-A-Z-Y.
After that, for about a year, I kept reading high fantasy, b/c I didn’t understand that there was such a thing as UF, and that Darkfever was it.
Then came True Blood. I didn’t watch the show, not at first anyway. Nope, I saw that the show was based on BOOKS. BOOKS about vampires living in the modern world, and my eyes got really big, and I was like, “Ooohhhh? How long has this been going on?”
Seriously, I just looked it up in my Amazon order history. The first episode of True Blood aired on September 8, 2008, and I ordered BOTH Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris and Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison on September 30, 2008.
At first, I wasn’t completely sold, b/c in both of those series, the creature population lived out in the open, and that was a kind of mind-blowing concept. I had read the YA version of UF—the more recent Twilight series, as well as L.J. Smith’s Secret Circle and Dark Visions trilogies when I was in high school—but the creatures were always hiding from the humans.
If a human discovered that creatures existed, they either died, or got turned into a creature themselves. The end.
So this idea that some major event took place and culminated in the creatures coming out of the proverbial closet . . . and living among us . . . living openly in our neighborhoods, shopping at our malls, eating at our restaurants . . .
So weird . . .
But so FREAKING COOL.
YEP. Once I wrapped my head around the idea, I loved it. And I haven’t looked back since.
But what about you?
My name is Jessica and I live in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I’m trying my hand at writing, but mostly I read. My favorite genres are Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, and the YA versions of those genres, but if there is a book of a different color getting lots of buzz, I’ll read it too, just to be informed. If I’m not reading or writing, I’m probably on Goodreads or Pinterest or baking blueberry pies because I love them.
Hmmm…Anne Rice was my first commercial paranormal, though there was Bram Stocker sometime very close…and then there were all these fiarytales that are part of my national folk culture, will all kinds of fantasy and paranormal elements, so not sure which paranormal was first, lol.
Commercial fiction in a more current sense though, I’d go with Anne Rice. Good start, right? 😀
Livia recently posted…The Mystery of Moutai by G.X. Chen Excerpt
YES. An excellent start 😉 I loved the The Vampire Chronicles, The Mayfair Witches, and many others besides too. I also grew up on fairy tales, so those definitely cultivated my interest, but it was the modern, living-openly-among-us UF books that really hooked me to my current favorite genre.
I have to say that my first favorite genre was Urban Fantasy with some paranormal included as well, Jessica. And I have binge-read both series and stand-alones in this genre over several months, too.
I can’t remember which series really got me started on this, but I remember falling very hard for both the Fae Fever series and the Psy-Changeling series. Then, of course, several others have come along and I have lots of favorites now, and so many authors on auto-buy it’s almost scary.
I hope you’re having a fantastic week 🙂 Happy reading.
Lexxie recently posted…Review: No Boundaries – Donna K Ford
“I have lots of favorites now, and so many authors on auto-buy it’s almost scary.”<------me TOO. Seriously. Back when I ordered the first Sookie Stackhouse and The Hollows books, I binge-read both of those series, Anita Blake, Kenyon's Dark Hunter series, and several more besides. It was this instance infatuation, and I'm still reading and rereading those series (and a dozen others as well). Thanks, Lexxie---you too! 😉
UF has been my favorite too, I know you are surprised. My first, not counting Anne Rice, was Bitten by Kelley Armstrong and Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K Hamilton. I read them both on the same vacation trip, so I don’t remember which was first. I also started Mercy Thompson and The Hollows later that year. That was a great time and when I really got back into reading. I mean, how could you not with a reading list like that?
Melanie Simmons recently posted…Future #Audiobook Releases Giveaway â¼Happy Summertimeâ¼
Seriously. I considered myself lucky to stumble upon Sookie and Rachel, but as much as I love them, it took 2 or 3 books to really get invested in the series. But Bitten is the best first-in-series I’ve ever read, and you already know how I feel about the early Anita books. I agree—how could you not get back into reading?
SIDENOTE: I binge-watched the entire season of Bitten over the course of 24 hours this weekend. It was surprisingly good . . . 😉
You hadn’t watched Bitten yet. Doesn’t follow the book completely, but still great. They start filming season two today. They planning on following the story of Stolen, at least as much as they did for book one. I can’t wait. 🙂
Melanie Simmons recently posted…Sterling Audiobook by Dannika Dark Review
No, I hadn’t. I actually refused, LOL. Clay is my #1 book boyfriend, so I couldn’t handle the idea of putting a face to the character. I still think Clay is prettier than that guy, but MAN . . . yeah . . . he’s not so bad 😉
And yay! I can’t wait to see who they cast as Paige.
I have to admit i think the first real genre i fell in love with was paranormal. I love fantasy but my love for it came much later in my reading life. I always like contemporary–from the start but it was paranormal that got me hooked on reading!
Lily recently posted…Re-reading A Series
Me TOO. Even as a child it was fairy tales that I loved best 😉
How far back should I go? I honestly don’t remember my first favorite genre. O.O Except for a brief dark period otherwise known as college, I’ve always been a voracious reader. (Though I read just about anything I could get my hands on then.) I read a lot of historical fiction (American history before the Civil War was my favorite) and mysteries. Once I hit 8th grade, I switched to contemp. romance. So… one of those genres. I didn’t actually get into paranormal or fantasy until my book blogging days. Now I’m into historical romance, which seems almost like coming full circle to my childhood reading habits.
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That’s too funny. I NEVER read contemporary until a couple of years ago. Not regularly anyway. I think I read a couple of Jane Green books out of desperation b/c I couldn’t find anything else to read when I was in my early twenties, but beyond that—with exceptions only for classics—I only read SFF in it’s various incarnations. You already know about my recently developed love of HR, but there are several romantic suspense/contemporary writers that I’ve become addicted to as well, but all things paranormal have always been my favorite 😉
I have flirted with fantasy and sci-fi for a while. But my first venture into UF was Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. Unfortunately it was a hard art to follow, it was a long time before i found another book or series to drag me back in.
I have seen people classify the book as magical realism, but to keep it simple I will always consider it UF>
Nathan ( recently posted…Tough Traveling â Princesses
I have that book, but I’ve been . . . intimidated. I haven’t had much luck with universally acclaimed books in my favorite genres . . . Regardless—glad you found your way back to UF 😉
It seems we’re similar in so many ways, Jessica! I’m a dedicated UF fan through and through, only my first was Dead Until Dark, way before I started blogging and I pretty much read as fast as you did.
After that came Mercy Thompson, Kate Daniels, Kara Gillian and everything else I was able to get my hands on. I read a lot of stuff now, but I believe UF will always be my favorite genre.
I didn’t start Mercy Thompson or Kate Daniels for years after I discovered UF. They’re two of my favorite series now, but back then (when I still had plenty of reading material), I was stubborn about starting them, b/c I thought bother series had terrible book cover, LOL. *shakes head at self*
YES!! My go-to genre of choice is UF, though I do love a good PNR, romance and SFF. Still, like you, I could go a whole year with just UF to read. (Which is why it makes me upset when I hear people say that UF/PNR is on the downtrend…it’s NOT!! We need MORE, actually. Get on this, publishers.)
Mary recently posted…Speed Date with Jimmy: Lead by Kylie Scott
Who says that? Pfft. It’s more popular than ever. Look at all the SFF/UF TV shows and movies continually being made. On the downtrend, my left foot . . . 😉
My paperback of Darkfever looks pretty rough. It has been read that many times, and I’m not big on spine creasing! My first ever UF/ PNR I think was Stray by Rachel Vincent. I was hooked after that.
Lenore recently posted…Interview with Darion! Forever Sheltered by @DeannaRoy
Yeah, I finally had to 86 my paperback and get the kindle version 😉
BARRONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is so deserving of all caps and an absurd number of exclamation points! Darkfever was one of my first UF books as well Jessica, I can’t remember if it was THE first, but it was close and it made me love the genre something fierce. I would say my go-to genre though would be romance. I’m a romantic at heart, and I’m never not in the mood for a good romance – historical, paranormal, fantasy, whatever. Give me a sexy couple and I’m happy:)
Have you read Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series? B/c if you love BARRONS (<------YES, he is deserving of all the caps), then I'm pretty sure you'd love that series as well. Cole writes some of the best ALPHAS I've ever read. I think might like Kristen Ashley too. She's an indie, but she's AMAZING. She primarily writes romantic suspense, but she also writes some really excellent PNR.
Hmmmm… I’ve always loved science fiction the most but I started reading UF and paranormal after watching Interview with A Vampire, cause I got my hands on the Anne Rice books! Things progressed after that and I started reading the Sookie books before True Blood even started.
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Yeah, I was definitely behind the curve with the modern UF. I read anything Anne Rice I could get my hands on starting at about 13, but there was a good 10 year gap between that and discovering the new stuff.
I’m going to break the trend here with mystery being my first genre love and still is, though I read just about everything now. It started with Nancy Drew books and then Victoria Holt gothics, Alfred Hitchcock anthologies and then the gritty detective stories. I read a lot of thrillers and suspense these days but if it’s dark or tough, I’m in for any kind of mystery.
Jonetta (Ejaygirl) recently posted…My Favorite So Far! Lothaire by Kresley Cole
You and my sister are two peas in a pod. Her love of reading began with Nancy Drew as well, and she loves a good mystery. I’ve recently developed a taste for romantic suspense, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to really get into the really dark, gritty thrillers. I have a hard enough time watching things like Criminal Minds, and books are ever so much more descriptive . . .
So you know Criminal Minds is one of my favorite shows:) And, yes, the books can be much more descriptive.
See . . . that’s what I thought . . . books/movies/tv shows like that make me UBER paranoid, LOL. And knowing that I’m being ridiculous had yet to be enough to prevent the ridiculousness 😉
You know this is the hardest question for me EVER. I like all genres to be honest because really it depends on the impact the book has on me more than it does on the genre. I mean I have genres I read more than others (Romantic suspense and historical romance) because of their brain candy value but what I really want from a book is something that sticks. I usually do say fantasy is my preferred genre when asked but that’s because fantasty sticks to me a lot more than other genres so that doesn’t really mean much, I guess.
For the purpose of answering this question though, I’ll stick with anything that has a hint of romance in it because I do love me romances (I am saying this with a pretend scottish accent).
I remember as a kid, I was all EWWW romances but since I usually went to the librarian any time I needed a new book, that’s how I encountered my first ‘romance’ (we’re talking YA here and not Adult :P). I was in middle school and I cannot remember if it was 6th or 7th grade but I was in that pre-teen stage where I said eww romance. Anyway the librarian recommended Both Sides of Time by Caroline B. Cooney but said there was a romance and naturally, I said, EWWWW (well I actually said something along the lines of I don’t actually read romances). So I turned around and as I started walking away, something came over me and I turned back, grabbed the book and checked it out.
I ended up falling in love :’)
It’s weird though because when I got on GR, it was one of the first books I looked up and it turns out…. it’s actually a series. I may eventually read it if only to get closure (the book ended on a major cliffie!!)
Anyway, sorry for the longass comment 😛
Rashika recently posted…ARC Review: Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine
I love you and your longass comment. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I was lost in Ilona Andrews Land 😉
I was kind of like that, but ever so more ridiculous, b/c while I turned my nose up at anything straight-up romance, historical and contemporary, my favorite SFF books ALWAYS had romance in them.
I was all, “Ewww, yuck! Romances are STOOPID,” never realizing that my favorite parts of the books I did read was the romance. Which is, again, ridiculous, b/c two of my great childhood loves were Anne of Green Gables (b/c GILBERT BLYTHE) and The Witch of Blackbird Pond (b/c whatever that sailor’s name was).
So yeah . . . ME<------ridiculous. Fortunately, I think I've mostly grown out of that. And you should totally finish that series. I can't believe you haven't already!
I actually have no idea what my favourite genre is! If it’s the one I read the most of, it would be contemporary. But I’m just going to say that my favourite genre is dystopian. My first dystopian book was… The Hunger Games. After I read the whole series, all I did was read dystopian after dystopian.
One of my favourite dystopians is The Giver, which curiously I never would’ve read if it weren’t required reading for my English class in high school!
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Loved Hunger Games and just finished Divergent. What are some other dystopians you recommend like these?
I don’t know what Marianne would recommend to you, but based on The Hunger Games and Divergent, you might like Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, Ann Aguirre’s Razorland series, or Lauren Destefano’s Wither 😉
The Hunger Games is definitely my favorite dystopian, but my sister would definitely have your back if you decided that you loved the Giver more 😉
This is a great question! I have always loved the paranormal and mystery and since you usually get both in a really good UF, I am going to have to do with that as well. I could live without a ton of other genres but not without UF and all that comes with it.
kindlemom1 recently posted…Review: Ever After By Kate SeRine
Me TOO. Seriously. Nothing but UF for six months, and I could have kept that up for much longer 😉
I’m thinking UF. I was reading thrillers before that, a mish mash of authors, but I started this weird phase where I was fascinated with the supernatural and it sort of bled into my reading. I am pretty sure that my UF addiction started with Kim Harrison probably 7 years ago. I loved the idea of these characters living out in the open. It fascinated me. About 90% of what I read is either UF or PNR. Mostly PNR because besides being addicted to the supernatural, I’m addicted to the romance too. The PNR I think started with LKH. I don’t know if I will ever tire of these genres!
Tanya recently posted…Review ~ Burning Bright by E.J. Stevens
NOT weird. There are TOO many of us for it to be considered weird 😉 I prefer UF to PNR, but I do read PNR too. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of these genres either!
I’m not really sure. A tie between contemporary with difficult topics or thrillers (I loved R.L Stine) After I grew up I made a huge switch, especially after Harry Potter, to fantasy and that has been my most loved genre every since 🙂
Mel recently posted…Monthly recap. July. (+vlog!)
Ooohhh, I like R.L. Stine too, but I LOVE Christopher Pike. Fantasy is my second favorite genre. When I started this post, I actually tried to include both genres, but it got too long, LOL.
I’m all over the place, lol. As a teenager I was really into Koontz and King and then discovered fantasy. And then as an adult I learned about YA, which I fell hard for. Ironically, that was also the same time I discovered erotica, hehe. Then the UF/PNR phases came and went, along with historical and contemporary romance. And then ZOMBIES, woot! Now I’m reading a bit of everything, with no specific focus 🙂
Finley Jayne recently posted…{LitRate} Let’s Be Part of Something Amazing!
Yeah . . . I totally bypassed the whole zombie craze, LOL. I hate dead things. *shudders* And I kind of feel the same way within my preferred genres as you do in general. With the exception of dead things, there are so many different mythologies with so many different creatures, and SF can be about anything at all, so I guess I’m pretty diverse within my somewhat narrow focus 😉
Adult Contemporary romance was my first love. Rachel Gibson, Jennifer Crusie, Sophie Kinsella! Love them! Then I was introduced to UF and still love it. Then I started reading YA. I feel like I read backwards 🙂
I still read all of these types of books. I like to mix it up or else I get bored.
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I need to mix it up sometimes too. Especially if I’ve been coming across nothing but MEH read for a bit, and I fall into a funk. A different genre works as an excellent palate cleanser, but ultimately I always got back to my books with paranormal elements 😉
First UF?! Y’know that was Darkfever due to the constant harassment on GR. I didn’t even know UF really existed until all you girlies kept throwing those statuses in my face. I do love the genre though I’m not a fan of series.
I think my first favorite genre was always Fantasy itself, my favorite novel was Inkheart for quite some time when I was younger. Nice post here Jess 😉
Kat Stark recently posted…Fan Art Up! (16) – Everness, airships and a dragon doodle
Honestly . . . that’s not one of my favorite series either. I do love Barrons, and I LOVE Fae, but I could never completely get down with Mackayla Lane.
And fantasy was my first love too, and it’s still my second favorite genre. It was, however, usurped by UF 😉
Thanks, Kat! But I’m so confused—are you blogging for Tabitha now? You know she was my very first blog friend, right? If you are, that’s SO cool!
So would your favorite happen to be the Kate Daniel’s series I can’t stop seeing on facebook (probably because of you, lol).
I could never get behind Mac either. I thought I could at the end, but overall…meh. But the story was grand in itself.
Awee, yes! I am 😀 She’s wonderful and I could never really make a blog on my own (I just created one for NG and post reviews there–but nothing interactive like other blogs), so she’s letting me tag along.
Kat Stark recently posted…Review: Red Rising by Pierce Brown
YEP. Kate Daniels is my #1 favorite UF series. Leaps and bounds above the rest. I try to share the love, LOL.
Exactly. Between the idea, Fae, and BARRONS, I was able to tolerate Mac. I didn’t hate her, I just didn’t love her either.
WORD. She is wonderful. She’s flying out here at the end of the month to go to Dragon Con with me 😀 But I swear . . . I get slack for a few days b/c binge-read followed by book signing, and I miss everything! So excited!
I’m with you. I love good UF. I think Anne Rice was my first intro, I read her and Stephen KIng avidly in college. Then my first real intro was like you the Shadowfever series I got the first as a freebie on my kindle at the end of 2009 and devoured them. A year later my sister introduced me to The Hollows and I have continued in the UF genre with Kevin Hearne, Darynda Jones and many more.
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Yeah, once I discovered UF it was all over for everything else, LOL. Okay, not completely. I still love fantasy, and I do like the occasional romance, but I think I could live without everything EXCEPT urban fantasy, so it’s definitely my favorite 😉
My favorite genre would probably be epic fantasy. Starting with Lord of the Rings and then Harry Potter. Though I’m kind of all over the place – sci-fi, comedy (52 Reasons to Hate my Father), and does mythology fiction count as a genre? Because the Covenant series by JLA is one of the best series ever.
Asma recently posted…Nightmares and Humor: A Review of DREAM BOY by Madelyn Rosenberg and Mary Crockett
Mythology based fiction is definitely a sub-genre, and it’s one of my favorites as well. The Covenant series, Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus, etc., LOVE them.
Fantasy, about…18 years ago. YIKES! First first was this series about an angel who stole women and killed them. Loved that series. Then I read this one about a reindeer and the women he loved. 🙂
blodeuedd recently posted…Steal the Dragon / When Demons Walk – Patricia Briggs
Oh, oh!! Meredith Ann Pierce?
YES! I loved those, I wonder if she has written more
blodeuedd recently posted…Touch of the Demon / Fury of the Demon – Diana Rowland
She did. She wrote another trilogy called Firebringer 😉
Hm….the library does have Firebringer book 1 (translated) I can’t remember if I ever read it or not. As this is the town library and I did not use that one when little
blodeuedd recently posted…Doctor January – Rhoda Baxter
That’s the great thing about libraries though . . . even if you have already read it—no harm, no foul!
My favourite genre, without a doubt, paranormal romance / urban fantasy. I think my first one was Sherrilyn Kenyon, her very first Dark Hunter book. After that, Christine Feehan with Dark Prince. Susan Sizemore, Marjorie M. Liu, Kim Harrison. And I was lost in a whole new world of books.
aurian recently posted…Nora Roberts – The perfect Hope
Sherrilyn Kenyon was definitely in my early mix as well. I read her Dark Hunter books the same time I was reading Anita Blake, The Hollows, and Sookie Stackhouse 😉
I started with mystery and romance with Stephen King thrown in. Then I found out that J.D. Robb was Nora Roberts and started reading her PNR which opened up a whole new world of books for me.
Kristina D recently posted…Some Thursday Randomness
I just found out that J.D. Robb was Nora Roberts like a week ago, LOL. Must’ve been living under a rock 😉
Hmmm If I have to go back to childhood its going to be high fantasy. Now its urban fantasy, without a doubt. I can’t see that changing anytime soon 🙂
Lorelle Page ( recently posted…Three days until my first submission – why is this process taking so long?
Me TOO. Exactly 😉
Firsts well my love started with fantasy but I think the genre I could binge read on would also be urban fantasy. I went through a phase there where I was reading nothing but that and I think I could probably still do it if I let myself.
Tabitha (Not Yet Read) recently posted…Fan Art Up! (16) – Everness, airships and a dragon doodle
Me too. I really like several other genres as well, but UF is the one I think I’d have the hardest time doing without. That’s why I’m seriously over a lot of my favorite series ending 😉
I really don’t think I have a favorite, I have every (romance) genre among my favorite books, so I can’t say that I gravitate to one genre more than another, although lately I haven’t been interested in many paranormals until just this week when I started Magic Breaks, and I have to say, it reminded me how much I love UF 🙂
I now one thing, I don’t like non fiction…LOL
Lupdilup recently posted…The Book of Life Audiobook by Deborah Harkness (Review)
You know, I have noticed how diverse you are in your reading tastes. Go you! Even without non fiction (me TOO, lol), you’ll never be limited in your choice of reading material the way I sometimes feel 😉
Horror was my first genre I really loved, and it’s stuck with me through the years. I mean, I started reading King in elementary school. I definitely go through my moods though and need variety. I’ve been more contemp lately than anything.
Christy recently posted…The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher
Not me, LOL. I read King in middle school, and to this day, I am still leery of him.
I only started reading when I was 15, which is 4 years ago and the first genre that I got really hooked in was Paranormal. I was one of those people who got introduced to it by Twilight and of course I had to read every book I could find from that genre. First in YA and then adult. Right now I’m more into Contemporary but my love for Fantasy/Paranormal/Dystopia will never fade.
Dea S. recently posted…10 Things About Delilah S. Dawson, Author of Servants of the Storm + Giveaway
I started reading recreationally when I was in the second grade, but even before that I loved being read to. I’m glad you found something to peak your interest 😉
LOL! It’s a given you love UF the most. AUGUST 28TH? THAT IS MY BIRTHDAY. WHY, I AM HONORED MISS :’) lol I have Darkfever and it’s on my must-read-this-year list 🙂 I’ve only read the first TB books, but I know how much you love that series! 😀 I love UF, especially with assassins and kick-a heroines. AND THE SMEXY!! *fans self* I love that you’re so passionate about UF and I always want to devour everything you throw at me. Too many books and too little time is literally the moto of my life 🙂
Siiri recently posted…Lily Calloway’s Birthday Extravaganza & Giveaway
Funnily enough, Siiri, that is literally my motto as well 😉 And I appreciate your enthusiasm for my enthusiasm, but make sure you tweet at me or something before devouring one of my recs, b/c I don’t have the issues with love triangles that you do, so the only time it occurs to me to mention them is if it’s one of the lameass kind that even I don’t like 😉
Awesome article Jessica, I was completely the same when I first discovered UF, that’s all I read for months on end! But when I started blogging, I discovered more and more of the YA genre and unfortunately UF has taken a back seat. I actually discovered UF on the back of Richelle Mead’s VA series, I was wondering what else she had published and I read the Georgina Kincaid series and promptly fell in love with the genre.
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Thanks, Jeann! See, it’s nice to meet other people who had no idea there was such a thing until they stumbled across it somehow, and then were like a kid in a candy store, b/c we were NOT UF hipsters, not at ALL. By the time we figured it out, there was enough to keep us busy for a long, long time 😉
This is such a hard queston – there are so many! My first loves were the big Historical Romances (Gone With the Wind, Outlander, Mist of Avalon) which I got from my mom, then in High School came my love for all things Epic Fantasy Terry Goodkind, Robert Jordan, Sara Douglass) then caame Urban Fantasy – Karen Marie Moning! I could go on, but I wont!
kim { Book Swoon } recently posted…Adult Book Review: Fireborn by Keri Arthur
I feel like we’ve had the Robert Jordan/Sara Douglas conversation before, but on the off-chance we haven’t . . . OMG I LOVE THE TOO!!!
I am always embarrassed to admit it, but my first was Twilight, which led to me searching for “adult books like Twilight” when led me to the Anita Blake series, the Hollows series, and, of course, Sookie Stackhouse. I didn’t know about UF until then either. And yes, I could read only UF for a year and be a happy camper.
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Anita, Sookie, and the Hollows, huh? Those were my first three big series too. I may have read the first book of Fever before them, but I didn’t get back to the series until afterwards 😉
My firsts are kinda varied. I loved Lurlene McDaniel, Babysitters Club, Thoroughbred series, and Wheel of Time…
ZOMG, I loved the Babysitters Club, LOL. And WoT was my very first fantasy series besides LOTR, which I don’t really count, b/c CLASSIC.
Ooh this is kind of hard. My fave genre is YA, and I prefer some kind of paranormal/dystopian/sci-fi elements. I hate to say it sometimes but Twilight got me back into reading in general, though I know that wasn’t my first YA type book that I enjoyed as an adult. I just don’t remember what I read prior to that some years back before my reading break lol.
I loved Twilight, and I’m not afraid to admit it 😉
Before I became a hardcore reader I only read non fiction and travel books. Maybe 6 total books per year!!
Ann Rice – Interview with a Vampire was my first fiction/paranormal etc. I loved it but I still didn’t’ get swept up in a genre or reading.
Then I read Twilight, just before the third book came out. I liked (not loved) but it was the first time I read a series and all at once and I loved the idea of being lost in a world for an extended period of time.
From there I binge read Sookie Stackhouse, Laurel K Hamilton, moved on to Jeaniene Frost and kept on going from there. Now my reading is really diverse – except – NO non- fiction lol
GAH. I can see why you only read 6 or so books a year if that’s what you were reading, LOL.
Interview with a Vampire was my first too, but I didn’t get into the series/genre until I read The Vampire Lestat.
I loved Twilight, and I’m not afraid to admit it 😉
Jeaniene Frost was the first series I read after I finished my initial The Hollows/LKH/Sookie binge. LOVED Cat and Bones.
I kinda of knew your answer even before I’ve read it! Imagine 😉 Well I loved Darkfever too and it was actually one of the first UF I’ve ever read too! My answer would be fantasy and I think that dates from my childhood and Peter Pan and The Little Prince! Even though I have read many different genres since then, fantasy always comes first! Great post, Jessica 🙂
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Fantasy was my one true love before I found UF. I actually intended to include both genres, but the post got too long, LOL. Anyway, I definitely feel you and your love of fantasy—I love it too. I just love UF slightly more 😉
I love all fantasy novels, but my favourites are sword and sorcery where the ladies are badass and the guys aren’t jerks. HELLO, TAMORA PIERCE. I actually read those books out of order though, as my introduction was through Daine not Alana. Love ’em all though. I’ve read all of her books, even the ones that don’t take place in Tortall (and aren’t as good, imo). I remember getting sucked in by how take-charge all the female characters were.
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You know . . . I have only read The Protector of the Small series. I have several others, but I never got around to reading them. I’m thinking that I need to remedy that . . . 😉
Romance is the first thing that came to mind when you asked that question. It”s not the first genre I’ve read but it’s definitely a genre that I’ve been reading the longest. I remember that first time I found a random Harlequin Presents book just lying around at home and read it out of boredom. I think is was by Anne Mather. That was the beginning for me. I’ve read anything Harlequin after that and shortly after, I discovered the fascinating world of Historical Romance. Lisa Kleypas was my biggest love, next to Julie Garwood and Judith Mcnaught. Then my fave HR authors started writing contemporaries and that’s when I started reading those too. Thanks to Linda Howard, I had my romantic suspense phase and Nalini Singh and Kresley Cole is the reason I’m so addicted with PNR. Basically, I’m a proud romance reader. Doesn’t matter the subgenre, romance is still my go-to books for enjoyment. I have now evolved and read a mixture of everything, but romance will forever have a place in my heart <3 I love this question Jessica, I kinda want to re-read my all-time favorites now!
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I always want to reread my all-time favorites, LOL. I love Lisa Kleypas too, but I don’t think I’ve read anything by Garwood or Mcnaught. I’m pretty sure I have them on wishlists, b/c I’ve heard good things, but I only started reading romance a couple of years ago. FOR REAL. Never read Linda Howard either, but you know that I love Singh and Cole. Are you reading Dark Skye right now? This second??
AND WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I’ve wanted to track you down for like two weeks now, but I didn’t want to come across as a creepy internet stalker or something . . .
I’ve always been a reader, but in my early years until my second year of College, I was a very sporadic reader. Like maybe 2-3 books a year, tops? I don’t know why, I loved reading, but I guess there was no urge to keep reading one after another and that “BUY ALL THE BOOKS!” feeling. And then I read a book and then I got into the post-apocalyptic genre. I read THE ENEMY by Charlie Higson and right after that I read thirty zombie books in a row, which eventually branched out to other genres in the YA demographic 😛 Have you read that one yet, Jessica? It’s super awesome, I tell you!
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I can’t figure out if you’re genuinely recommending books that you love, or taunting me b/c you know I HATE zombies, LOL. Regardless, I’m glad you found something to goad you into reading more than 2-3 books per year. O.O I’ve been an avid reader since I was 8 YEARS OLD.
The genre I can read for months without complaining would be Contemporary or Fantasy. I’m sorry I can’t choose one 😛 I was around 15 when I first picked up a novel and it was….. TWILIGHT. My aunt was reading it and I really liked the cover and I was just so excited by everything, like “O my god vampire and o my goodness he is sparkling” But now, I’m just laughing when I remember it. And even though I don’t really love Twilight, it’ll always have a place in my heart *gag*
Awesome question, Jessica! 🙂
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I love Twilight, and i’m not afraid to admit it 😉
But that’s an interesting diversity you’ve got there. For me, it’s always between UF and fantasy, which really aren’t that different. Contemporary and Fantasy though . . . not much in common at all. Thanks, Paula!
My first was TWILIGHT and then I was so all over the map and had so much going on, reading took a back seat. Then I discovered The Premonition Series and the Fever Series. The Fever Series was unlike anything I had read before and loooooooooooooooooved it!! Of course I have to mix in contemporary romance every now and again. 😉 Urban Fantasy, Fantasy and anything similar will always be my favorite genre!
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Amy Bartol’s Premonition series? I read the first book, and I liked the story, but I got so annoyed with the overabundance of “Y’all”s that I never continued it. Lemme tell you—I have lived in NC and TN my ENTIRE life, and NO ONE says, “Y’all,” even a fraction as much as that cute football player did, LOL. Just sayin’. BUT regardless of that particular series, YES, those will always be my favorites too 😉
I’d have to say that my first favorite genre was Fantasy. Little grade-school me LOVED fantasy, though I couldn’t say what my first fantasy book was (but it was juvenile fiction). I drifted away from Fantasy for quite a while to contemporaries, but then got ADDICTED to sci-fi/dystopians, and I’m pretty sure Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card was my ‘gateway’ book for that genre — which is now why I consider it my favorite book. But lately I’ve read so many good and original fantasy novels that remind me why it’s such a great genre.
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Little grade-school me loved fantasy too, but you know, the more I think about it, the less I’m surprised that UF became my favorite genre. I was always borrowing book Lois Duncan books from the library, and Christopher Pike and L.J. Smith were favorites too . . . yeah, I’ve been pretty consistent too, I think 😉
Wonderful post, Jessica. I enjoyed learning more about the books that got you into UF. Urban Fantasy is also my usual go-to. I’ve always been an avid reader, but I went on a reading hiatus in HS because I was taking all these advanced hours and felt like I had no time for leisure reading. Then I saw these books where the paranormal crossed with the human world, and I bought Paranormalcy and Nightshade (this was back in 2010). That rekindled my love for reading, and I’ve been reading the fantastical nonstop ever since 🙂
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I don’t think I’ve ever taken a reading hiatus. I don’t have that kind of self control, LOL. The best I could do was deliberately avoid starting a new book for a brief period of time in which I absolutely had to be productive, and could not procrastinate. Even when I was a teenager, I would blow off friends some weekends b/c I wanted to read. Regardless, I’m glad your love of books was rekindled 😉 There really is something irresistible about paranormal thing in the modern world, isn’t there?
Urban Fantasy is my genre too – I can read it non-stop. Though I don’t think I’ve ever averaged a book a day, but 6 months of just UF. Yep! No sweat! So my first was Mercy Thompson. I was working at this call-center job and a co-worker’s husband and I started talking books. I told him that I loved to read fantasy, but wanted something different from the Middle Grade & YA I had been reading and wasn’t really in the mood for high fantasy. The next day his wife came to work with the first three Mercy Thompson books (this was Spring 2008, so Iron Kissed had just been released a few months prior). I was instantly hooked – returned those three to him less than a week later and he sent me home with the first two Cassandra Palmer books. I read those and then immediately bought book 3, which had just been released. Ever since, I’ve been devouring Urban Fantasy. It wasn’t until I read The Hollows that I ever read a book where the paranormal world was open to the public though (at least that I can remember) and that totally blew my mind too. Loved it, of course, and can’t wait to read the last one. Great post (sorry for the super long comment)!
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Pfft. Don’t apologize. You know first hand that I do it too, LOL. And that’s awesome. I’ve always been the lone reader. Just like Kate Daniels, Mercy Thompson is one of my Top 5 UF series, but I didn’t read it for YEARS b/c I thought the covers were lame. You’d think I’d learn . . . 😉 Basically, I wish someone had forced them on me years earlier.
My reading history is long and varied. The first book that made me fall in love with books was To Kill a Mockingbird, or maybe Watership Down. The first book that made me fall in love with books as an adult was, oddly enough, a little middle grade read called The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell. I picked it up from my library on a whim after some years of not much reading and it just captured my heart. I fell headlong into reading after that again and haven’t really looked back. I can’t even bring myself to re-read it in case it doesn’t hold up — one of those times when the memory of the thing is a bit more important than the thing itself.
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Honestly, I can’t remember a time that I didn’t love reading, but I can relate to this:
“one of those times when the memory of the thing is a bit more important than the thing itself.”
Especially since I’ve started blogging. SO many books that I used to think were wonderful are absolutely not upon closer inspection. So I get it. I wouldn’t want to reread it either 😉
My preferred genre is Paranormal Romance! I can’t help it.. I just love magic, mythical creatures and a good love adventure! I do love a good Urban fantasy as well as a good mystery suspense.. combine these and my life is made! *tee hee*
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Yeah, I definitely like PNR too, but I just love the action in UF so much more. I have found some really excellent PNR series and have both the romance AND the action, like Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark<------LOVE it.
my first would have to be New Adult. I liked the YA books, but always looking for something a little more REAL… and then I discovered Mature YA, but sometimes that made me feel weird… like the main characters’ ages were really young… when I first read Easy by Tammara Webber, I knew I had found the genre for me.
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I love Easy by Tammara Webber too. I love her other series as well, and discovered Liz Reinhardt and Colleen Hoover around the same time as well. Fabulous authors, one and all 😉
Oh I can’t believe I haven’t seen this post!!! o.O Six months of UF? Huhhhh not SURE I can do that, even though I love that genre. Hehe, but you’re one of a kind, aren’t you, Jess? ^^ I think my favorite genre is…humm…I never actually answered to this kind of question with only one answer but I would say…paranormal yeah! Paranormal is my favorite genre 🙂 It can include UF, romance, mystery, fantasy (I think), manga (kinda) and comics. It’s splendid so that is my answer. ^^ Love the post, hehe.
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No worries, Lola. I AM SO FAR BEHIND. I promise I’ll make my blog rounds soon, and get caught up with you as well. Anyway, YES. I love paranormal too. Just b/c UF happens to be my favorite, doesn’t mean I don’t love the others as well 😉 Thanks, dollface!
I’m giggling because I’d read primarily ‘literary fiction’ (where Rice is shelved in my bookstore) until Twilight. Then I read all the same authors as you…with some Keri Arther, Karen Chance, Laurell K . Hamilton, and Melissa Marr thrown in. Oh, and Patricia Briggs and Ilona Andrews. (working in a bookstore helps) I freaking loved Darkfever! And I too had to read Charlaine Harris before I could watch True Blood – and I’ve only seen the first season. UF will always have a special place in my heart. 🙂
I read all of those too, LOL. LKH was actually another one of my firsts, and while I wasn’t crazy about Marr’s Wickedly Lovely (the first book, not the series, b/c), I LOVED the rest of those books. LOVED them. I think Radiant Shadows was my favorite. ALSO—you aren’t missing much with True Blood. I thought the first and maybe second seasons were okay, but it got progressively cheesier, and I quit it entirely after season 4.