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Friday, September 9, 2011

Hopping around

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books.

This week's question is:

Many of us primarily read one genre of books, with others sprinkled in. If authors stopped writing that genre, what genre would you start reading? Or would you give up reading completely if you couldn’t read that genre anymore?



I'm sure it's no secret that fantasy is my favorite genre. I feel lucky that it's probably the most popular genre right now, and has been for at least a decade. I'm tempted to cheat and say if fantasy were no more, I'd read science-fiction, but honestly, the two are lumped together so often, and indeed, sometimes even intermingle in a single book, they're practically extensions of each other. Or non-identical twins, let's say. If I was going to read something really different, I think I'd go with mysteries, especially historical mysteries like Anne Perry's William Monk and Thomas Pitt series. I like cozy mysteries, since the focus is solving the puzzle, without too many gory details on how the murder crime happened. I also like missing treasure mysteries, where no one dies, but the hunt is on for a fantastic hidden treasure, or a lost or stolen artifact.

Parajunkee's View has an interesting question for Follow Friday this week. I can't claim to be properly participating, since I'm pretty selective about who I follow, but she asks: 

Have you ever wanted a villain to win at the end of a story? If so, which one??

Yes, naturally, I root for Snape to win at the end of Harry Potter! Spoilers ahead... Dumbledore was so very old anyway, what if he had just died of natural causes, leaving Snape's reputation (relatively) unsullied. Then Snape could become Headmaster at Hogwarts, freeing him up to harass generations of Potter kids! Rowling has said in interviews that she thinks Snape only gets so much sympathy because Alan Rickman is a brilliant actor, but that's not true! Snape is such a well-rounded character, with an interesting backstory. And sure, Harry has been treated badly by the Dursleys his whole life, but once he gets to Hogwarts, he kind of becomes Wonder Boy, and it's good to see at least one adult prepared to give him a hard time about bending or breaking so many rules.
You know that I'm not too villainous... it's not like I'm rooting for Voldemort, after all!

19 comments:

  1. First of all for stopping by. ^_^

    I'm sorry to say that I never wanted for a villain to win. Well, in Snape's case, I didn't view him as a villain from the start since I had this gut feeling that he had something more than met the eyes - the anti-hero.

    Pottermore: I surely hope they address this issue before it opens to the general public in October.

    As to The Secret Circle series, there are only three right and based on the trailer they already started making changes. And there are only three books so if the series is a success and they wanted to extend it beyond the main storyline then they have no other choice but to make up their own story.

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  2. I think a lot of people were rooting for Snape, too. :) It's hard to think of him as a bad guy anymore.
    And I think reading mysteries would be fun. But I usually only read YA, and there aren't really any YA mysteries. Maybe that will be the big thing someday.

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  3. I have had parents and grandparents ask me, why? Why the fascination with wizards, vampires, and werewolves?

    Usually, I shrug my shoulders and say, you know, these things are cyclical. There was a not-too-long-ago time when westerns were ALL the rage. Western movies, Western TV shows, cowboy and Indian books, cowboy (or cowgirl) and indian dress-up clothes. If you didn't like Westerns, well then too bad, because that's what there was.

    So, right now, fantasy is king. And I'm glad, as it personally suits my taste. One day, it could be something else. Maybe mysteries!

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  4. New follower. You are right about Snape. I was kinda rooting for him as well. I picked Draco so I was kinda thinking along the same lines as you.

    Have a great weekend.

    Lost in YA Wonderland

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  5. @Emma congrats on your new blog! And welcome to the wonderful world of blogging!

    @BookLover Draco is a great pick! I was totally rooting for Draco. But, to be honest, it doesn't sound like things went too badly for him at the end - aside from the thinning hairline, of course, but I wouldn't rank that as any great tragedy.

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  6. Thanks for stopping By! I must say this:

    I agree, I agree, I agree!!!!!

    Everything you said was so SPOT ON that i have no idea what to say here. I should just copy and paste your whole post and put it on my page (but of course i won't...that's wrong...right?)

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  7. snape was one of my favorite characters from the books and yes, Alan Rickman did an amazing job portraying him.

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  8. Fantasy is definitely one of my favorite genres as well!

    I know you mentioned that you watch Torchwood when you stopped by my blog. I've been thinking about taking it up. I've heard some good things about it!

    Have a great weekend!

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  9. Hi Sherre - well, they say imitation is the highest form of flattery... but don't steal my blog post, okay?? I hope you got a nap today!

    @Anne - yes, Rickman really nailed it. Loved his costume, loved the way he sneers at everything. Just perfect.

    @Natalie - The thing that I am really enjoying about Torchwood is that it is Doctor Who'ish, but is still a completely different show. Now, a lot of people say that is exactly what they DON'T like about it, but the tone of the show makes total sense when you think of how different Capt. Jack Harkness's personality is from The Doctor's.

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  10. I'd be right there in line for mysteries too...especially the cozies. They are just fun!

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  11. Thanks for stopping by Pawing Through Books! I love a good mystery now and then. That's a genre that I would probably read more of as well if dystopian wasn't written anymore.

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  12. I like historical mysteries -- I wonder if they'd still be allowed if historical fiction were banished? I'm in the middle of the HP books now, so I haven't made up my mind yet about Snape. He's right in many ways in what he says, but he should be the adult in the room and he's awfully childish in the way he vents his personal demons by tormenting Harry.

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  13. I didn't see Snape as a villain either. I really liked him and thought it was refreshing that he didn't fall all over Harry the way everyone else did :)

    Thanks for stopping by.

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  14. Yeah, I don't read many mysteries. Maybe I should read more! But... it's so hard when there's already so much to read in my preferred genres. And you'll see mystery series in middle-grade fiction, but not really in YA.

    @Lan - a lot of people seem to think that Snape is a total villain, but I think those folks are goody-goodies, you KNOW what I mean.

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  15. I have not read much fantasy but what I have read I enjoyed. If you want to see what I really enjoy reading stop by my blog and check out my answer.
    I am already following you on GFC and now following you on Twitter.

    Patricia aka Mamaw
    Stop by a check out my answer!

    Patricia aka Mamaw
    http://itstimetoreadmamaw.blogspot.com/

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  16. Hopping by - had to skip the follow Friday as I am only on the 4th Harry Potter, yes I am woefully behind, but I am thoroughly enjoying the books. I'm new to your blog, but glad I found it. My blog hop can be found here.

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  17. Hopping by to say hi! I'm also a fantasy reader, but I was happy to see you mentioned Anne Perry --- I really love her books (and when she finally stops writing, I don't know what I'll do). :)

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  18. Yay another Snape answer! :) Thanks for stopping by!

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  19. New Follower here, visiting from Crazy for Books... My preferred genre is YA too and if they stopped publishing it i probably wouldn't stop reading, but i would read a lot less and write a lot more, even if it was just for myself. I'm admin over at peaceloveyalit.blogspot.com. I'd love for you to come visit when you get a chance!

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