When SciFi and Fantasy Get Old

[Veronica]

A.J. wrote: "Hi Veronica
It's being published with Luna Press in a couple of weeks from now - I'll zing you the link when it's available! "

Just checking back in to see if this is ready for reading. :-)

[Robert]

There's nothing like a quality crime/drama read; a little bit of the Continental Op always gets me fired up, and Carl Hiaasen is always fun. Classic adventures are good fall backs too; H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines, or any Louis L'Amour are good for the soul.

[Donald]

I've spent most of the last few months wandering through a combination of ancient history, map-related nerdery, and Michael Lewis/Freakonomics-type books when not reading SF/F.

I find an alternating ratio of 1:1 or 2:1 keeps my SF/F reading feeling fresh as well, as reading 400+ page dense fantasy tomes can leave me feeling a bit burned out if they're not fantastic (no pun intended) reads.

[Jennifer]

I will read Historical fiction and Horror.

[Holly]

I think I've done a good job pacing myself so that fantasy has never gotten 'old'. Exploring the different sub-genres has really helped to refine my personal tastes and facilitate choosing the right books to read.

However......I do take an occasional vacation from text oriented books and get out some of those coffee table books with all the lush, full color illustrations. Mostly non-fiction stuff; architecture, art, history of fashion design, collector guides for antiques, pottery, toys and vintage costume jewelry.

Probably the weirdest of my literary quirks is reproductions of antique floor plan books.........

[Michael]

I read Classics. I recently have gotten on a Shakespeare kick. I have read and reread about 7 plays so far this year and plan to read all of his plays in the next 2-3 years. I like to read classic literature in bite size pieces so I can savour it and in that way I can read another book at the same time. I like Historical Fiction, Supernatural Horror, Non Fiction History, and Mystery/spy thrillers besides Sci Fi and Fantasy.

[Vanessa]

I love detective stories, specifically British detective stories. That's my fall back once I'm burned out on fantasy. I don't read a ton of sci-fi or horror regularly, so those are also a bit of a fall back on if I'm needing a fantasy break. (though they often really do cross the streams/themes/feel.)

And I slip a literary classic in their once in a while, just to 'expand my horizons'.

[Alan]

Vanessa wrote: "I love detective stories, specifically British detective stories...."
Sounds good - but the modern british detective trend is very dark and gritty, I am being severely put off some of it . . .
However: My own favourite is Stuart Pawson - find some of my reviews here
Nice light stuff, some nasty criminals but not much violence, mostly police procedural with gentle Yorkshire humour.
Sadly, Stuart Pawson died about a year ago. A great loss.

[AndrewP]

If you want a fun British Detective series with some supernatural elements try the Rivers of London series from Ben Aaronovitch. The audio editions of these books are especially good.

[Vanessa]

Alan wrote: "Vanessa wrote: "I love detective stories, specifically British detective stories...."
Sounds good - but the modern british detective trend is very dark and gritty, I am being severely put off some ..."

I'm talking Atkinson's Jackson Brody and Galbraithe's Cormoran Strike. Both of those I quite enjoy. (I liked older Agatha Christie, too, though I haven't read a ton.)

Thanks for the link, Alan! I'm excited to have more potential novels to read. I just enjoy the British voice, the dryness of it, plus the different vernacular.

[Vanessa]

AndrewP wrote: "If you want a fun British Detective series with some supernatural elements try the Rivers of London series from Ben Aaronovitch. The audio editions of these books are..."

That one's been on my list, Andrew. I'll bump them up! Thanks.

[Alan]

Vanessa wrote: "I just enjoy the British voice, the dryness of it, plus the different vernacular ..."
And where possible he uses real places . . .
I think it is in The Judas Sheep, quoting from memory "... some of the local place names seem to have lost some letters - and others have found them. I'm looking at Thorngumbald . . ."
Yes its a real place name, just east of Hull.

And in one of the last of his books, he mentions a pub called The Boar's Head, known locally as The Whore's Bed. The pub is real, and is in the real village described - but can't answer for how it is known locally.

[Sha]

I usually switch to Romance when I'm tired of SF/F, and vice versa. Note that the Romance in question is usually Historical, because apparently I don't like going to far away from redefined settings.

Romance usually focuses more on characters than the other Non SF/F genres, I think, and I do like my characters. I also read character-focused mysteries and thrillers when I can get them.

I read non-fiction only in short bursts, and I tend to prefer articles or chapters to reading NF books in one go. Classics are usually ignored, as the combined forces of IRL forces, long TBR lists and short attention span work against me on those.

//prepares to be judged

[Jennifer]

Sha, I read me some historical fiction from time to time. Sometimes life just needs a good bodice ripper.

[Dj]

Greg wrote: "I spend most of the year reading science fiction and fantasy books. Sometimes, however, I just need a break. When that happens I'll read something completely different, for the most part.

After fi..."

In general due to my reading habit/addiction, or just odd way I go about it, I never need to change up, since I am in that process all the time.

I tried an experiment I heard about to increase my short term memory. Read a Chapter in a book, move to another book and read a chapter and keep going until you can't remember what you read in the first book.

So I can (and do) read 25 books at the same time of different types. Slows me down on finishing, but I tend to finish books in job lots. But I never say I am tired of anything. Just can't read one book start to end. So don't recommend this to anyone.

[Sha]

Jennifer wrote: "Sha, I read me some historical fiction from time to time. Sometimes life just needs a good bodice ripper."

:D

I actually really like well-written romance (it's not any differen from well-written books in other genres- it mostly has to do with understanding the pros and cons of genre and working with instead of against it) and tend to rate them at par with well written SF/F. Everything is juged on "how hard did it hit my emotions"?

@Dj
I do a version of this too. Just not to the degree of 25 books- 10ish is max. By the time I reach 10 I abandon the re-reads or the ones I got bored of. I have a specific "half-read limbo" tag for it too.

It doesnt really help with the genre fatigue though. When I get tired halfway through a book I just add a new one from another genre to the currently reading pile.

Oh also- middle grade/kids books and comics help with genre fatigue. Once I finish something and talk about it, the fatigue settles down a little. So if I can finish something fast...

[John]

I clear my palate with nonfiction or with a suspense/mystery novel en español.

[Norton]

Genres do get tiresome after awhile. I'm new to sci-fi/fantasy so I have plenty to read, but I love a good mystery. I think Connolly is a mystery master. When you think you have it figured out you find your wrong.

[V.W.]

I alternate with historical military fiction. I rarely get bored or fed up with SF, it is more that there is less and less SF that suits my taste, such as David Drake and David Weber, or classics such as Poul Anderson, Larry Niven, and Keith Laumer.

[Herrholz]

I, like Norton am also new to Sci-Fi so hopefully will find plenty to read here. I had been genre hopping for a number of years but I think Sci-Fi is really where I now want to be. But I have a strange urge to read Robinson Crusoe!

[Norton]

Try Arcadia by Ian Pears. One of the best books I've ever read. A real entry into sci-fi/fantasy. Arcadia covers both.

[Beth]

I actually have An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears (historical mystery, i think?) on my unread shelf, but Arcadia is new to me.

I have started listening to The Big Sleep on audio.

My favorite 19th c novels are:
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (read earlier this year)
The Woman in White (read last year)
Bleak House (read several years ago)

My favorite historical novel (written in the 1990s, set in 1849) is probably Freedom and Necessity by Steven Brust and Emma Bull. I know both of the authors have written fantasy, but I haven't read their other books.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Beth wrote: "My favorite historical novel (written in the 1990s, set in 1849) is probably Freedom and Necessity by Steven Brust and Emma Bull. I know both of the authors have written fantasy, but I haven't read their other books. "

An excellent book! I loved the characters so much!

[Dj]

So on my Kindle right now I am currently reading:

Military History WWII


Urban Myth/Fantasy? (fun whatever it is)


True strange facts


Urban Fantasy


WWII military history


Russian Fairy Tale revisited?


Mice victorious...Fantasy


Science Fiction


WWII military history


Cozy Mystery


Supernatural Mystery


Classic?


Kids book

So the range is wide and sometimes the books change, they are different from the ones that I read at home, so I may get tried of a book, but generally not the genre.

[Beth]

I have now read An Instance of the Fingerpost. It was excellent, but I might not write a review because it's a hard book to describe without giving too much away. So now I'm kind of intrigued by Arcadia but I also feel like... it probably won't be this good?

Up next is Woman in the Nineteenth Century, my last book for the Back to the Classics challenge (hosted at Karen's Books and Chocolate).

[Kateb]

I agree with DJ , the genre covers such a wide range of stories that I really don't ever get sick of it.

Since I am also interested in science , I usually fit in some science journals as well and that is it.

[EchoBaz(Unofficial World's Fastest Reader)]

If sci-fi and fantasy ever gets old for me, I'll probably quit reading altogether, it's the only stuff I've ever enjoyed.