looking for information for a talk. Why do you read PR and Urban Fantasy?

[Kathy]

Hi I'm giving a talk at the library where I work on Oct 29 about Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy. I am hoping some of you would be willing to help. Tell me why you read this type of fiction. Who some of your favorite authors are. I want to try to explain to a group of seniors about the books I enjoy reading. Thank you in advance.

[♥Tricia♥]

For me its because I get tired of the same ole same ole and I read to *get away* from the real world for a bit and relax.

I am just not interested in things that *could possibly* happen in the real world, since I read to get away from it all.

[Cathy]

I'm similar to Tricia. I grew up reading a mix of straight fiction, sci-fi and traditional fantasy. As I got older (39 now) and life got harder, I was less interested in bestselling fiction. I don't want to read about divorces, sick kids, money troubles, getting older, sick parents, war, etc. I want to escape. But I also have less mental energy, so the complex worldbuilding of traditional fantasy sagas that I used to love is out for now. So now it's mostly urbany fantasy and sci-fi, where I can escape and have an adventure, but still have it based in a familiar world (most of the sci-fi I read now still deals with Earthlings and projections from now to then, familiar enough for me).

I hope that helps. Let us know how your group responds, if you can.

Also, I've always loved the way speculative fiction really deals with a lot of nuanced philosophy. Good vs. evil, what about gray areas, equality and prejudice, freedom from tyranny, the ecology, big business, etc., but in a more fun and enjoyable way than "serious literature." I like to have fun while I'm learning and thinking, and most Oprah books or Nobel Prize winners just aren't my kind of fun.

And of course the more obvious aspects of adventure, strong women, humor and wit, romance, friendship, loyalty and love, and most of all, magic. The world needs some magic, even if only in our imaginations.

[The Flooze]

Well said, Catherine! I'll second your post!

I'm more into UF than PNR. Both are wonderful forms of escape. The writers are imaginative and often incorporate a great mix of action, drama and humor in their writing.

I also love the inclusion of mythological elements. Reading UF often encourages me to look up old fairy tales, legends and myths in order to greater understand the characters. The authors do a great job of keeping those traditional tales alive for today's readers.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Katdragon--I started with myths, legends and fairy tales as a kid. From there I went to Fantasy and SciFi and mysteries. The next outgrowth from that was Urban Fantasy, then to Paranormal Romance. I know, I came to PNR later than most people that I know personally that read it. Part of the reason that I got started with the myths and fairy tales was that my Dad was career Navy--so whenever we were going to be sent over-seas, I'd read up on the myths, legends and local fairy tales. By the time that I was 13 and Dad was heading to Greece for his last over-seas deployment, I'd already had a fairly good grounding in European myths and legends. While in Greece we were required to take archaelogy classes for the simple reason that we had the security clearances needed to do donkey work whenever archaeological discoveries were made on the bases. The teacher for that class was really fun and she had us researching the roots of the myths and legends, looking for that kernal of "truth" that is at the heart of almost all myths and legends. From there I got into fantasy to see what "modern" writers were doing with those old stories, how they were being adapted for our world view. That in turn lead to SciFi--possibilities on how our descendants would live--and possible intrepations of how they would view US. Then I got interested in Urban Fantasy because a few of the scifi and fantasy writers I loved were recommending the work of writers who starting the UF trend. Plus, in the beginning, there was a lot of bleed-over between the genres. Then I started finding that some of the UF stories were being changed in category to the new PNR--so then I added those to my reading lists. :o)

(Um, sorry for the novella here.)

[The Flooze]

You've had some interesting experiences, Ann!

[new_user]

I've loved fantasy since I was a kid, and I still think they're among the most imaginative and rich works out there. I'm just not satisfied with holding a mirror to the world -difficult though that is in itself- I also want an author to really explore and stretch those writing muscles. :D

I also really enjoy reading legends and myths framed in a real world environment. What if Hades were a real man? What's his story?

I've also always thought that the "monsters" in these stories were much cooler than the heroes, LOL. So I like to see that paradigm turned on its head too. What if the werewolf's the hero?

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Hey guys--I just thought--there is a book out there called Villains by Necessity where the author Eve Forward DOES turn everything on its head. Its basically a "traditional" quest type story. In this, its a quest to save the world--the "turning on its head" part--its the VILLAINS who have to save the world.