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First book you read that got you into your favorite genre

A

Aaron

New Member
So i was reading around on the forums, and I thought it would be cool for people to share the first book they read that really got you into your favorite genre, whether it's fiction in general, or love, romance, or greek mythology.

For me, The Chronicles of Narnia got me into fantasy fiction, but I lost interest after it got repetitive in the 6th or so book. Couple years later I read Eragon before it was "Known" and that really got me into the whole fantasy/magic scene, and of course got me hooked on World of Warcraft.

So share your story! :D
 
I started reading fantasy after a friend loaned me The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman.

The only fantasy I'd read before that was A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. But I didn't read Games because it was fantasy: I read it because Martin's always been one of my favorite writers. I had a stereotypical notion that fantasy was Conan, sword and sorcery, dungeons and dragons, juvenile stuff. So even after reading Games, I didn't explore more fantasy -- not until Compass did it get through my head that epic fantasy might be worth checking out.

My other favorite genre is historical fiction, and I'm pretty sure it was something about the Wars of the Roses that got me started there -- maybe Josephine Tey or Thomas Costain.
 
AuntiePam said:
I had a stereotypical notion that fantasy was Conan, sword and sorcery, dungeons and dragons, juvenile stuff.
Click to expand...

Hm, fantasy is Conan, sword and sorcery, dungeons and dragons; now what I wonder is what Conan novel did you read that made you think it's juvenile stuff. You must be talking about the cartoons.
 
Long ago it was The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John LeCarré who started me in on spy stories -- both fictional and factual. I have read all of LeCarré -- except possibly his most recent -- and most of the other spymasters as well. It is still my standby genre when all else goes dry.
More recently it was Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov which attracted me into literary fiction, and that remains my main interest now, attempting to read all styles.
 
I didn't say that very well. :) I thought that fantasy was juvenile. You're right, I probably got that idea from Saturday morning cartoons. And I'd see kids reading Conan and D&D paperbacks.

I don't remember ever seeing a fantasy title in the bookstores where I shopped -- this would have been in the 80's.
 
i'm obsessed with finding re-tellings of fairy tales and mythologyand experiencing all the dofferent authors' interpretations of classic stories. the book that got me into doing this was Zel by Donna Jo Napoli, a beautiful and haunting retelling of Rapunzel which explores how being locked in a tower (etc) affected her psycologically. what made it even more interesting was that when my cousin recommended it to me, she told me not to read the back cover or anything, just start reading the narrative. so i got to slowly realize, while reading it, what story it actually was!
 
I don't know exactly which novel initiated my enthusiasm for fantasy and science-fiction, but the combined readings of Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, Jules Verne and H. G. Welles in my youth were certainly the foundation of my love for these genres.
 
For some reason I can't force myself to read the older authors, Edgar alan poe and such, I guess that just shows the age difference of myself and you guy/girls. Im reading The Lovely Bones right now, which is really good right now, definitely a good book
 
I don't really have one favorite genre.

Patricia Cornwell got me started on medical mysteries.

Jasper Fforde got me back to the classics.

And Gregory Maguire got me interested in the re-telling of fairy tales.

In grade school our library had a series of little red hardcover biographies that I loved.
 
I know Terry Goodkind got me interested in reading fantasy fiction for mature readers. Before I usually read books intended for younger readers (for instance, The Lost Years of Merlin or most of Roald Dahl's works). And although I never finished the book, I really liked what I read of Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George. I ended up securing an interest in historical fiction not long after checking that book out of the library.
 
Outlander-Diana Gabaldon got me into Historical Fiction and then came others like Elizabeth Chadwick.
 
I'm not exactly sure what my favorite genre would be, though I'd wager its a tie between Fantasy and Mystery.

As for the Fantasy element, I actually developed a hunger for them by reading The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, by Howard Pyle. I was young (I think 5th Grade) when I picked it up, and the archaic Victorian prose was difficult for me to grasp...but I kept trying, and I think this helped me develop a stronger vocabulary myself! Eventually, I did read it through many years later as an adult.

Mystery-wise, it has to be Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who spawned my love for the Detective Story, but it is Dame Agatha Christie who made me fall head-over-heels in love with it!
 
When I was 10 or so, the Chronicles of Narnia really opened me up to fantasy novels. That blossomed into a long affair with Dragonlance all through middle school. Great series that thinned out pretty quickly.

Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks introduced me to a gritty, real life experience. Ever since, that's all I've really cared for reading.
 
Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon got me into Historical Fiction, and I think it must have been The Hobbit that got me into SFF (I couldn't choose between the two as to which is my favourite genre).
 
I have never had my favorite genre. Actually I never really liked any strictly genre books. I was rarely able to finish any SF or high fantasy books (not to mention romance).
For instance, I tried reading several J. R. R. Tolkien books but never made more than 30% of the book before tossing it.
However, I always had my favorite authors.
When I was a kid, I got hooked to literature by reading books by Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas and Karl May. At that time an exciting new adventure was all that I expected from a book.
When I was in the high school I read Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha and it opened a totally new world for me. I started reading much more after that. Then I discovered other authors like Milan Kundera, F. Dostoyevsky and G.G. Marquez.
And I am still discovering (from time to time)…
 
I don't really have a favorite genre. I just have genres that I read, and genres that I don't read. As of now (key phrase), I have a greater interest in memoirs and biographies and have read alot of them already back to back. The first one I ever read was Thing of Beauty by Stephen Fried.
 
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