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Monday, February 16, 2009

Sound Off 02-17-09

Today's question:

What is your favorite genre of fiction? Why?

10 comments:

  1. I like Science Fiction that applies the laws of science and scretches them but not too far. Michael Crichton is one of my favorite authors. Michael Crichton was very knowledgeable and actually wrote a few non-fiction books about science in addition to the science fiction books that he wrote. I paticularly like his application of quantum displacement technology in Timeline. Why do I like this genre? Because I'm a geek.

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  2. Historical. Nerd, I know!

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  3. Scriptures!

    No, but seriously, I like sci-fi too. Though I don't care as much how far the laws of science are bent so long as it serves a good story, I am more than willing to suspend disbelief. I like Crichton too, though a book like Jurassic Park really went well beyond what is scientifically possible -- dinosaurs are just too cool to concern myself with details; Prey is another example of a cool book that seemed rather dubious.

    I have to admit I like fantasy too. I don't believe in magic but, again, if the story's good, it doesn't matter to me. I'm eagerly awaiting George R.R. Martin's next installment of his Song of Fire and Ice series, which so far has been low on magic and high on interesting characters and character arcs.

    So, speculative fiction in general is to my liking, but I'm not sure why. The easy answer is that I'm a nerd/geek too. I'll have to think about whether there's a better answer than that.

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  4. I enjoy almost any "Hero" story wrapped up in the Kung Fu / Wu Xia genre.

    A close second would be the Super Hero / Fantasy genre.

    Why?

    I love action in a story, whether it's a book, move, or TV series. I enjoy seeing people use super powers or abilities to bend their world around them. I dunno. I just like it. But, I love a good plot and character development, too.

    I think I enjoy the generic hero story. I think it's hard-wired in my brain or something. Joseph Campbell talked a lot of the hero motif in religion, myths, and stories. The writers of some of my favorite stories credit Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces as their inspiration-- namely George Lucas with Star Wars and Michel DiMartino's Avatar: The Last Air Bender.

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  5. This question makes me aware of how little I read of the fiction genre. I hardly ever make it through a fiction book, or movie for that matter, before losing interest.

    The last fiction book that I read in its entirety, and loved, was Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli. That would be in the historical fiction category. Highly recommended.

    Are you going to have a good movie question? I actually watched one recently that I liked and made it all the way through. That makes two movies in the past year that my husband was watching that caught my attention enough to watch all the way through.

    I wonder why I am not a fan of fiction?? Any recommendations for me? I like writing that makes me think and that has colorful phrases and lovely linguistics and characters to care about.

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  6. Philo said.....

    "I am more than willing to suspend disbelief."

    That’s what I would like you to do as you read through the Bible! Are you still reading? Did you enjoy Numbers chapter 7? : )

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  7. Tandi said, "I wonder why I am not a fan of fiction??"

    Fiction sometimes requires considering something that you previously were not taught to be true.

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  8. Zee,

    So does the non-fiction genre. I am a seeker of truth. I have rejected things I have been taught and embraced new things discovered to be true. The quest continues. Sometimes fiction is a good vehicle to get across a point of view. My daughter just read The Shack upon someone's recommendation and liked it. If she had asked my advice first, I would have warned her that it was a book designed to change her view of God and Biblical spirituality. This book is very popular....and subversive to Biblical faith.

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  9. Hello Zee,

    I find that I enjoy sci-fi, fantasy, and historical fiction. However, I rarely read fiction, but when I do read it, it is always rewarding. Fiction expands me in divergent trajectories that non-fiction is often incapable of. I would not fault Tandi for not being keen on fiction...it's just not an area that she (and me) have wet our palettes enough with.

    The best fiction book that I read last year was Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I disagreed with her views on morality and economics to the hilt, but I loved the storied philosophy.

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  10. Scriptulicious,

    I tend to make implications without always outright saying what I'm trying to say. I was not trying to fault anyone for not liking fiction.

    The implication was about having a closed mind. For example: Condemning all Catholics even though Catholics believe in Jesus as a personal savior and repentence.

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