Thanks to Nina at ninareads.com for the graphic! You can find out more about the awesome online conference Armchair BEA at armchairbea.com!
I always feel late with post that have link-ups because so many people have already done them! I meant to do this earlier, but I was having computer issues.
Development
I’m a new blogger, so I have a lot of development and improvement to work on. I would definitely like to become a part of the community and work with other bloggers. So far I’ve done some memes and commented on other blogs. I would like to have a self-hosted blog at some point. I’m just going to take things as they come and try to be a better blogger!
Genre Fiction
I love genre fiction! I love any book with a good story and characters I can really care about. When I was younger, I really branched out and tried a lot of different genres. As a teenager, I read Robin McKinley,Ā Stephen King, Agatha Christie and Anne McCaffrey. When I got into college, I started trying out more romance. I love Lisa Kleypas and Julia Quinn! Regency Romance books are fun, even when they’re infuriating. I like contemporary romance and paranomal stories, too. I’m not sure I have ever met a genre I didn’t like.
My favorite genre lately is probably fantasy. I really love George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. He’s created a world with so many characters, and all of them are so important. They’re in a fantasy setting, but they deal with realistic problems and you can relate to their feelings. It’s also impressive how many characters I’ve changed my opinions about. There were some characters I absolutely hated in the beginning, and now they’ve become some of my favorite characters. When you start out hating a character but an author shows you what they are like and how they feel and you find yourself loving them, that is just good writing.
I have been a bit hooked on the fantasy genre lately. I’ve also been reading the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. I’m on the last book and I’m taking a break because I got a little too invested. I’m also taking a break from The Name of the Wind, which is the first book in The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. I read Sabriel by Garth Nix and need to finish the rest of the Abhorsen trilogy.
I read genre fiction because I love a variety of worlds and characters. I have never been particular about genres. If a story is engaging and enjoyable, I will read it. I read for enjoyment and an escape, and magic worlds with dragons, a futuristic story in space, and ballgowns and romance are all enjoyable to me.
Ā I’m not sure why genre fiction books don’t get as much respect. If people can connect to a story, I think that should be enough.
I feel like I probably rambled. Hopefully it makes enough sense! I’m excited to read other posts about development and genre fiction! Maybe I can pick up some recommendations!
A Blighted One 
I really need to read Robin Hobb’s books! They sound amazing! And yay for reading The Name of the Wind! I was so HOOKED when I read that! I’m very impatiently awaiting the third book…
I’m working my way through The Bridgerton series š I’m really loving her writing!
I love Hobb! I’m really enjoying The Name of the Wind, too!
I love series like The Bridgertons because I always think one is my favorite then move to the next and it’s my new favorite!
I really want to read A Song of Fire and Ice, but those books are so huge and indimidate me! I spent weeks on end going through each Lord of the Rings book, so I can only imagine how long it’ll take me to get through Martin’s series. And in my mind, I always think that because I have already so many books on my shelf to read that are shorter, I should read those first before tackling a series that I know will take a long time to get through.
The ASOIAF books are big, but once you get into them they move so fast! At least, that’s how it was for me. Once I got into the stories and the characters, I couldn’t stop reading. I love the online community and theories and commentary on them, too! I think if you connect easily with the story it moves fast, but it’s still consuming! I always like delving into long books, but I also like reading short books I can just read and be done with. I can see why you’d want to get done with shorter books first, though!
Great post today! You’ll find plenty of opportunities to develop your blog. The amount of them are almost overwhelming at times! It’s a big welcoming community, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!
thank you! It is overwhelming! So far I am enjoying it! Thanks for stopping by!!
Great post š I agree, we newbs take things as they come and learn over time. I agree with you about character development. I love it when a character I didn’t like or just didn’t care for becomes one of my favorites later in the book/series.
thanks! thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Sabriel is fantastic. Love that series.
Did you know that Robin Hobb wrote more in the same world after the Farseer trilogy?
I loved Sabriel, I’m excited to read the rest!
And I did! My friends got me started on them and she loves The Fool, they gave me a list of what order to read them in! I need to finish the series, I’m really excited about the Tawny Man books!
thanks for sharing. I know close to nothing in the fantasy genre! my thing right now is HF
I hope it was at least interesting! thanks again for commenting!
A lot of good Fantasy books listed here, some I’ve read, some I want to read and others I haven’t heard of before, shall need to check those ones out..
I hope you find something you like! thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I’ve never had a self-hosted blog before, but as far as free ones go, wordpress is doing all right! And they do hosting, too!
WordPress is really great, but I’d like to upgrade and have more freedom with customization! I want to stay on wordpress but host on dreamhost or something! Thanks for commenting!
I only recently discovered Lisa Kleypas, with her Friday Harbor books…thanks for sharing; and for visiting my blog.
I actually haven’t read any of the Friday Harbor books! I need to fix this soon!
Robin McKinley and Anne McCaffrey are two of my all-time favorites. š
I’m a new follower, and can’t wait to see what you review!
Thanks for following! I followed your blog, too!
Love love Stephen King and R.R. Martin two author who know how to write super long books that never bore me. Always create some really great characters, Thanks for visiting my blog for todays post!
They are great! Thanks for visiting mine, too!
I’ve only read the first book in George R.R.Martin’s series, but I want to read the rest! I have them but never seem to make much progress on my TBR pile.
I hope you can get around to them! The third book, A Storm of Swords, is my favorite!
Great post, I love the ABHORSEN series (LIRAEL and SABRIEL are some of my favorite books.)
I really enjoyed Sabriel! I’m excited to read the others!! thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I agree with you on just loving a book and its characters, no matter the genre. I love reading fantasy and those types of books because I need an escape from everyday life. I’m a teacher, so when I get home I want to escape to a magical place! š
Jessica@Lovin’ Los Libros
Yes! It’s so nice to get to read about characters that get to experience and discover exciting things that we don’t see in real life! My mom is a teacher and based on her stories and my knowledge humans in general, escaping after teaching seems like a good thing!
thanks for visiting my blog!
I love this paragraph: “I read genre fiction because I love a variety of worlds and characters. I have never been particular about genres. If a story is engaging and enjoyable, I will read it. I read for enjoyment and an escape, and magic worlds with dragons, a futuristic story in space, and ballgowns and romance are all enjoyable to me.” So true! Visiting other worlds, past, present, or alternate, is one of my favorite things.
Other worlds are so exciting! Thanks for visiting my blog!
I need to read A Song of Ice and Fire! I think I’d like it, but I’m intimidated by the # of books and the length of each. And the fact they’re not done yet. I read the Abhorsen trilogy in Jr High and I know I loved it, but I don’t remember ANYTHING about it, and I picked up Sabriel from a used bookstore today so hopefully I’ll like it just as much the second time around.
The fact that asoiaf is unfinished would be the most intimidating factor for me! Not knowing when it’ll be finished kills me, I am very impatient. BUT they are spectacular and consuming, I got really involved and read them very quickly. I hope you enjoy your Sabriel reread!
LOVE the Kingkiller Chronicles…still need to read Robin Hobbs. Nice post š
Hobb is awesome! Thanks for visiting and commenting!!
Great books! You might also enjoy Brent Weeks books š
Great books! I think you would love Brent Weeks books š
I will definitely look into his books! thanks!!
Love your site design. And fantasy is the best! So many great things out I still need to read. But I swear Martin’s is going to be one of them. š
thank you! It is!! Martin is definitely worth it!
Thanks for stopping by my blog, I’m a new follower of yours š
I love A Song of Ice & Fire too, I just can’t wait for the next book to be ready. I’ve not tried any Robin Hobb books yet, so I might pick up the trilogy you mentioned. Thanks for the recommendations!
Thanks for stopping by mine and following! Sorry I just got to replying to this! I’m following you now, too! I know, I’m dying for the next book! I’ve been reading so many meta posts and theories because I got a little too obsessed! I really enjoy Hobb, I hope you will too!
I like your blog design! š And Fantasy is awesome ā¤
Thank you so much, it means a lot to me when people say they like it!
I think it’s awesome that you can’t seem to tie yourself to one genre. While I read a lot of different genres at least half of my books fall into the contemporary romance side of things. I’ll have to check out your fantasy recommendations – I don’t read much of that at all!
Julia Quinn is my favorite historical romance author. Her books always make me laugh! Love that you read a wide range of genres š
I LOVE A Song of Ice and Fire! I totally understand what you mean about not liking a character at first and then later completely changing your opinion. That’s how it was for me with Jaime- I hated his guts in the beginning, and now he’s one of my favorite ASOIAF characters.
YES!! Jaime is one of the characters I was talking about! I despised him and now he is really one of my most loved characters! I love hearing that other people the same way!!
Robin Mckinley is one of my favorite authors!
I love her, I read The Blue Sword in the 7th or 8th grade and it was everything I never knew I needed in a book!
Hi! Your blog background is so pretty! I love the colors and stars. š
I think I need to check out the A Song of Ice and Fire series. I’ve heard a lot of great things about them. š
Thanks for stopping by my post!
~Sara @ Forever 17 Books
Thank you! ASOIAF is great, I hope you can read and enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by my post, too!