Urban Fantasy discussion

As much as I love UF, I also enjoy reading other books as well. Do you all stick to the UF/PNR genres, or do you like to branch into other titles?

I love UF but I do need to take a break.
I also love historical fiction and my big love, even before urban fantasy, is Magical Realism.

Jalilah wrote: "I love a lot of UF but I do take a break.
I also love historical fiction and my big love, even before urban fantasy, is Magical Realism."

I love magical realism as well. I really enjoyed both and

I read a lot of different genres other than Urban Fantasy. I'd be bored sticking to one.

I read a lot of UF. However, I also read a lot of YA(especially dystopian), and I'm starting to get into the whole new adult thing, too.
I love historical fiction, when it's not all about the romance, and I love science fiction like the Sirantha Jax series by Ann Aguirre. Need to find more like that.

Not sure that I've ever read anything that would be considered magical realism.

Either way, I do read more genres aside from UF, but it's become one of my favorite genres.

I pretty much read fantasy - UF, PNR, Fantasy, Sci Fi, YA, Middle School. So long as it does not take place solely in the "real world", I like it.

I do sometimes read Rom-Suspense and Mysteries.

Erin wrote: "I read a lot of different genres other than Urban Fantasy. I'd be bored sticking to one."

ME too. I agree with Erin.

I read lots of different genres but UF and mysteries are two of my favorites.

I'm reading Matterhorn right now which is a novel about the Vietnam war. Generally, I'm not big into this kind of fiction, but it's fascinating reading. Tragic, but compelling.

Michelle wrote:
I love magical realism as well. I really ...enjoyed both and "

Michelle, I love both of those books as well!
Isabel Allende is probably my favourite all time author. I have read and loved almost all her books, in particular
The House of the Spirits
Eva Luna
Inés of My Soul
Island Beneath the Sea
Although not straight fantasy there is always the element of the fantastic in her books.
I also recently discovered Sarah Addison Allen who has her own type of Southern style magical realism
Garden Spells The Girl Who Chased the Moon The Sugar Queen

I've never heard of Sarah Addison Allen before. I'll have to add her to the list!

I run hot and cold with Allende. I *loved* The House of the Spirits and Daughter of Fortune, but I didn't really care for Zorro. Island of the Sea was really good, though.

I read a variety of genres, including romance, mystery, action/adventure, thriller/suspense, epic fantasy and horror. I've started reading more Sci-Fi, but I prefer fantasy to it.

I read other genres when I've read out my favorite writers. While I search for new authors, I often step out of the box, LOL, but Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Humor are my favorites.

I actually read more fantasy/science fiction and mystery than I do UF. Too much of the current UF seems to feature vampires/zombies/weres in relationships I am not comfortable with as well as a tendency to a lot of gore.

Of the 58 books I've read this year only about half a dozen are UF or similar. I love UF tropes but I just can't read the same kind of thing all the time. I turn to UF mainly for quick thrilling reads when I've been reading more serious stuff for a while. Besides that, I really need to focus on a limited number of series at a time, it amazes me that some people can read so many and nor get characters and plots mixed up!

Sean wrote: "Of the 58 books I've read this year only about half a dozen are UF or similar. I love UF tropes but I just can't read the same kind of thing all the time. I turn to UF mainly for quick thrilling re..."

Same thing happens to me! When I read too many of these series at once the plots all kind of blur.

Jalilah wrote: "When I read too many of these series at once the plots all kind of blur..."

I'm about halfway through Out of Nowhere which might be UF (not sure, certainly isn't typical) No zombies, no vampires, no demons (at least not yet, anyway)but it is addicting.

Character is an (?)immortal that can heal, working as a paramedic, who finds himself the target for a generations-long vendetta.

Loved the first half, which isn't 'action', sets background and characters. I love the characters. Great dialog and very typical of the wry/black humor of all cops/EMTs and hospital.

I, too, enjoy mysteries, historical fiction, and historical fantasy, as well as UF, which I love. I'll read some literary or mainstream books if they catch my interest. The Time Traveler's Wife was considered literary, but certainly has a SFnal premise.

Lately, I've been reading very little UF as a result of participating in the Around The World challenge. It's hard to find UF that takes place in countries other than the U.S. and it seems like I've read all the international UF that interests me. Next year when I'm no longer part of the challenge I'll be reading more UF.
But I always read historical fiction, historical fantasy and historical mysteries along with the UF.

Lately, I've been reading very little UF as a result of participating in the Around The World challenge. It's hard to find UF that takes place in countries other than the U.S. and it seems like I've read all the international UF that interests me. Next year when I'm no longer part of the challenge I'll be reading more UF.
But I always read historical fiction, historical fantasy and historical mysteries and non-fiction along with the UF.

Lisa wrote: "I, too, enjoy mysteries, historical fiction, and historical fantasy, as well as UF, which I love. I'll read some literary or mainstream books if they catch my interest. The Time Traveler's Wife was..."

I *loved*

The Time Traveler's Wife. I would almost call it scifi realism, lol. (Sort of like Magical Realism.) In that scifi realism vein, I also loved which was heartbreaking!

I can't read just one genre. As long as a book is well written, and has a compelling plot and characters, I'll read it.

I primarily read UF and if it isn't that, it's just vanilla fantasy. :D

I read to experience something that I never could in life, so I always like a bit of the fantastical in my reading.

I read a bit of everything, Urban Fantasy just seems to hold my interest longer. I'm a big fan of mysteries and thrillers... and sci-fi if done right.

I think that if you only read one type of novels would get boring after awhile. I go between Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy (PNR), Comptemporary Romances, Erotica, Adventure Novels and whatever else grabs my attention. But most of what I read is within those genres for the most part.

I agree with Jenny! It definitely gets boring being stuck in one completely. I read many different genres based on my mood, but mainly PNR/UF, Historical Romances, Erotic Romances/Dark Erotica and YA!

I read lesbian romance (/intrigue), mainstream classic.

I read mostly other. Right now I'm reading The Impeachment of President Lincoln (which isn't very good).

I think when one gets used to reading any kind of fantasy fiction be it urban, or epic or a paranormal romance, “regular” fiction (meaning with no paranormal characters or occurrences), can seem dull in comparison. For this reason I often prefer magical realism for although it is usually more reality based, it has still fantastic or magical elements in it.
I just read a great book that defies categorization that I could recommend if you want to take a break from urban fantasy. There are talking cats, a parallel reality, ghosts of people still alive, a villain who kills cats to make a flute out of their souls, very strange! It is a really great thought provoking book.

Jalilah wrote: "I think when one gets used to reading any kind of fantasy fiction be it urban, or epic or a paranormal romance, “regular” fiction (meaning with no paranormal characters or occurrences), can seem ..."

I've wanted to read Kafka on the Shore, too. I'll have to add it to my 2013 'must reads'.

I don't think that non UF gets boring if its done right. As long as there is a compelling plot and characters I can connect with, I'm good.

I think my favorite non-UF book this year was a mystery called

I read all over the map. Right now I'm reading a lot of UF and it remains a favorite genre, but I read a lot of mysteries--cozies, thrillers, regular. I read the occasional romance, the occasional non-fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, the backs of cereal boxes, toothpaste boxes...and anything that piques my interest.

I agree with you Jalilah. When I read plain fiction with no romance, adventure, fantasy, mystery, weirdness, I am waiting for the other shoe to drop!

My first love (for now) is urban fantasy. However, I'm a genre reader - so anything from epic fantasy to science fiction to suspense to romance to crime to mystery.

Actually - the real requirement is excellent and compelling writing which absolutely enthralls.

Right now almost all of my reading is urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and young adult. I am a fantasy reader, and tend to stay within that genre. I also read epic fantasy, some science fiction, and the occasional mystery/thriller.

This is really an interesting topic for me. When a similar question was asked in my mystery group, by and large, most of the readers stayed within mystery. They didn't even like paranormal mysteries much. Cozy mystery readers really don't like to wander into even thrillers or police procedurals.

Since I read all over the map I always assumed others did too. Very educational for me to find that a lot of people like to stay within one genre or a close cousin!

Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress wrote: "I agree with you Jalilah. When I read plain fiction with no romance, adventure, fantasy, mystery, weirdness, I am waiting for the other shoe to drop!"

Just to clarify, I said “regular” fiction CAN seem dull when you are used to fantasy, not that it IS dull...if that makes sense.
I tend to go through stages. When I am reading one type of literature that I like, I often want to keep reading only that type. In the past I went through a stage where I read only literature that was written in the 18 hundreds, starting with the Bronte sisters and going on to many of the French writers like Dumas and Flaubert. When I tried to read modern literature I could not stand it and as a result I got stuck in the 19th century for a few years! Another time I only read books that took place in India. I only started reading Urban Fantasy about 4 years ago. I like to take breaks from it and read Magical Realism and Historical fiction, genres I've alwasy loved. I have not been able to get into Epic fantasy however.

Maria wrote: "This is really an interesting topic for me. When a similar question was asked in my mystery group, by and large, most of the readers stayed within mystery. They didn't even like paranormal myster..."

That is very interesting to know! I would not have thought that!

For me, it is more what don't I read rather than what I read in addition to UF and in fact, I don't read as much UF as I do mysteries, sci-fi and fantasy. But then, I'm usually not much enamored of vampires, weres or zombies so I tend to be a bit selective about the UF I do read. But then two of my 'new' must buy series are UF.

I probably read more mysteries than anything else, followed by fantasy, sci-fi and action/adventure. While I rarely read romance now, I still have a couple of favorite series from years ago that I re-read often (Georgette Heyer particularly) and the same with westerns (Louis L'Amour).

To some extent I think many people stick to a particular genre based on a certain trust factor: they know from past expirience "that kind of thing" works for them so they come back for more. In addition, since many UF stories come in series, there may be an addiction side to it. You want to know what comes next. But then some people are willing to try new things out of simple curiosity or to get out of what they may percieve as routine. As I said earlier I can't concieve of reading just the one genre simply because you never know what you might miss. I'm always willing to give a book a chance. You can always stop reading if it's not satisfying.

Sean wrote: "To some extent I think many people stick to a particular genre based on a certain trust factor: they know from past expirience "that kind of thing" works for them so they come back for more. In add..."

That's a very good point. I can easily get bored when I read too much of the same thing, but at the same time, if I'm in the mood for a particular book/series, then that's what I want to read. This is why I love BDB. The books are very similar, and I know exactly when I'm getting when I start one.

In addition, if I may, when I get the feeling I'm prejudiced against a genre or author I immediately try to get my hands on a book in that genre or written by that author because I simply can't stand when people have an opinion about something they know nothing about so I don't want to make THAT mistake. That was the reason I read Twilight in the first place. Everything I heard about it was so dreadful I needed to assess the book by myself. I didn't want to buy just in case it was as bad as everyone said but a friend of mine gave it to me as a present. As is usually the case it was not as bad as all that, not the best book ever either.... but not many books are. Ultimately I think many people were prejudiced against the percieved intended audience of the saga and their supposed "teenage hysteria" (an inexcusable sexist implication was there all the time). Not that the book itself didn't present a few issues from a gender perspective, but they were not what many people were criticizing. Often without having read the books I'm afraid. So yeah... gimme a genre scorned and I will give it a try. (Georgette Heyer is great by the way).

Sean wrote: "So yeah... gimme a genre scorned and I will give it a try. (Georgette Heyer is great by the way). "

I often have the same reaction to a book *everyone* seems to like and rave about. After a couple of tries, I simply shrug and figure I'm obviously missing the point somehow and go on.

And yes, Georgette Heyer is great. I 'outgrew' most of the romances/period romances in my early 30's but I have one shelf of Heyer's books in my library that I re-read often. I think there are some authors that simply write so well, it doesn't matter what they write ... it is a good book.

@Sharon: You're right.... the "it's so good you HAVE to read it" syndrome can backfire, but it's usually the scorned books that I'm attracted to.... when they're not judged on their merits. As for outgrowing anything, I don't think I've done it yet. Should I? Is there a genre that's only good for a certain moment in your life? No thanks. (I know that's not what you mean). I still have about 30 Heyer books to go so not ready to give up yet!

Sean wrote: "As for outgrowing anything, I don't think I've done it yet. Should I? "

I don't think it is a matter of 'should' or 'should not' but more a function of living longer, having more experiences and different things appealing to you. However, some things will always have an attraction.

I still have some books from my grade school years that I re-read with enjoyment, though I know I don't react to them quite as I did when I first read them as a child.

I started out reading mostly westerns when I was still in grade school and not many of those have 'survived' the years, although I have a couple by Zane Grey and Max Brand I still read, more for the memories than the books themselves. Many of the Louis L'Amour books have stood the test of time for me however and I continue to re-read.

Again, romances don't appeal as much now as they did when I was in my 20s and 30s ... perhaps older and more cynical rather than older and wiser ... though again, Georgette Heyer and a handful of Barbara Michaels books are old favorites still with me.

And many of the early sci-fi books I loved when I first read them are still on my shelves, Simak and Heinlein in particular.

Oh! Heinlein can be great! But I read Farmer in the Sky recently and that was such a disappointment. Sexist!!!!

Sharon wrote: "I started out reading mostly westerns when I was still in grade school and not many of those have 'survived' the years, although I have a couple by Zane Grey and Max Brand I still read, more for the memories than the books themselves. Many of the Louis L'Amour books have stood the test of time for me however and I continue to re-read."

Westerns are one genre I just can't deal with (books or movies). I'm not sure why, but they leave me cold.

I also tend to read what's popular to see what all the fuss is about. Sometimes it's a hit (The Help), sometimes not. But if something becomes that popular, I do want to find out for myself what gives.

Michelle L. wrote: "Westerns are one genre I just can't deal with (books or movies). I'm not sure why, but they leave me cold."

I suppose part of it is that I grew up in the 'genre' you might say. My grandfather left school when he was 11 years old to work full time as a cowboy on trail herds being driven from NE up into MT and part of the original ranch where I grew up was homesteaded by my grandparents. I listened to 'cowboy stories' before I could read them.

Sharon wrote: "I suppose part of it is that I grew up in the 'genre' you might say. My grandfather left school when he was 11 years old to work full time as a cowboy on trail herds being driven from NE up into MT and part of the original ranch where I grew up was homesteaded by my grandparents. I listed to 'cowboy stories' before I could read them. "

That is so cool! No wonder you enjoy westerns!

Michelle L. wrote: "That is so cool! No wonder you enjoy westerns! "

And oddly enough, although he only went through the 3rd grade in school, he was the reader in our family. My grandmother had finished high school, something few girls did in those days, my mother went to college and was a teacher, also not common then in that area and my father had some college. But it was my grandfather who read 'for pleasure' and got books for Christmas from relatives. I remember many cold, snowy winter afternoons sitting on the couch with him behind the potbellied coal stove and both of us reading.

Sharon wrote: "And oddly enough, although he only went through the 3rd grade in school, he was the reader in our family. My grandmother had finished high school, something few girls did in those days, my mother went to college and was a teacher, also not common then in that area and my father had some college. But it was my grandfather who read 'for pleasure' and got books for Christmas from relatives. I remember many cold, snowy winter afternoons sitting on the couch with him behind the potbellied coal stove and both of us reading. "

That is so awesome! It kind of proves that some people are just programmed to read. Looks like he passed the 'reading gene' on to you, lol.