Wednesday, April 25, 2012

WWR Wednesday- Nath

So, my mind is even more fried than I thought. Not only have I neglected this blog, but I apologized to the wrong person on Monday. Nath, you are a patient woman. Here is your day. We love you. We thank you. We welcome you!!! Thank you for joining me here (belated as it is, ALL because of my swiss cheese brain.)




What does this woman read?

I wish I could say I’m an eclectic reader. Alas, I am not as I read exclusively fiction. Oh, I do read scientific articles here and there for work and newspapers to know in what world I live, but if it’s for fun, it has to be fiction and preferably romance. Whether it’s contemporary, historical or paranormal, there’s just something special about two persons falling in love with each other and working their way through a Happy Ever After ending :)

I’ll read other genres such as urban fantasy, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, wuxia (kung fu stories) and general fiction as well, given there are strong romantic elements. I don’t really know where this romantic side of me comes from, but It’s been ingrained in me since I was very young LOL.

There is of course the occasional exceptions and that would be in the young adult genre - is an HEA ending believable when the characters are 16-17 years old? That’s why I’m extremely picky when it comes to contemporary YA. The other exception is manga and comic books. By the way, I grew up reading in French and therefore, when I say comic books, I’m talking about European comic books: Asterix, Tintin, “les Schtroumpfs” aka the Smurfs and so on. What do they have in common? Adventures and a strong sense of humor :) As for manga, if I read shoujo then I’m pretty much guaranteed to have romance in it. As for shounen, well it’s the same as comic books: adventures, humor, the character growths and the topic of series. If there’s romance, it’s a bonus, but not necessary for me. I guess it’s about expectations as well.


What turns you on as a reader?

Actually, for me, it’s not really about what turns me on as a reader... but what doesn’t turn me on ^_^; High school drama in contemporary YA, fairies in urban fantasy, vampires in paranormal romance and so on. As we read great amount of books, we all have our quirks :) Ultimately though, I’m willing to give a try to any books as long as I’m enjoying the read; whether it’s the characters, the world building, the suspense, the story, the humor or even the writing style that provides the entertainment. Or any combination of the above.

I do admit though, I enjoy reading about characters that are out of their comfort zones :) My favorite tropes are the “happy-go-lucky heroine thawing up the stuffy hero” and the hero or heroine unexpectedly become the guardian of young children. I also like klutzy heroines, beta heroes and razor-sharp minded characters :)

Then again, the most important at the end of the book though is that something has caught my attention and make me enjoy it :)

8 comments:

Tabitha said...

"...for fun, it has to be fiction and preferably romance. Whether it’s contemporary, historical or paranormal, there’s just something special about two persons falling in love with each other and working their way through a Happy Ever After ending :)"

This too, for me. :)

Enjoyed your thoughts, Nath. Thanks for sharing!

Leslie said...

So much is about expectations when we begin reading a book. My expectations change depending on the genre but if it's in the romance genre I want at minimum a HEA for now.

nath said...

Tabitha - Thanks for stopping by! I'm glad I'm not the only one reading romance to see the characters falling in love LOL.

Leslie - I know right? Expectations can make a book, but also kill one in my opinion.

nath said...

Shannon, I wanted to think you for having me over!

Christine said...

I can relate to the knowing what DOESN'T work for you in books. For me it's zombies and ghosts that I do not like in my books. Bleh.

Shannon said...

Nath, Thanks so much for joining me! It was great to read your answers. I completely agree about expectations.

Christine, You will definitely want to avoid Joss Ware's series. Creepy zombie creatures. Eek!

Also, if any of you are interested in sharing this week for WWR Wednesday please let me know. I have an unexpected opening.

Li said...

Hey Nath - I like how you're so specific about what you don't like! But vampires in PNR... surely it's impossible to avoid them :-)

nath said...

Christine - Nod nod, Christine. I'm not a big fan of ghost, but I will still read it. Zombies though... I mean, how can you turn that around? LOL.

Shannon - Once again, thans for having me!

Li - Hey Li :) LOL, yeah I figure it out after a lot of trial and error! Then again, I'll still try the books if people like or the authors are ones that I like... I'm so easy it's not funny LOL.

True, true, it's impossible to avoid vampires in PNR, but they're not my first choices. Like new vampires series? It needs to be extraordinary for me to pick it up... Or else, I have to be extremely bored out of my mind LOL.