What Led You to Fall in Love With Fantasy?
I have loved reading my entire life. I can’t remember a time, even in my earliest memories, that I didn’t like to read. Even before I could read real books, I remember reading picture books and those easy stories with the reading level printed on the top when I was very little. Believe it or not, I even remember rereading my favorite ones. There are a few that I still remember quite well because I read them so much. In many ways, my love of reading was inevitable because both of my parents love to read. My mom has always been a big advocate of fostering the love of reading, and as her daughter, I was no exception. She read me many picture books until I was old enough for her to read me chapter books.
I could say that my love of fantasy was inevitable as well. Both of my parents love fantasy and have passed that love down to both me and my brother. The first set of chapter books that I remember my mom reading to me was the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. I was about eight or so. She would read me a chapter or two before bed almost every night, and on the weekends, she would read me extra during the day if she didn’t have other things to get done. I was never much of a happy camper when she told me it was time to stop and go to sleep. I loved the story, and I loved when my mom read to me. I truly think my love of fantasy started developing from her reading me those books. Not only did she expose me to the genre, she always gave me precious memories I have always treasured.
This seems to be proven because when we reached the end of book three, I loved the story so much that I immediately took it and reread it by myself while my mom continued to read me book four. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was the first chapter book I actually read cover to cover. I was amazed at what a writer could imagine and put on the page. After that, I reread every single Harry Potter book after my mom read it to me. She would close the book after the last page was done and hand it right over to me, and I would crack the cover again the moment I was free to read by myself.
My love of fantasy continued to grow more deeply and more sophisticated after she had read me all of the Harry Potter books and started in on the Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. When she decided that next adventure, my dad was fairly jealous. He loves those books. Which is why he ended up joining us every night to hear my mom read them to both of us. It was our dedicated family time. An hour or so before bed time, my dad and I would sit and listen to my mom read a chapter or two and promptly have a discussion about it while brushing teeth and saying goodnight. Sure enough, I loved the books so much that I would, once again, reread each book directly after my mom finished reading it. My parents wondered if the books would be too hard for me to read on my own, at the time, but I had no problems and enjoyed it just as much the second time as I had the first.
After we finished the chronicles, my dad wanted a turn reading to me. He decided to read me The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. Though I did not take this book and read it right after my dad finished reading it to me, I really liked the story especially since I was already a fan of The Lord of the Rings movies. I even enjoyed my dad reading it to me just as much as when my mom read to me. However, I was in later middle school at this point, and was constantly in the middle of a different fantasy book I was reading on my own and gathering a fantasy book collection of my own.
Like I said, it definitely seems inevitable that I would fall in love with fantasy considering how much my parents love it and how much of it they read it to me.
Fantasy is a genre of pure imagination. Anything a person can think up can happen. Whole worlds are created, magic is invented and used, adventures are always around the corner, and the stories are so exciting. Though I do enjoy other genres like romance and detective fiction, I generally don’t connect with stories classified as literature or stories trying to analyze or express something about our current reality. Those stories have always seemed boring to me. I live in reality every day. I want to read about wonders and adventures that don’t exist and imagine the endless possibilities that come from not being confined by the rules of our world. The authors of fantasy and urban fantasy novels are almost like a god. They can do whatever they want and make their world however they want it to be. It’s a pretty incredible power to be able to imagine something amazing, put in on paper, and share it with others to experience.
Even all of that explanation seems insufficient to describe how much I love the fantasy genre and to truly express why I love it so much, but I hope you can understand, at least a little, of what I mean.
Plus, my love of fantasy also extends outside of reading. It started there, but I also love fantasy movies, tv shows, anime, and manga. I find fantasy in any medium can be exciting and fun and express something extraordinary, and I hope the it continues to flourish as it has in all of its forms.
As you can tell, fantasy has always been a big part of my life and a large part of who I am. What about you? I would truly love to know how you fell in love with the fantasy genre. Have you loved it all your life, did you discover it one day, or is it, possibly, a recent find? Whatever your story is, I would love to hear about it! Please comment below or reach out on social media or my contact page. However you respond, I would love to hear your story.
4 Comments
Paul
A fantastic article for sure there, and one which kinda echoes my own experiences as well. Like yourself, I’ve been a fantasy fan and indeed an avid reader since a very young age, I remember when I was taught to read in school and I was so into it and my reading ability progressed so quickly that the teachers eventually abandoned their colour coded learning guide and would tell me to “just pick any book you like”, lol. The first book I ever read that wasn’t part of school lessons was The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, I’d have been in primary school still and I bought this from a school book sale, I absolutely fell in love with the story and this amazing adventure that Bilbo and friends went on, this world full of magic and wonder, and this inevitably started my obsession with fantasy fiction.
It wasn’t long after that I, like yourself, discovered the Dragonlance series. This happened for two reasons, one, it was recommended by a friend at school who was obsessed with Dungeons & Dragons and he practically insisted I read Dragonlance, and also I’d already began an obsession myself with RPG computer games, including several Dragonlance games such as Heroes of the Lance on my old Amstrad CPC computer (ironically, also recommended by the same friend with equal enthusiasm). I have a lot to thank that friend for, as while The Hobbit kinda gave me a taste of fantasy, it was Dragonlance that fully immersed me in the genre, bringing to life this world full of dragons and kender, and epic eternal conflict between good and evil. The first trilogy, Dragonlance Chronicles, was a truly magnificent epic adventure, in a very vivid and vibrant world which, as well as being a fantastic journey in its own right, it was also a great place to escape from the reality of day to day school life as well. They’re also books which have stood the test of time, given I’ve just re-read them nearly 30 years later and the experience was still as amazing as it was first time round, made even more so by your incredible series of videos on the Dragonlance books which I followed along with!
I know a lot of fantasy’s critics knock it for being “escapism”, but I think they miss the point, indeed I think that IS the point. I’m similar to you in that I love fantasy for similar reasons, in a fantasy novel we’re not constrained by the rules and laws of the mundane world around us, we can fly, we can see dragons, we can experience magic and go on amazing adventures and unlike real world stories there really are no limits, anything can happen simply because the authors wish it to be. The only boundaries of fantasy are that of the human imagination which, as anybody who has ever seen the movie The Neverending Story will tell you, has no boundaries. With every book and every series being vastly different as well, when we read fantasy we really can journey between worlds, visiting different settings and having adventures in all kinds of different places. I do read other things as well, including sci fi and horror but fantasy will always have a special place in my life, and I look forward to many more adventures to come.
Amy
Thank you Paul for sharing your story! That’s pretty amazing that you developed reading so fast that your teachers told you that you could pick your own books! I wish I could have picked my own books! And I’m glad your friend opened your eyes to Dragonlance and the fantasy genre in general since it has given you books that you have continued to enjoy your whole life long. It is amazing how well books stick with you, and when you reread them, its almost like going home in a way. I hope you get to explore many more worlds and go on many more adventures!
christian
I think when I was a small child in the eighties there was a big cultural push to fantasy i grew up with things like Masters of the Universe and Thunder Cats. My friends were into things like GI Joe but i really perfered the fantasy stuff. My mom also read me a beautifully illustrated book called “St George and the Dragon” that blew my mind when i was a wee bairn.
My Gran is Scottish and My dad grew up in Europe and he’d always tell me stories about Arthur, Charlemagne, Roland, and stories from the Wars of Independence about Wallace, the Bruce and the Black Douglas. Also there was mythology and fairy stories and things like the Ulster Cycle and tales of the Fianna. I wanted to be a knight in shining armor. I think that led me to you more kind of traditional fantasy things the lord of the rings and then playing dungeons and dragons picked up from there. I think the first fantasy real fantasy book I ever read was the crystal cave by Mary Stuart and that historical based style really got me into the magical aspect. My mom was into the drariders of pern
I think from there I got into the lord of the rings and Shannara. I found a boxed d&d game in the book store (i had no one who would play with me until 8th grade) but the art in it just filled my mind with possibilities. I read some great books and a lot of lousy books yhat i love. A ton of TSR stuff…. and this is about as far as this reminiscence goes because my four year old is bouncing off the walls
Amy
Thank you Christian for sharing your story with me! I think that is really cool that you grew up with so many different stories. Would you say then that you grew to be more interested in high/epic fantasy over urban fantasy?
Since you’ve mentioned having a kid, do you plan to pass down those same stories you grew up with?