People read for a whole host of different reasons and consequently look for very different things in the books they pick up.  What’s important to me may be completely irrelevant to someone else. That said, a good book for me is a book that makes me think or makes me feel (preferably both!).  First and foremost I need good characterization. I look for relatable, interesting characters, characters that are believable. For me a great plot can only go so far without interesting, flushed out characters.  I need a reason to care about the plot. Second, I like books that make some sort of point, it doesn’t need to be some sort of big political or social stand but I like when the plot or some part of the story is trying to say something about the world or life.  However subtle, I like a story to be a bit more than just the events that happen, give me a nugget to chew on, to take with me when the events are over and the story ends.

Given all that, I often get “Well, then why fantasy?”.  The obvious reason being I think it’s interesting. I think fantasy portrays the beauty and impressive expanse of the human imagination.  But it is also a wealth of everything I am looking for. The idea that fantasy is just plot driven narratives with repetitive cliches is, in my mind, completely mislead.  There is a lot of diversity in the genre and for me the fantasy elements add so much for the writer to explore. Putting characters in a whole new world lets you explore those characters in a whole new way.  You have storytelling tools available that you wouldn’t have otherwise. Fantasy provides a character study- what happens to humanity given these conditions?- And I think that’s beautiful and fascinating. Most importantly, fantasy is entertaining.  I like the imagination and creativity, it brings me to new worlds and lets me explore the impossible, it lets me believe in magic if even for a little while, it lets me feel all the emotions but delivered in a cool new package. It provides an escape when anxieties run high, I can slip away somewhere far away to a place where the problems the characters face are a world away but grounded in emotions I can understand and relate to.  

At the end of the day reading should be entertaining and simply put this genre is what I like most.  Reading is wonderful no matter what section of the bookstore you gravitate to.