Fantasy and Feeling I've Been a Total Slacker About It

I have never read the complete Chronicles of Narnia. When I tell people I tend to like fantasy, and especially when I offer names (Brian Froud, J.K. Rowling, Charles de Lint -- some of his stuff anyway -- Neil Gaiman, Michael Ende), they ask me whether I've read The Chronicles of Narnia, or worse, simply assume that I have. They are most often taken aback when they learn of their misassumption, as though one who likes fantasy would have just read those books because they were there. The fact is that when I was eight I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and stopped there. I liked it. I'm not entirely sure why I didn't read the others.

I've also never read The Lord of the Rings. Sometimes I feel I've really slacked off in my fifteen years.

Anyway, last night I finished Prince Caspian and was utterly convinced that I should finish reading all the others. And I think I shall.

My favorite fantasy novels are The Neverending Story and Eight Days of Luke, which people tend not to read these days because it's out of print, although it really should not be. There are plenty of others that I love, but I can't think of them right now because I am more than ready to eat lunch -- even if it's eleven o' clock; I do eat lunch early -- and I think those two are just my all-time favorites. Well. For now.

And, as a side note, Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys and Coraline are two of the most brilliant novels I've ever had the joy to read. They're not really fantasy. They're not really anything. You should read them.

~Emily