Wednesday, January 06, 2010

The Eastern Regional Library Show 6th January 2010

Library staff members Lesley Conway and Pia Butcher run a radio show each Wednesday 12:05pm-12:45pm on Eastern FM 98.1 called The Eastern Regional Library Show. Tune in next Wednesday for a great show.
On Wednesday 6th January's show
Fantasy fiction is hard to define, because most will have a strong adventure, mystery or romance thread, but set in a world which is not the 'real world', even if there are many similarities. One definition which I like, because it is broad enough to cover all the possibilities is that it is "a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot". Books as diverse as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Lord of the Rings and Terry Pratchett's Discworld series can all fit under the umbrella.
Some readers are scornful of fantasy, but are perhaps not aware of the diverse and brilliant writing which is  labelled fantasy. One of my favourite writers is Robin McKinley, who takes classic stories such as Beauty and the Beast (Beauty) or Sleeping Beauty (Spindle's end) and turns them into character driven mysteries.
Juliet Marillier writes intiguing stories set in ancient Ireland, populated by mythical beasts and Robin Hobb writes rich and complex stories of other worlds and times.
There are a lot of excellent writers for teenagers whose fantasy would be enjoyed by all ages. They include Phillip Pullman whose series His dark materials is being filmed, with the first novel coming to screen as The golden compass in 2009. Australian authors worth following up are Garth Nix and Isabel Carmody who both tell a great adventure story. Some old favourites of mine from my teenage years are Alan Garner, who wrote The owl service, and Mary Stewart with her series based on King Arthur and Merlin, beginning with The crystal cave.
Don't forget to check our 'Who writes like' and 'Fiction genres' available through Readers Corner on our web page for more options.
Music today was from Come out swinging

----Lesley

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