"Weird" Books & Why People Should Read More of Them

“There is a flower that grows on Mars. It is red and harsh and fit for our soil. It is called Haemanthus. It means ‘blood blossom’.”. That opening line to the book "Red Rising" by Pierce Brown has sent on a fantastical and otherworldly journey spanning six books and over 128 hours or 3,402 pages of reading time. That may seem daunting, but the journey, worlds, characters that are vastly different than what you experience in real life. Escapism has always been a driving factor behind the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres and it’s one of the reasons that I stay in the genre so much. Having so many conversations with different people from all walks of life, being plugged into social media, working in the public, the last thing I want to do is read about how Sally bumped into Paul in Nantucket and they fell in love or how Detective X solves the 469th murder case of the series. Give me dragons and magic, the nine heroes of different races and backgrounds that band together to stop the Dark Lord from rising back to power, the orphaned child from nowhere that rises up to lead a rebellion over the tyrannical rulers. Different settings, rules, cultures offer a break from the day-to-day norms. The types of characters you will meet can become some of the most beloved that you will have ever read. Some may change the way you look at the world and how you think about certain topics. You will find that there is no protagonist who isn't a good person, but you can’t help but root for him anyways. The antagonist isn’t necessarily evil and that his ideals and goals are noble, but due to past traumas or events the way they go about trying to reach their goals is abhorrent. One of the most consistent readers always tells me when she comes in that she “likes a little bit of everything” in the stories she reads. Well, these “weird books” can give you all the mystery, romance, suspense, drama, and much more in settings that you can only begin to imagine. So, take that walk on Mars, wander the magical hallways of Hogwarts, sneak into the shadowy lands of Mordor. What do you have to lose?

Matthew Duncan

Library Associate