Hello, happy Friday!
I’m sorry I’ve been awol since the last LTB – I started my degree course and it’s been a lot (in the best way). Now I have my timetables and things, I can hopefully plan out some good chunks of time to get reviews written and other posts prepped.

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish discussion meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and Dini @DiniPandaReads. Each Friday, bloggers will write posts about a particular topic and share on their blog.

Today, you’re all getting some recommendations from me!

What is your favourite genre(s) and what makes it your favourite?

I am fairly certain that you could all answer this one for me, but my two favourite genres are fantasy and non-fiction nature writing.

I love fantasy so much because I adore exploring other worlds. Some of my favourite fantasy books are those where the worlds and cultures are wildly different from our own. Books that have extensive worldbuilding never fail to suck me in – I always want to know everything!

I love to learn, and that is why I enjoy non-fiction. I’ve just gone back to school to get my degree in plant science, so I am sure you can understand why nature writing is the specific niche I enjoy here! Knowledge is power, as they say, and I hope to make positive changes to the planet in some way, so anything I can read to inform me is good.

5 Fantasy Recommendations

Look at me being a broken record! I bet none of you expected less though. Anyway, these 5 books are some of my all-time favourites, and I also think they offer a good representation of the variety of stories fantasy is telling.

Green Rider by Kristen Britain – A classic chosen-one quest. Karigan is running away from school when she comes across a dying man with a vital message for the King. This series is my favourite of all time, and is filled with magic, friendships, animal companions and so much more. Karigan is such a fantastic character to follow as she grows up too.

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse – A pre-Columbian America’s inspired fantasy. I loved the mythology that was drawn into this series, as it’s not one you typically find. It’s so rich and vivid, and the characters are so varied and powerful and flawed.

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan – Science meets fantasy. Isabella is a scientist in a world where women aren’t supposed to do things like research. Her chosen subject is dragons, and these books are her memoirs. They’re slower paced, but no less exciting for it, and we go all over the world meeting different cultures and, of course, different dragons.

Circe by Madeline Miller – A Greek myth reimagined, Circe is the sorceress originally from The Odyssey. Her story is powerful, filled with magic, female rage and empowerment, and some breathtakingly beautiful writing.

Jade City by Fonda Lee – I never thought I would love geopolitical urban fantasy so much. Fonda Lee is a master at characterisation, and the Kaul family are incredibly written. Power, money and loyalty are the foundations here, and I just couldn’t put this series down.

5 non-fiction recommendations

One of these things is not like the other… I am sure it’s no surprise that my non-fiction picks are mostly about plants!

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall-Kimmerer. I will harp on about this book until I die. This book will teach you the true value of nature. It will teach you the art of reciprocity, that what we receive from the land is a gift, not a right, and that you should give back to the land in return. If you only read one of my recommendations from this whole post, let it be this one.

The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger – If you think plants are dumb, think again. Plants have their own intelligence. How else do they know when to ripen, when to release seeds, and which way to grow? They can communicate with each other and trick other creatures. This book looks at some fascinating research into how and why plants do what they do, and it’s written very acessibly.

The Possibility of Tenderness by Jason Allen-Paisant. This is a beautiful book that looks at the importance of plants in the Jamaican community the author grew up in. I loved learning about how his people respect plants, how plants come to them in dreams and how they use their land to grow. It’s written wonderfully too, the author is poet and it shows.

Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard – Trees are awesome, and this book will show you why. The core of it looks at how trees ‘talk’ to one another, but everything that surrounds this is just as important and beautiful. I guarantee this book will change how you view these incredible beings.

The Lost Folk by Lally MacBeth – The black sheep of the list! This is a book that explores what folk is, and looks at the history of some of the folk practices, people and objects that have been forgotten. I love folklore – where I live is steeped in it – and reading this book sent me down so many rabbit holes! I can bet that you’ll discover something you love originated as a folk tradition.

Has your favourite genre changed over time?

I think fantasy has definitely evolved in recent years. The explosion of the sub-genre has meant that more and more types of stories are being told, and these days there is bound to be something for everyone. The mainstay of epic fantasy is still going strong, but now we have cosies, romances, horror fantasy and so much more available to us.

As for me, I’ve always been a fantasy reader. Even before I knew what a book genre was, I was drawn to stories with magic and quests. The sub-genres I reach for do change – like many, I spent my teen years in a paranormal romance cave! These days I tend to be an epic fantasy person, though I’ll read the odd cosy or romance quite happily! I think I am a lot more open to trying new things now too, which is great because as I said, there’s so much more variety easily available now.

As for non-fiction, my taste has always leaned into nature writing. I only started reading non-fiction properly a few years ago, with the exception of Braiding Sweetgrass, which I first read about 7 years ago. Of late I have been picking up some books that are a bit wider than just nature, pulling in some political themes too, and I am glad to expand my knowledge in this way.

YOU tell me – What is your favourite genre to read?