What I like about fantasies are the vivid imagination and the way it recreates another world. Every literature work is based on reality. Even the wildest imaginations have to be linked to what the author have experienced before. In fantasies, it’s always fun to relate the stories back to the reality. How people behave the same and how Due to the strong symbol that reappears in the story, it is actually quite interesting to see how those stories creates a stronger bond among the readers. Fans of the same fantasy story are usually pretty good at identifying each other. The symbols are like codes or passwords to the world of the stories. 

And another phenomenon I personally conclude about the fantasies nowadays and the teenager readers is that teenagers are actually seeking for recognition through the stories and characters. In the fantasy world we are more likely to find characters with powers we would never have in reality. Take Harry Potter as an example, the fans of this series of stories all dream of being recognized as a wizard or witch so they would be different from other people. The eager to be outstanding and extraordinary is quite common among the teenagers and it may even be considered as part of the features of being in the stage of adolescence. 

There mainly two reasons, for which I believe the fantasy story could be a good start for reading in English. First reason is that, like fairy tales for teenagers, some fantasies are not complicated to read. The first book of the Harry Potter series is actually quite simple and so are the Narnia stories. It would be a good start if you can actually finish an English book. It is definitely build up your confidence and you would be willing to find another one. Besides, fantasy series are usually quite hard to quit midway, which means the stories will hook the reader and it is hard not to finish all of them. The second reason is about the vocabulary. Sometimes, the author may create new word to fit their imagination and those words are new to both native speakers and English learners. Bear this in mind while reading will help you reduce the fear for new words. To a language learner, the created words might just be like the other new words that he comes across. And since the meaning of the created words cannot be understood via dictionaries, they have to be inferred through the context. This skill will also help the readers to master new vocabulary in any other readings. Also, the repetition of words is common in those stories in order to help establish the created world, this will also make inferring the meanings easier. 

Some recommendations in this genre are: Harry Potter, Narnia, The Hobbits, Percy Jackson series. The Harry Potter series is actually available in school library. Also, in SAC corner there is a bookshelf providing the Graded Reader series, which suits the readers who just start reading in English. But it can also be fun challenging yourself by reading the stories you love in the original version of English. Since you have known the plots and stories, you can skip the difficult words and learn new ones that are repeating in the stories.

Although I rarely choose horror as a genre, I think Stephen King’s ability to create a vivid image is extraordinary.  Several of Stephen King’s books will be forever etched onto my brain! In particular his short story collection, Six Stories, contains several tales that will always scare me. A man realises he is still alive but paralysed as they start his autopsy and a crazed waiter goes on a murderous rampage in a New York City restaurant! Short stories are often my favourite genre within fiction as you can read one within a spare fifteen minutes. Another good short story writer is Shirley Jackson, her book, The Lottery and other stories, has the terrifying The Lottery. We find out what happens if you get a paper with a black circle on it and 'win' the town lottery, but we never find out why it happens.

I think the reason that short stories often stay with you is that short stories by their very nature don’t contain all the information needed by the reader. You are left wondering why an event occurred?  What were the character’s motivations? What drove them to do it? It is this unfinished nature, essentially what is not said that makes them so unforgettable. 

Doran