Hello, all! I'm Caris. Nice to meet you. I've just recently started exploring the forum.
I am female and live in Tunisia, but my primary language is English as I lived the first seven years of my life in the USA and my parents are both Asian-Americans.
I spend most of my free time reading and writing. I love music and singing as well and art. I'm generally a very creative and free-spirited person, but I can also be very serious when it comes to my studies. I also love Greek mythology and learning new languages. I am fluent in four.
If anyone is up to gossiping about anything of the above mentioned hobbies, you can DM anytime. (please be patient with me, though, as I'm pretty new to MDL and am still figuring it out.)
Honestly, there are so many subgenres in fantasy and sci-fi that I don't really know what to recommend you. Could you tell me more of what you prefer and like things you would rather avoid because I have no idea if we have similar tastes. There are so many books that people have recommended me thtat many people love, but I just don't click with.
Oh! Thinking about it now, I don't actually want recommendations. I don't like having a TBR, it stresses me out even if small xD Here's a list of things, not for recommendations, but just to loosely express my tastes. In all honestly, I'm simply more curious about what you're into ^^
Things that make me like a book more if there:
- Bromance, family/found-family, romance sub plot
- Anti heroes
- Non linear storytelling
- Settings I rarely read that thus, feel refreshing: urban, steampunk, cyberpunk
These are things I avoid:
- Smut/romantasy
- Grimdark
- YA and Middle Grade
- Classic-fantasy setups
Disclaimer: Some of my favourites are YA, but it's hard for me to find ones I like. And I love Riyria which IS a classic setup (quest with traveling in a medieval setting full of elves, dwarves, dragons & wizards) but it's an exception as far as reading goes.
Oh ok. :)
I tend to like books with:
- Romantic subplot (like you ❤️. I don't really like it if the romance is the focus point)
- A strong female lead (I do like male leads, I just tend to like strong female leads better. And not like an aggressive, stuck-up female lead. I mean more like an independent, sassy female lead who can take care of herself.)
- Stuff that makes you think (This might be a bit confusing, but what I mean is like a more philosophical concept behind the story. Like The Giver and Fahrenheit 451. You get what I mean? That's also more my writing style. I first develop a concept and build a story on it.)
- Angst (There are some things I avoid, but I do like for there to be some kind of angst whether it comes in the form of a character's backstory or a plot point)
- Really good worldbuilding (When reading, I like it when the world that the people are in is a different universe. I also tend to lean toward this as I love worldbuilding and a good worldbuilding really makes me happy. Ex: LotR/The Hobbit (Like for real, this man made up an entire history for his universe))
I tend to avoid books with:
- Smut (I used to be fine with it, but now it makes me very uncomfortable)
- Romance (Where the romance is the main point)
- Aggressive/Alpha male lead (It's just kinda triggering and this kind of character makes me mad easily. I can just never get into a book as easily when I pissed the entire time at a main character)
- Honestly I can't think of much else, but I'm sure other stuff will come to me in the future.
Btw, do you write, or do you just stick with reading?
Angst is ALWAYS a plus - I need drama bigtime. Same for independent/sassy female leads (though I like reading from male perspectives equally). And yeah, when a world is built so well that it's unlike any other you've read, it makes it all the more memorable (haven't read the books, but the LOTR films are such a staple in my home).
No. I just stick with reading. I used to write to fill up my time and cause getting the fictional characters invented in my head onto paper felt therapeutic, but I've never gotten invested in the process.
