Jackie from Literary Escapism Blog and the Perfect Gift is a Book

First off, I would love to thank Tilly for inviting me to participate in her Perfect Gift is a Book feature. Books are a great gift and I always include one with any I give. Especially with childrens gifts. As far as I’m concerned, a child can never have too many books (which my sons library can attest to).

But I’m getting ahead of myself. You probably have no idea who I am, so let me introduce myself. My name is Jackie and I run the fantasy and paranormal review site Literary Escapism (LE), which means any suggestion I give will include some form of the supernatural. Yes, I am one of those vampire/shifter junkies and as far as I’m concerned, there is enough reality going on (have you seen the news? It’s depressing.), that if I can leave it for a bit then I’m going to. That’s the whole point of LE - to escape into other worlds - and what better way to escape, than through a book?

Which brings me back around to the whole point of why I’m visiting Tilly and her wonderful site. It’s the holiday season and gift giving is definitely being planned. I’m already planning on hitting the bookstores for a few of my gifts and if you’re looking to do the same, I have a fabulous book suggestion for you - the anthology.

The anthology is the perfect gift in my opinion. It doesn’t just include one story, but multiple and by several different authors. Which means, if you’re not sure who a favorite author is or are looking to introduce someone to a new genre, then you can’t go wrong with an anthology. With the single novel, a person will only have that one story, but anthologies are filled will multiple worlds and characters and anyone should be able to find at least one story they can dive into.

But what kind of anthology should one get? It seems like a new anthology is being released every week and it can be quite daunting for someone looking to get the perfect gift. So here’s a few suggestions I think someone might enjoy. Now remember, I’m a fantasy/paranormal reader, so all of these would be a perfect literary escape.

For a straight fantasy friend, I would highly recommend either Warriors or Songs of Love and Death, both of which are edited by George RR Martin and Gardner Dozois. Both of these anthologies contain stories by some of the most amazing fantasy writers out there

For someone who is interested in young adult fantasy, then I definitely recommend either The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire by Trisha Telep or Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions edited by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong. I’m not a huge YA fan, but I have found quite a few new worlds to explore thanks to these anthologies.

For someone who enjoys the fabulous urban fantasy genre, you really can’t go wrong with any anthology. There have been a ton that were recently released and while I haven’t read all of them, just knowing the authors involved I know I’ll get some great stories. Some of the more recent ones I would suggest are: Down These Strange Streets also edited by George RR Martin and Gardner Dozois, Home Improvement: Undead Edition edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni Kelner, Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy edited by Ellen Datlow or Chicks Kick Butt by Rachel Caine and Kerrie L. Hughes

Any one of those anthologies would be the perfect gift for this holiday season. At least I think so and I’m fairly sure any fantasy fan would love to include these collections in their library. Hopefully I’ve given you a few ideas, but if not, stop by Literary Escapism and I can definitely give you a lot more. *grin*

Literary Escapism is a book review site that features paranormal and fantasy literature including, but not limited to, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, YA Paranormal/Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, High Fantasy, Science Fiction and Romance. With four reviewers on staff, we aim to post reviews daily along with industry news (cover art, author appearances, giveaways, new release dates, etc.), with no more than 3 posts appearing daily. LE also host the yearly reading challenge, New Authors, where the goal is to try authors that each participant has never read before (the challenge currently has 80+ participants who have reviewed over 600 novels so far this year).


REMEMBER
Commenting and/or asking questions on an author or blogger’s blog for the day will enter you into The Perfect Gift is a Book contest for a one of a kind prize. Unfortunately, this contest is open to US residents only.