Wow, this has quickly become a gothic retelling of Beauty and the Beast (if only Jane was beautiful and not so plain-faced).

With Christmas not too far off and me putting aside the books I'm planning to take with me when visiting family, I was reminded of last years holidays which were especially fun because one relative went on and on about how fantasy and sci-fi aren't real literature. This started when another relative gifted me some of Sally Rooney's books so I'd have "something real to read for a change" - they meant it jokingly but it nevertheless started a rant that continued over several days (the entire time we shared a house for the holidays).

I mostly ignored the ranting person, we don't really get along anyways, but we will be sharing a house again this year for a couple of days and I can already feel a continuation of the rant coming and I'm wondering if there's some way to convince them that books written by someone other than Kafka or Murakami can be impactful and that just because something is fantasy or sci-fi doesn't mean it's entirely divorced from reality.

Any of you ever deal with similar situations? How did you handle them? Did you ignore them or argue with them? What arguments did you use?

EDIT: Thanks to all you lovely people! All your kind (and petty) words have reminded me that this person just isn't worth my energy. So while I'll probably try to be nice, I'll most likely just go back to ignoring them and, if that doesn't work, I now have some very fun and petty ideas about what to do next 😄

Also thank you for wishing me nice holidays despite having to be around someone like that. Luckily, they will only be there for a few days and I'll have lots of time before and after to enjoy my holidays - with tons of "bad" books, good food and far better company. I hope you all also have lovely holidays 😘

Donna Jo Napoli has some I really like! Bound, Hush, and Best There are more but those are the ones I've read

Ash by Malinda Lo would be a good fit for the list! Delighted to see Deerskin on this list, I remember it from when I was younger 🥰

Hey Everyone, as you might have seen most of the Quests are doing unofficial readalongs for during the winter read-along. Is there interest for this quest too? It’s open to any book in the quest though I do think one that takes place in winter is great. So please consult the last two posts which discuss what books take place in winter/Christmas time. Please vote and then if you see the book you want please upvote that proposed book. Options are

1. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
2. Mystery in white by J. Jefferson Farjeon
3. Another little Christmas murder by Lorna Nicholl Morgan
4. An English murder by Cyril Hare

Hey Everyone, as you might have seen most of the Quests are doing unofficial readalongs for during the winter read-along. Is there interest for this quest too? It’s open to any book in the quest though I do think one that takes place in winter is great. So please consult the last two posts which discuss what books take place in winter/Christmas time. Please vote and then if you see the book you want please upvote that proposed book. Options are

1. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
2. Mystery in white by J. Jefferson Farjeon
3. Another little Christmas murder by Lorna Nicholl Morgan
4. An English murder by Cyril Hare