my favorite genre to read

I really enjoy reading books of many genres, but my favorite is definitely science fiction. Science fiction is fiction that is based off imagined future advancements in science or technology. There's usually major changes in society and the environment. The author creates their own futuristic world, and tells about how this affects the world. The title of "science fiction" was made popular in the 1920's by Hugo Gernsback, an American publisher. 

I enjoy reading science fiction, because I feel like it takes me to a new universe, being different from my own. It also makes me think. Science fiction novels usually have undertones of philosophy. The author teaches the reader lessons, about acquiring knowledge and advancements. Most times, these advancements hurt people and they realize why. 

One of my favorite sci-fi books is The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games portrays a future where the population of the poor is so large, that the government makes them kill each other. This helps the government so that they won't have to care for so many people. In the book Katniss Everdeen realizes how wrong that is. She wants to make a change and end the games. This layout of the plot is similar to many other sci-fi stories. The Giver has a similar similar plot to The Hunger Games, as do other ones I've read. 

In the Giver, there's a main character named Jonas, who is different from most eleven year olds. In his society, the government makes all of their decisions based on how they grew up. Jonas is given the title of the Receiver of Memories. He realizes no one else can experience these memories or feelings he is receiving because of the government regulating many things. Jonas wants to change that. He is enlightened by the Giver, of how different their world has become and he ends up standing against the government he had so long followed.

Anthem by Ayn Rand is another science fiction book I read recently. This book really incorporates Ayn Rand's philosophy of  Objectivism. Her philosophy argues that everything is what we see and know to be. We live and die and there's no more. I don't agree with her, but her philosophy is interesting to me, and this book was interesting. In the book, the people's lives are also regulated. The people are forced to always use the word "we" and never to refer to themselves as "I", because they are one.The main character wants to be with the learners, but he is given the job to sweep the streets. He finds a woman and feels infatuation for her, which is forbidden. One day he finds an old lab buried underground. He studies in the lab and acquires knowledge, which is also forbidden. He is punished and decides he wants to be free and attempts to make a difference. 

I recently read a book for school, and I'm thankful that it was science fiction. Fahrenheit 451 teaches the importance of books. It's a world where fire-fighters start fires instead of  putting them out. They light up books because thy're illegal. Guy Montag realizes that books might be important and goes out to look for their importance. He realizes something and wants to make a dififference like the other plots. 

A science fiction book I started reading recently is one of the most famous and well known sci-fi stories. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a mix of science fiction and horror fiction. The book teaches an important lesson about how dangerous knowledge and curiosity are. Victor Frankenstein is the epitome of a mad scientist. He creates a being and regrets it in the end. He creates life from his own fingertips and it makes him grow sick and insane. 

I think more people should appreciate science fiction, especially books. They teach us about how our society can change based on technology. It also allows us to use our imagination to imagine what it would feel like to experience that. 

Quotes:

"The bird, the pin, the song, the berries, the watch, the cracker, the dress that burst into flames. I am the mockinjay. The one that survived  despite the Capitol's plans. The symbol of rebellion."

-Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

"The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared"

-Lois Lowry, The Giver

"For the have nothing to fight me with, save the brute force of their numbers. I have mind."

-Ayn Rand, Anthem

"Stuff your eyes with wonder, he said, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories."

-Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

"I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine  and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other."

-Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

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