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Many readers have different gears when reading books. Some books are ones in which you luxuriate and spend time with, others are such a ride that you turn the pages rapidly, carried along through them at warp speed.

We asked this week’s panelists about this phenomenon:

Here’s what they said…

As a fitness professional, I have a hard time comparing books to popcorn and candy. I’m sorry. It goes against my nature. Is it all right if I call them fruits versus vegetables? Fruit is yummy, quick to eat and always fun. Vegetables can be yummy, are a bit more work to eat but you know they’re extremely good for you.

I always read because I want to be entertained and I admit I don’t always read because I want to learn something, or broaden my mind. Sometimes, I really just want to have fun and read an entertaining book. That’s when I turn to the fruit.

The fruit books I grab for a quick, fun read are urban fantasy. Give me a Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong, Diana Rowland, Kat Richardson, Kevin Hearne (the list goes on and on) and I’ll disappear. I’m not saying that urban fantasy can’t be mind expanding or explore important issues, when they’re well done they certainly do that, but I don’t need to rethink my entire life to read them.

I’d also list horror books under this category, though it depends on the author. Some of those are a mix of fruits and vegetables with a side of bloody dip.

My vegetable books tend to be fantasy that take after the Tolkien mold. These are the stories I want to dive fully into, to be immersed in the world the author has created and linger there, enjoying every aspect of the characters, the setting and the story.

I’m interested to see other people’s responses on the books they savor, because I know I need more vegetables in my reading diet.

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Born in Bangkok, Thailand the daughter of a Mexican-Guatemalan artist and an American businessman, Sabrina Vourvoulias grew up in Guatemala. She was 15 when she moved to the U.S., later studying filmmaking and creative writing at Sarah Lawrence. She’s worked as everything from an art gallery assistant to an opera house director then started a career in newspapers in New York and Pennsylvania. She’s currently Managing Editor of Philadelphia’s largest Spanish language newspaper, Al Dia, also a #sffwrtcht #latism regular on Twitter and a social media fan. In addition to news, her poetry has appeared in Dappled Things, Graham House Review, We’Moon, and another is forthcoming in Bull Spec.  Her fiction has appeared in Crossed Genres in the Fat Girl in a Strange Land and Crossed Genres Year Two anthologies and more are forthcoming in GUD and Strange Horizons. Her debut science fiction novel, Ink, is out from Crossed Genres, a futuristic tale about a U.S. where tattoos mark immigration status for population control. She lives in a charming, dilapidated old farmhouse outside Philadelphia with her husband and brilliant, cantankerous teen daughter. She can be found via her website/blog as well as on Twitter as @followthelede.

SFFWRTCHT: First things first, where’d your interest in science fiction and fantasy come from?

Sabrina Vourvoulias: I’ve always been a voracious reader. I started w fairy tales and mythology and was quickly drawn to literature with similar qualities. So, as a kid I read Tolkien and Bradbury; Homer and Miguel Angel Asturias; Arthurian legend and the Popol Vuh.

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