When I was younger I was very much into Pride and Prejudice but I also enjoyed the Confessions of a Shopaholic. People tend to react a bit better when I mention the classic, but around that time I was also reading some academic analysis essays of Pride and Prejudice and one of them said that it was probably the first “chick lit” novel. So I see why Anne McCaffery preferred to stick with the science-fiction genre. She chose to branch out but still keep her reputation and take in elements from a genre she was comfortable with and I think that her label of science fiction on a dragon story is still valid because it plays with fantasy by explaining it through scientific terms.

I don’t think I have a favorite genre, in any way that would lead me to discriminate between stories. It’s difficult to draw the line between genres to begin with by pointing out specific topics but more about what it feels like. When reading a story I generally will not pay attention to the mechanics unless I have to write a paper or I really enjoyed it and wanted to overanalyze its appeal. Some stories are very easy to point out a genre because they will usually be much more stereotypic, much more formulaic, following a stricter sense of rules as to why that is a genre. When pushing the limits of a genre, people will always question whether it still counts. Things can have elements and mix and match because categories aren’t always helpful.