Jay Mann, Nederland. When I recommend science fiction or fantasy books to patrons, I often get the response: “I don’t read those types of books.” Almost all kids love fantasy. Narnia and Middle-Earth have been staples for generations. Harry Potter has joined their club. So it is curious that a lot of people lose their passion for speculative fiction.

I think it’s partly the sentiment that fantasy and science fiction are genres for children and should be “outgrown.” I know people who only read nonfiction, who say that they are concerned about “reality,” life is short, etc. To each their own. But most people would agree that a well-written fiction book can provide a lot of lessons and insights.

A good science fiction or fantasy novel is no different. The setting might be a world where magic exists, the characters might not all be human, or the plot might involve a futuristic technology. But if it is well written you can appreciate the imagination that went into the world, empathize with the characters, and learn a little about science or philosophy. Two recent novels reminded me of the power of speculative fiction.

Neil Stephenson’s Seveneves is set in the near future. The Moon is destroyed and Earth has a couple years before fallout wipes out everything on its surface. Stories about fleeing the Earth have been done before. But this book goes into a lot of detail into the types of technology that would be needed to move several thousand people off Earth quickly. It also explores a variety of debates, from determining who would be chosen to leave earth to how the spacefarers should be governed. A big part of the story is how the characters’ personalities interact.

If your taste in fantasy runs closer to home, I would recommend The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi. Paolo lives in Paonia, Colorado. His novel is set in the near future in the American Southwest. Droughts have caused states to close their borders in order to preserve the little bits of water they still have. States and agencies fight over shared resources like the Colorado River. The story shows how the lives of a reporter, an immigrant, and a “water knife,” someone who takes water by force, are impacted by forces much larger than themselves. They all are doing their best in a world of diminishing options. The book is set in a future not so far off that it is out of the question.

Human nature is a funny thing. We tend to avoid looking at how our current actions affect the future. In her 2014 acceptance speech for a National Book Award, science fiction and fantasy author Ursula LeGuin said, “Hard times are coming, when we’ll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope.”

So I would encourage you to give a science fiction or fantasy novel a try; you might rekindle some childhood memories and be surprised by how much the foreign and alien can teach you about human nature. Escapism and enlightenment are not mutually exclusive.

Jay Mann is the Director of the Nederland Community Library.