handle with care; the paranormal edition

I’m still not sure whether I’ve gotten the right definition of the paranormal, but I’m going to take another shot at it. We’ve got a mix of science-fiction and fantasy in here, and those are my favourite genres. But even I have to admit that sometimes there are aspects I do not mesh well with.

• People consider aliens to be part of the paranormal, thanks I think, to The X-Files. I have not read a lot of books with alien beings, and the ones that I have, well. Most of the time, alien beings are meant to parallel real world situations and people. Most of the time, it is either done too lightly. If you want to parallel real life, it should not reinforce the status quo but question it, and subvert it.
• Immortality can be done well, but mostly we get vampire stories, and those usually wind up romanticising the vampires. I am still waiting on a more comedy story on immortals (What We Do In The Shadows needs many companion books, thanks), but in the meantime, I am taking a lot of recommendations as well.
• Stories about deities, especially the more diverse ones coming out are rife with worldbuilding that is fascinating. But there are still times when these stories either build up the gods and goddesses too much and then fail to deliver on them. Or the system is not built up enough, and everything falls apart on further inspection. But ones like Children Of Blood And Bone by Tomi Adeyemi and Empire Of Sand by Tasha Suri balance having deities with their mortal counterparts very well, and we need more of that in the world.

I am always going to be taking recommendations, so if you have some good ones for these broad topics, as always, feel free to send them my way.

What are your favourite aspects of the paranormal? Do you have a favourite paranormal story?