“Never apologize for your reading tastes.” – Betty Rosenberg
A simple question, “What genres do you like to read?” sent me scurrying to find out more about genres. Much to my surprise, I discovered categories I was not aware existed. Here are a few of them.
Steampunk is speculative fiction which came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. It concerns works set in the past, or a world resembling the past, in which modern technological paradigms occurred earlier in history, but were accomplished via the science already present in that time period. Books by H. G. Wells and Jules Verne fall into this genre.
Hardboiled is crime fiction distinguished by an unsentimental portrayal of crime, violence, and sex, such as books by Mickey Spillane, Sara Paretsky and Sue Grafton.
Frame Narrative is a genre whereby readers are lead from the first story to smaller ones within it, such as Canterbury Tales and One Thousand and One Nights.
Urban Fantasy are novels set in contemporary, real-world, urban settings, where magic or paranormal events are commonly accepted to exist. Nation by Terry Pratchett, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and the Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling fell under this category.
Cyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on high tech and low life. Examples are Frank Herbert’s, Dune and Isaac Asimov’s, Foundation.
Matron Lit is a genre where the heroine is between the ages of 45-65. Books by Joan Medlicott fall into this category. I was surprised to find Larry McMurtry listed under this genre as well. I also ran across reference to Matron Lit as Hen Lit. I’m not sure which sounds worse.
Baby Boomer, also referred to as Chick lit for the AARP crowd, is written by boomers for boomers. The Botox Diaries, by Janice Kaplan and Lynn Schnurnberger and The Hot Flash Club by Nancy Thayer were listed in this category.
Airport novels (yes, this seems to be an actual genre) are fast-paced novels of intrigue or adventure, like those by Dan Brown or John Grisham that are typically offered by airport kiosks for travelling readers.
Helpful sites I visited for genre lists were Wordsmith Extraordinaire and NationMaster.com along with Wikipedia.
Next time I am asked the question of which genres I enjoy reading, I will not hem and haw. I’ll answer truthfully, “Quite a few of them.”
What genres to you like to read or write?
Thanks for stopping by.
Tags: Wells, Rosenbergt, Verne, Grafton, Rowling, Medlicott, McMurtry, genre, Dan Brown,
Showing posts with label genres. Show all posts
Showing posts with label genres. Show all posts
Monday, February 16, 2009
Friday, August 17, 2007
Judging a Book by its Cover or Genre
Good news. Finally, the ArcheBooks Publishing, http://www.archebooks.com/, production list is showing activity again. I am now next on the list. That means The Ride could go into production as early as today. Of course, it may still be weeks or months, but I’m thinking positive.
One step in the production process is the design of the book jacket. I can’t help but wonder how it will look. Will I like it? Will it appeal to other readers?
Not too long ago, my daughter walked into the room and said in an incredulous tone, “You’re reading a book with a unicorn on the cover.”
Not only was I reading the book, M.B. Weston’s, A Prophecy Forgotten, http://www.elysianchronicles.com/MBWeston.htm, I was thoroughly enjoying it. However, normally (had I not known the author) I would not buy a Fantasy book, much less one with a unicorn on the cover. Consequently, I would have missed a really good read.
I realized that I was guilty (as was my daughter) of not only judging a book by its cover but by the genre, as well.
On the ArcheBooks production list, The Ride, is listed as Contemporary Women’s Fiction. It can also be categorized as general or contemporary fiction.
Worried that people might confuse Contemporary Women’s fiction with Chick Lit, or Romance or even with Feminist Literature, I did a little research to try to figure out the most marketable category. I was surprised by what I found.
I read, Women’s Fiction or Romance, A tale of Two Genres, by Lisa Craig, http://www.hodrw.com/womensficorromance.htm. She said, “Trying to wrap a definition around women’s fiction is a little like trying to put a fence around a band of wild mustangs.” The article went on to say, “After examining industry statistics from the American Bookseller Association and Book Industry Study group, one can easily conclude that Women’s Fiction comprises at least forty percent of adult popular fiction sold in the United States and approximately sixty percent of the adult popular fiction paperbacks.”
According to Dummies.com, http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-1843.html, virtually all the selections of Oprah’s Book Club are in the Women’s Fiction category.
Forty to sixty percent of the market with the possibility that Oprah may one day talk about my book makes Women’s Contemporary Fiction sound like the perfect category.
I am curious, however, about how you view the subject of book covers and genres.
1. Have you ever not bought a book because you didn’t like the cover?
2. Would you be more likely pick up a book marketed as Women’s Fiction, Women’s Contemporary Fiction, or simply Contemporary Fiction or General/Mainstream Fiction, or none of the above?
Let me know by leaving your comments on my blog or in my guestbook, or by e-mailing me at janekennedysutton@gmail.com.
I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
See you next week.
Jane Kennedy Sutton
Author of The Ride (to be released by ArcheBooks Publishing)
janekennedysutton@gmail.com
http://janekennedysutton.googlepages.com/
Tags: The Ride, Archebooks, Lisa Craig, Dummies.com, Oprah’s book club , M.B. Weston , A Prophecy Forgotten , Women’s fiction
One step in the production process is the design of the book jacket. I can’t help but wonder how it will look. Will I like it? Will it appeal to other readers?
Not too long ago, my daughter walked into the room and said in an incredulous tone, “You’re reading a book with a unicorn on the cover.”
Not only was I reading the book, M.B. Weston’s, A Prophecy Forgotten, http://www.elysianchronicles.com/MBWeston.htm, I was thoroughly enjoying it. However, normally (had I not known the author) I would not buy a Fantasy book, much less one with a unicorn on the cover. Consequently, I would have missed a really good read.
I realized that I was guilty (as was my daughter) of not only judging a book by its cover but by the genre, as well.
On the ArcheBooks production list, The Ride, is listed as Contemporary Women’s Fiction. It can also be categorized as general or contemporary fiction.
Worried that people might confuse Contemporary Women’s fiction with Chick Lit, or Romance or even with Feminist Literature, I did a little research to try to figure out the most marketable category. I was surprised by what I found.
I read, Women’s Fiction or Romance, A tale of Two Genres, by Lisa Craig, http://www.hodrw.com/womensficorromance.htm. She said, “Trying to wrap a definition around women’s fiction is a little like trying to put a fence around a band of wild mustangs.” The article went on to say, “After examining industry statistics from the American Bookseller Association and Book Industry Study group, one can easily conclude that Women’s Fiction comprises at least forty percent of adult popular fiction sold in the United States and approximately sixty percent of the adult popular fiction paperbacks.”
According to Dummies.com, http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-1843.html, virtually all the selections of Oprah’s Book Club are in the Women’s Fiction category.
Forty to sixty percent of the market with the possibility that Oprah may one day talk about my book makes Women’s Contemporary Fiction sound like the perfect category.
I am curious, however, about how you view the subject of book covers and genres.
1. Have you ever not bought a book because you didn’t like the cover?
2. Would you be more likely pick up a book marketed as Women’s Fiction, Women’s Contemporary Fiction, or simply Contemporary Fiction or General/Mainstream Fiction, or none of the above?
Let me know by leaving your comments on my blog or in my guestbook, or by e-mailing me at janekennedysutton@gmail.com.
I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
See you next week.
Jane Kennedy Sutton
Author of The Ride (to be released by ArcheBooks Publishing)
janekennedysutton@gmail.com
http://janekennedysutton.googlepages.com/
Tags: The Ride, Archebooks, Lisa Craig, Dummies.com, Oprah’s book club , M.B. Weston , A Prophecy Forgotten , Women’s fiction
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
