Week 7 ~ Assignments 1-4

Assignments 1-2 ~ What to Read Next flowchart - Useful, and I printed it because I will not remember all those titles.

I didn't find much news to comment on in the YALSA article. We know that adults are reading teen literature. I did find interesting the Bowker study that listed the percentage of adult buyers. That 55% of teen lit buyers are 18 or older was a surprise. I didn't think it would be quite so high, but never thought about what the percentage was.  Also, the fact that the largest segment of this group is aged 30-44 is probably a discussion for another day; however, it is a nice segue now to my comments on the next article.

The Publishers Weekly article on the New Adult genre tag seems to address the need to clamp down on those YA readers ready to move on. We see from the Bowker statistics who is enjoying these books. So, with certain sub genres of teen literature attracting teen readers (12-17 year olds) AND a large chunk of 30 plus readers enjoying the same material, is slapping a New Adult label targeting 18-23 year olds with same age protagonists necessary or practical? I understand the label speaks mainly to "voice, style, and theme."

 In this case I think it makes sense to ride the coattails of a very hot segment that wants to explore the more mature themes that naturally come with growing up, moving out, etc. It's not so much that these challenges are new or more defining than years past, or that young adult readers are suddenly being drawn to these type of books. There has been and always will be crossover, and as librarians we are charged with matching books to customers regardless of genre label. Regarding what to call these books and/or where to merchandise these books I think it is just another marketing tool to get these books moving. If it fills a niche, why not. If it makes browsing easier for readers to identify what they want, I am OK with that. I also posted comments on Mercedes Mendoza and Becky Kuhn's blogs.

Assignment 3 ~ Blogs/websites: I followed the blog, Stacked, run by a couple of librarians, Kelly Jensen and Kimberly Francisco. I liked the look, feel, and content level. Because it's maintained by librarians I can see where librarians would gravitate toward it for industry news. But this well-visited site is also for readers who benefit, too, from the generally brief reviews of new writers, plainly written and to the point. It's been around since 2009  and has a good following, so it must be doing something right.

In addition, I checked out School Library Journal's My Printz Will Come maintained by Karyn Silverman and Sarah Couri. It is appealing to industry professionals and those who want to be familiar with buzz titles and speculation on contenders for YALSA's Printz Award, but because it's seasonal its updates are not as regular as other sites. Posts are thoughtful and funny.

Assignment 4 ~ I checked out teen sites for Penguin and Harper. Scifi and fantasy combos continue to be popular, like Through the Ever Night, second part of a trilogy by Veronica Rossi, along with chick lit, like the Pretty Little Liars series. I also liked on Penguin's website their link for teachers and librarians-good resources there.

Week 6 - Assignments 1-3

As far as exploring the science fiction and fantasy genre, I concentrate on new and buzzed about titles. I especially like to track Monitor, Reviews, and Perspectives on Locus. I discovered that for June - besides the ever popular George R. R. Martin and his acclaimed series, A Song of Ice and Fire - Locus bestsellers include A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson and the new teen title, Homeland by Cory Doctorow, the followup to his popular Little Brother novel about techno-savvy teenagers rebelling against a tryannical security state.
For something new, a colleague also introduced me to Worlds without End, a great site for science fiction, fantasy, and horror books. https://www.worldswithoutend.com

Regarding Prezi, kudos to Alex for creating this useful tool. It made me realize just how much exploring of sub-genres I still need to do. I would love a printed version.

Regarding my three sub-genres, I chose:
~ literary urban fiction
~ traditional Westerns
~ horror gothic

Literary Urban Fiction: Defined as tension, tragedy and betrayal being used to illustrate a broader statement on urban lifestyle with astute cultural commentary.
 I spent too much time clicking and searching for an adequate fan website that I could cite. I finally settled on a blog maintained by Vanessa Irving Morris, who wrote, The Readers' Advisory Guide to Street Literature, part of the ALA readers' advisory series. Her blog, http://www.streetliterature.com/, is well maintained, fairly current, and full of useful resources on urban fiction, including links to other urban fiction blogs.
Current buzz titles include:
A Deeper Love Inside by Sister Souljah: the Porsche Santiaga Story, the long awaited followup to The Coldest Winter Ever.
Fly Betty: a Harlem Girl Lost Novel by Treasure Blue, a redemptive mother-daughter story with the hallmarks of street lit - a girl from "the hood" trying to move up and out by any means necessary.
Honor Thy Thug by Wahida Clark, the latest Thug Love novel.

Traditional Western: Action oriented, less demanding reads that follow a tried and true formula of familiar settings, romance, gun play and historical detail.
Current buzz title includes Wilde's Law by Ben Bridges, part of the Wilde Boys Western series - a traditional, fast moving tale of the wild frontier. I couldn't locate a fan website that I liked, so I joined the group Western Authors & Readers on Goodreads that allows me to read up on what's new from some new voices; also tried the Western Writers of America website, http://westernwriters.org/our-books/

Other books: The Son, Philipp Meyer's new novel, is not a traditional Western, but it has been drawing attention for its epic portrayal of the American West. While its multi-generational saga of power, blood and landholdings doesn't lend itself to being fast paced, it does follow the rise of a Texas family, from the Comanche raids of the 1800s to the oil booms of the 20th century and contains the historical detail readers of traditional Westerns crave. Another perennial favorite is Larry McMurtry, whose novel Lonesome Dove won the Pulitzer Pize in 1985 and whose latest nonfiction book, Custer, explores the life and legacy of General Custer and his cavalry's attack on a large Lakota Cheyenne village with devastating results.

Horror Gothic: Described as encroaching evil that threatens the lives and sanity of realistic characters, often more literary in style and set in historic locales and/or the contemporary American south.
 I found a couple of groups to follow on Goodreads: The Gothic Novel Book Club and Classic Horror Lovers. Current buzz titles include The Asylum by John Harwood, The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd, and Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling by Michael Boccacino. 

My Mashups:

Death Comes to Pemberley, the latest by P.D. James, puts a twist on Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice, by introducing classic suspense, murder and mayhem into the beloved historic fiction setting.
London Falling by Paul Cornell - Urban fantasy meets police procedurals when a team of London police officers comes into contact with an artifact that gives them the Sight, revealing the hidden monsters that stalk the city.