I receive email newsletters from our local library about the latest books in different genres, and today's Inspirational Fiction newsletter came, with Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk
By Tony DuShane being listed. I can't even post the library review here because of the nature of some of the plot lines.
The rest of the newsletter was The Attack of the Bonnet Books. I remain uninspired. And a tad confused.
If you could be The Grand High Poobah of the literary world, and everyone had to do your bidding, what would you change about the way fiction is divided in genres? Do you think there are too many categories? Not enough? What authors do you believe are shelved in the wrong section of the bookstore/library?
I am amazed at all the new genre designations- paranormal romance, urban fantasy, cyberpunk, steampunk, mystery/detective, thriller, techno-thriller, suspense, police procedurals, speculative, magic realism, Arthurian fantasy, dark fantasy... (the mind boggles)- but it is difficult for the average reader to differentiate between them when they are in the library as opposed to a bookstore (where sub-genre fiction is usually more clearly labeled). Most readers and movie goers see any futuristic books/films as sci-fi when many, like Star Wars, are fantasy. And some books/movies that are considered horror are actually sci-fi. For example, there has been a resurgence of vampires, werewolves, and other mythical/legendary creatures into books/tv/movies- creatures that are supernatural fall into the horror category, but those that have a 'natural' or scientific explanation (such as genetic manipulation) are sci-fi.
In the initial post I was a bit bothered by books being labeled as inspirational when they are FAR from inspirational IMO, just because they deal with religious issues and ideas. Maybe inspirational fiction will also get divided into sub-genres to address those distinctions.
Susan R
Blogging at At Home and School and Shelf Discoveries
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