Assignment 1:
I chose to follow the Stop,
You’re Killing Me! site. Honestly, it looked a lot more useful when I first
started. There are a ton of lists,
thousands of authors and books, and you can find any type of book or new
release – but it’s just not that useful for learning more about the genre or
specific authors, or internalizing information. It’s hard to know where to
start or how to absorb anything. The book reviews are useful. I would use it or
show it to customers who are already into mysteries and just need to keep
abreast of new releases, awards, etc.
Assignment 3:
Military Romance:
Using Google and Goodreads, I couldn’t find a site
completely dedicated to this but in the spirit of “subgenres” I did find
several “sub sites” within book websites which focused on military romances.
One was a Goodreads group called “I Love a Man in Uniform”, which doesn’t
appear to be terribly active but still has the occasional comment or new member
joining (me!). It does have a decent bookshelf of titles. A lot of the members
seem to be romance or action/adventure readers, so this is a good crossover.
Several mention already liking cowboy or firefighter romances. Another sample
site is: http://www.bookloversinc.com/2011/09/21/romance-and-me-military-romance/
where the site’s creator enthuses about
the action, the danger, the romance, all made more intense by the urgency of
the plot scenarios. In general, people appear to be excited about this genre
because it combines the sexy and tough sides of the military, the plots are so
action-heavy and intense, and there is always a feel of danger.
Three authors: Marliss Melton, Lora Leigh, Maya Banks
Appeal factors: fast-paced, intense, strong characters
pushed to their limits, sense of urgency, particularly with the romance scenes
Hard-Boiled Mystery:
Hmmm, interestingly the mystery site I’m following – Stop,
You’re Killing Me – doesn’t include this in their genre index. And finding a
site or Goodreads page was difficult. What I found more of through Google were
academic pages about the study and history of hard-boiled mystery or detective
stories, or sites of dubious quality which consisted of one page of explanation
and a list of authors. One of the better
ones: http://mysterypageturners.blogspot.com/2009/12/hard-boiled-mystery-novel.html This one was helpful because of its bullet
points and bibliography at the end. Another well-written one: http://www.openroadmedia.com/blog/2012-08-21/what-is-hard-boiled-crime-fiction-five-ways-to-know-it-when-you-read-it.aspx
served basic information and author suggestions with quality. This sub-genre
seems to appeal to men maybe a little more, but certainly is enjoyed by both
genders: some of the authors, like Michael Connelly and Carl Hiaasen, I didn’t
even think of, but I like them and it makes sense. Because the main characters
in these stories are indeed “hardboiled”, people are not reading them for the
warm fuzzies – they’re instead interested in the mystery, detective work,
realistic setting or story, or suspense (or a combination of these things).
Three authors: Michael Connelly, Carl Hiaasen, Mickey
Spillane
Appeal factors: gritty setting, grim tone, sometimes
convoluted story lines where details are revealed slowly, flawed characters
with a hard exterior – learn details about their past as you move through the
book, not necessarily super-fast paced, but still a sense of urgency when solving a mystery or case
Super Human Sci-Fi:
This one was easier, but again, finding an authoritative
site that is truly a site dedicated to the sub genre proved elusive. I did find
a good reads page which provided helpful titles: http://www.goodreads.com/genres/science-fiction-superhuman
but not much explanation of who would actually be reading these books or why
they find them appealing. Another site I
found through Miami
Dade College Libraries provided some good book suggestions and an
explanation of super human but again not much depth. Looking at the titles, I
was surprised to find some I liked, since me and sci-fi rarely mix: Carrie, The Dead Zone, Firestarter
(well, okay, maybe it’s just Stephen King J)
It seems like fans of this subgenre would like more of the popular sci-fi
titles, maybe not as fringe or hardcore. They may also be reading more for
psychological or character development, as well as relationships, or interested
more in supernatural elements as opposed to straight science fiction.
Three authors: Stephen King, Jus Accardo, Matt Myklusch
Appeal factors: fast-paced, suspenseful, about the character’s
special powers but also recognizes them as a person and their struggles with
the world, focus on science and/or technology
Subgenre Mash-ups:
I was a little surprised to see magical realism under
fantasy – although there are magical or fantastical elements to the stories, I
think of it as very “un-fantasy” in that the setting is completely realistic
(i.e. not Middle Earth, not Planet Zelzar, etc). Having been one of the magical realism
facilitators for Genre Boot Camp, I learned that these books fit under multiple
genres. You have ones that are magical realism/romance, like Like Water for Chocolate or Chocolat; ones that are magical
realism/chick lit: Practical Magic or
The Sugar Queen; magical
realism/literary fiction: Swamplandia,
The Tiger’s Wife, Midnight’s Children; magical realism/historical fiction: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, The
Book Thief, Shadow of the Wind. And even within these titles there’s
further cross-over: Midnight’s Children,
for example, could be mr/literary/historical; Chocolat could be mr/romance/cozy. Endless possibilities!
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