Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests

by Diana Tixier Herald, Wayne A. Wiegand

This is the classic readers' advisory tool and text, updated and improved for today's users. Genres and reading trends are demystified as more than 5,000 titles are classified, with two new chapters on Christian fiction and emerging genres. You'll also find essays by genre experts and the foremost proponents of readers' advisory today. For the past 150 years, America's public libraries have supplied billions of books to billions of people, and most of those books have been (and continue to be) popular fiction. The new edition of Genreflecting explains not only what library patrons are reading, but why. In the process, it casts reading in a new light, demonstrating the way in which it functions as an essential information service that creates communities in culturally democratic ways. Focusing on what today's readers read, this classic guide introduces current genre fiction and popular reading tastes. By defining genres, describing their features and characteristics, and grouping titles by genre, subgenre, and theme, the book helps those who work with readers understand distinct patterns in reading habits and book selection. It thus helps users identify read-alikes and other titles their patrons will enjoy. Genreflecting has become a standard reference and readers' advisory tool for library practitioners, and an insightful text for students of library and information science. Building upon previous editions, this new volume features informative essays on the essence, history, and latest trends of various genres, contributed by top scholars and genre experts, edited by Dr. Wayne Wiegand. New chapters on Christian fiction and emerging genres (women's fiction and chick lit) have been added. In addition, more than 5,000 titles, approximately one-third new to this edition, are classified, focusing on titles published since the last edition along with perennial classics and benchmark titles. The popular feature D's Picks identifies new and noteworthy titles in each genre. Other features new to this edition include lists of selected classic authors and titles in each genre, sections on genreblends in those areas where they occur (e.g., horror/humor, mystery/romance), and three new essays. The Social Nature of Reading by Dr. Wiegand, The Readers' Advisory Interview by Dr. Catherine Ross, and A Brief History of Readers' Advisory by Melanie A. Kimball offer further insight into the nature and importance of this field. A standard professional tool for readers' advisors, and an invaluable collection development guide and text, this is a must-purchase for all libraries. Young adult and adult or Grades 10 and up.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Library Science, Books About Books, Professional Development, Librarianship, Adult

562 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2005

About the author

I've had a lifelong passion for fiction and for putting people together with books. I never learned how to read, I just knew how from a very young age. I was thrilled to start kindergarten since I was sure I would find some books I hadn't read yet. I usually read between 300 and 500 books a year, mostly science fiction, fantasy, mystery, thrillers, romance, historical,and YA.

I write books about books. I get so much pleasure out of reading I want to share great reads with others. I started a web page in 1996 to serve as an update to my books or a preview to future editions. Many of my GoodReads reviews are drafts of the annotations I will be using in future editions of Genreflecting, Teen Genreflecting, Fluent in Fantasy, Strictly Science Fiction, or the yet unnamed guide to paranormal fiction.

My husband and I live in a sustainable earthship home we built on the edge of a remote Rocky Mountain canyon. We have 2 adult bio-kids and several who joined our family through fostering. We have grandchildren who love to read, too. Yay!

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really excited to see the 7th edition of Genreflecting: A guide to Popular Reading Interests, Cynthia Orr and Diana Tixier Herald, Editors. Beyond a doubt it will help me in my role of adult services librarian and also add to my own TBR pile.
It’s been a few years in between editions so this update is appreciated. What a difference those years can make particularly in genres. Urban Fiction, Street Fiction, Steam Punk, Graphic novels, etc., and a whole lot of gender blending make for very interesting lists.
Each genre is explored by some of the best in our library world. This time out I recognized most names and felt like old friends were giving me advice and recommending books to check out. Lesa Holstine on Mystery, Andrew Smith on Thrillers, Sarah Johnson on Historical Fiction, Rebecca Vnuk on Women’s Fiction, David Wright on Urban Fiction, Diana Tixier Herald on Fantasy, Sarah Statz Cords on Non-Fiction, these and others are bloggers I follow, and frequently contribute to Fiction_l, an electronic mailing list dedicated to readers’ advisory. Some new names for me are Hannah Jo Parker-Mainstream Fiction, Kelly Fann-Horror, Lynn Wiandt-Fantasy, Maura Heaphy-Sci-Fi, Terry Beck-Christian Fiction, Abby Bass and jack Baur-Graphic Novels, Shelley Mosley and John Charles-Romance. Hope I didn’t miss anyone.
Genreflecting: A guide to Popular Reading Interests is definitely a book to dip in and out of, a good reference to keep on hand to help us find that next book. It includes an author, title subject index as well as information about the contributors. The opening chapters written by Cynthia Orr outline readers’ advisory history and basics and make a nice introduction to the meat of genre study.
A strong addition to the series.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my textbook for a MLIS class this semester: Reading Interests of Adults. It’s a great resource for people who regularly need to hook people up with books. There are several chapters about readers’ advisory and how to approach making recommendations to library patrons. There’s some interesting library history in these chapters, as well as advice I wholeheartedly agree with: it’s not our job to judge other people’s reading tastes or try to nudge them toward something “better.” It’s our job to encourage reading. It’s our job to match up our recommendations with our patrons’ tastes.
Besides the six readers’ advisory chapters, the rest are dedicated to different book genres and subgenres. They’re in depth, interesting, and chock full of titles and authors to recommend.
We’re going to keep a copy of this book at our circulation desk in the public library where I work, and I think it’s going to be a great help with recommendations. It’s my favorite textbook so far in library school, but I think anyone who loves to read would enjoy paging through it.

[Jez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource for reader's advisory, especially as an introduction to the practice and to specific genres with which the reader may be unfamiliar. The descriptions and definitions can be short and vague, but the lists of books in each section, though occasionally overlong, are extremely appreciated.

[Cathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The most academic book for a non-academic subject. I enjoyed the overviews of the various genres, but they were pretty dry and didn't need to be. Of course, just having lists of authors and titles isn't particularly helpful, though perhaps it was more useful before the days of the internet and NoveList. This edition came out in 2006 and I don't think there's a newer one, so information was obviously pretty dated. Sincere meh.

[Colorado Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

RA tool. lots of info on fiction books - great reference tool

[Joseph Panozzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for a readers advisory class. Very insightful and informative. My book was a hardcover and was a different edition. It had a different cover than the one depicted on Goodreads.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction for me as a new librarian who was a mid-career changer from the U.S. Army. I read books.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Description:
Summary:
This guide for librarians begins by placing readers' advisory services in the library into context, reviewing related theory and research, and explaining how the landscape of genre plays a central role in readers' advisory service. After a section on basic techniques used by readers' advisors to provide good service to patrons, the book delves into 14 genres, including the usual romance, Western, and literary fiction genres, but also covering less common genres such as Christian fiction, urban fiction, and women's fiction, as well as nonfiction. Each chapter describes the genre's characteristics and supplies lists of currently significant titles, must-reads, five fan faves, and 20-30 benchmark titles.

Genre/Form:
American fiction
Plot summaries
Bibliographies
Bibliography
Stories, plots, etc

Contents:
Reading and libraries --
Understanding the reader --
Understanding the literature --
Working with the literature --
Working with readers --
The RA environment: building your library's brand --
Historical fiction --
Mystery fiction --
Thrillers --
Westerns --
Romance fiction --
Women's fiction --
Fantasy --
Horror --
Science fiction --
Mainstream fiction --
Nonfiction --
Other popular reading interests. Christian fiction ; Urban fiction ; Graphic novels.


Related Subjects:(11)
American fiction -- Stories, plots, etc.
Popular literature -- Stories, plots, etc.
English fiction -- Stories, plots, etc.
Fiction genres -- Bibliography.
Fiction -- Bibliography.
Reading interests.
American fiction.
English fiction.
Fiction.
Fiction genres.
Popular literature.

[Laura Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is obviously more of a quick reference resource. However, I did a solid deep skim of the first five chapters in preparation for a job interview for a position as a Reader's Advisory Librarian, and I felt that it gave good solid advice. The author provides a section that deals with different types of problem patron situations and possible ways for dealing with each one. She also provides an exhaustive list of reader's advisory resources: blogs, listservs, awards lists for each genre as well as for general reader's advisory support. At the end of each chapter featuring a specific genre, a list of the top five fan picks is provided.

I was then planning on doing a quick skim of the sections on a couple of genres of which I am less familiar such as Romance, Mysteries, and Westerns. First, these chapters are kind of like Pringles and you just can't read one. I wound up spending the rest of the night reading about all the various subgenres and genreblends. And I was flabbergasted to note that I have read some items in these genres that were mentioned in this edition as "Must Reads" or "Essential Author".

[alexander shay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found a ton of books to add from the horror section ironically, otherwise I have most of them or I'm not interested. It was nice to see a graphic novel section being included, though I only found a handful from it. The mainstream fiction section was the most disappointing, with a common theme around war, abuse, the 1920's-1980's, or some sort of mix of the above. I was hoping for more variety considering it should have been the most diverse of genres in the book. The within-genre category breakdowns and overview explanations of what they are are very helpful though; I was able to skip sections I knew I had no interest in based on some of the descriptions given, which made reading a textbook size book a lot faster.

[Julie Tomek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for those that work with reading...anything. Teachers, librarians, book clubs, or even those looking for a list of books to read. This book provides information about each genre, as well as the books found to be very worthwhile reading. They update this book often, what looks like every year or two so make sure to pay attention to what edition you are reading. I have now read a few of these and I have found they do tend to repeat titles, especially the more popular titles such as Harry Potter series, or Star Trek, or the list of classics for obvious reasons, though there is an extensive list of classics available to include. But reader be warned...you will add to your ever-growing list of books to read.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read this cover to cover - I just finished a class that covered about half the content - but the information about the major genres and the summaries of suggested reads make it a great resource for readers' advisory. One of my favorite features of the book is the "Five Reader Favorites" section at the end of each chapter, which makes it easy to see where to start if you're new to a particular genre. The 8th edition is due out next month, and I plan to suggest it for purchase for my library.

[Emily Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am library technician student, and this is the textbook used in my Reader Advisory Services class. The way it is written is interesting and not as boring as some other textbooks out there. The text itself isn't small and condensed, making it easier to read.

This very helpful for those who are taking a library related course, or want to learn more Readers Advisory Services.

It also goes into useful tools you can use when conducting RA services. There is also chapters that go into little detail about different genres of fiction.

[{erika} · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and in-depth. Loved using this text for my Information Needs of Adults class, was a lot of help with my weekly genres. I loved the sections about my favorite genres in particular and the breakdown of recommended books. Lots of good ideas and material for my reader's advisory final project in regard to speculative fiction and science fiction. Informative and a really fun read for book lovers!

[Nova]

Every once in awhile I read a book about books, because I'm a librarian. This book explains stuff like why a fantasy is not science fiction, except when it is. That sort of thing. Reading something like this reminds you that all it takes to learn more, is to read more. And what a gift. I have a long list of books that have been added to my To Read pile.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the comprehensive booklist guide to genre fiction. I love the lists, the icons, the brief annotations. It's super easy to flip through and use as a reference. Written from a gal who reads 400 books a year, I will trust her book lists. Whoa nelly!

[Fallon · Rating 4 out of 5]

For what it is, this book is good. It gives a brief summary on all genres (although, I'm sure there are some subgenres that are left out) and gives a list of authors for that genre. I read it for class, but I will probably keep the book for future use.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing reference for what to read next! So many options within each genre....who knew there were so many subgenres out there?! Strongly recommmend for all future librarians out there to help with readers' advisory or just for personal use.

[Dakota · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the authors could have gone into considerably more detail on certain topics, like fantasy structure and history, but this book does a good job of introducing a reader or librarian to various genres.

[Sarah Phoenix · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about books...and more books to read...life doesn't get much better than anything about books!

[Clara Dearmore Strom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still learning...at least until next Dec. This is actually a very good resource for librarians doing reader's advisory.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

For library staff wanting to be more helpful to fiction readers and for fiction readers looking for good leads to good reads -- what a great book! Have fun...

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful and informative resource, especially for librarians. It's in need of an update though. The 2005 publication date is showing its age.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource. Published in 2006 - suggest an update or addendum be published soon to reflect the latest and greatest reads as this type of book can go out of date quickly.

[Wagrobanite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great anthology for those in need of books! I can't wait for the new edition that is hopefully coming soon

[Pamela Hubbard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very similar to "A Few Good Books" but with more details about genres and sub-genres and more comprehensive lists and links to other resources.

[Kendra]

http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/201...

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great text! I am happy I bought a copy because I expect I will use it frequently in my career. Interesting, funny, and a wonderful introductions to genres and Reader's Advisory.

[Lisa Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best textbook I have ever had. I will be using it for reader's advisory references for a long time.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful resource for reader's advisory.
(didn't actually read the whole book, just parts for class but I found them interesting and had good recommendations for reading material in each genre.)