Week 7 Assignment 2

A Not-So-Young Audience for Young Adult Books from The New York Times and

Not Just for Teens from Library Journal

After reading both articles, I found myself agreeing with both authors. I have always had an interest in young adult books, but when my oldest daughter started reading them more heavily, I found myself going to HER for recommendations. (She gets a kick out of this.) I wasn't surprised in the peak of YA e-reader materials. Why? I have encountered adults who seem shy or nervous about asking for the YA best seller. I could never understand why, but I think it is the stigma of being caught in public reading a YA book when you are over 19. I disagree with Ms. Graham's comment about people should feel embarrassed if they are reading books written for children. I think it's poppycock! (Granted I will read Pete the Cat in public and not blink an eye, so I might not be the best to look at in this regard.) I, like many librarians, have stacks of books that I "must read" but I don't care if its YA, Children, or Adult. A good book is a good book, regardless of what age group it is classified for. Yes, some would argue that I am a librarian and I am supposed to read books of all genre, age groups, etc. Let me tell you something...there are times I can relate to a YA book much more than an adult book. Plus, this gives me another opportunity to relate to my fifteen year old daughter. (If you can have discussions with a teenager and they LIKE it, that do it!) Overall, neither article really shocked me in the information they provide, just reiterated what I already knew and believed.

Week 6 Assignment 3

Occult Horror
Stephen King
Neil Gaiman
Anne Rice


The setting for Occult Horrors seems to almost always be someplace spooky, haunted, or someone crooked in that location and their spirit has yet to "crossover". I believe this is a genre that is frequently turned into movies (IE The Exocist) and gain cult-like fame. There is usually enough information to give you grisly, vivid details on how the individual died. Overall, these books are not for the faint of heart.






Comic Fantasy
Terry Prachett
Christopher Moore
Douglas Adam


Just like any other Fantasy setting, the reader is transported to a mystical, imaginative land with dragons and unicorns. Needless to say, none of these lands or creatures exist. The difference is that these novels are satires to other more serious Fantasy Book. The best way to describe them? Think of the Scary Movie franchise by the Waynes Brothers. Another example? Shrek. While these are typically found in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section, they seem to be shorter in length as compared to other Fantasy books. Best recommended to those who don't take Fantasy too seriously.






Religious/Clean Romance
Beverly Lewis
Jenny B. Jones
Cindy Woodsmall


Every librarian has dealt with that one customer (or maybe many) that wants a good, clean romance to read. To be honest, I didn't think they existed. Clean/Religious romances are similar to Christian fiction books...nothing graphic, no cursing, and everyone is fully clothed on the front cover. The overall setup of the plot is no different then any other Romance novel you read...minus the sex and half naked people on the cover...






Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
Classified as Sci-Fi/Fantasy but can also fall under Horror and Mystery


Let's be real...if multiple people go to visit this beautiful, tranquil area and then you and your entire group either kill each other or die from cancer. Why are all these people dying? What is going on in Area X? No offense, that is some scary stuff right there, along with trying to figure out what secret government staff is taking place. (It HAS to be the government! Isn't it always?!) I haven't read this novel yet, BUT it has been added to my list. It is a part of a trilogy, so I am confident all will be answered by the end.




First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
Classified as Paranormal Romance but can also fall under Occult
Charley Davidson is a part-time Private Eye and full time Grim Reaper...that's right, she sees dead people. Particularly dead people who have died under less than ideal circumstances, IE murder. On top of her having random dead people pop up all over the place, including her apartment, she has had an entity following her around since she was born. She assumed it was a ghost, but is now realizing it is something much darker and more dangerous. Needless to say, more information cannot be given because it gives the story away, but this comedic paranormal romance take a much darker turn, still with bits of humor, the more you read into the series.

Week 6 Assignment 2

Yes, this will be a repeat of what people have already posted. I thought it was thorough and well put together; however, I hated having to constantly scroll in and out of the page to be able to read everything. I also would have preferred to have a physical paper version for easier reference.

If there was one portion I did not like, it was the Christian Urban Fiction. Urban Fiction has received a bad rap because of horrible grammar, everyone from the four year old to the great, great grandmother dropping the F bomb, lack of punctuation, and repeated story lines. Yes, I will admit that some of this is true. (I have read A LOT of Urban Fiction. So much in fact, some of the stories start to fuse together because they are so similar.) But I have never heard of Christian Urban Fiction. I have never combined those two genres into one. I guess it isn't necessarily a BAD thing, but I have had customers complain when Christian Book by African American authors were put on Urban Fiction displays. It is the misconception that Black/African American author equals Urban Book. Give me strength and allow me to teach the people!!!

Week 6 Assignment 1

So I have been following Locus, which focuses on Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Science Fiction/Fantasy has never been a genre I could get into. I prefer realism...no aliens, no unicorns, and books much, much less than a 1000 pages. Despite my negative attitude towards Sci-Fi/Fantasy, and largely due to my requirements of this assignment, I trudged along to the website to see what I could see. (Isn't that part of a song?)

What I saw was cluttered pages, authors I have never heard of, and awards I never knew existed. Wait Danielle...stop being negative and find the positive! I learned that Sci-Fi fantasy books tend to be series...very, very long series. Not all the time, I did find several trilogies. I also learned that Locus has a nice Obituary section for anyone, it seems, who passed who did anything Sci-Fi/Fantasy related in films and/or books. (RIP Spock AKA Leonard Nimoy) I was aware of the hundreds if not thousands of conventions that take place throughout the United States, but it was interesting to see a section dedicated to conventions taking place worldwide. Side Note: For those interested, Sasquan, the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention is taking place in Spokane, Washington from August 19-23.

Ok, so I wasn't happy-go-lucky in this posting, but I tried! I told myself as a librarian, it was important to read something from every genre...even if I don't like it. I am proud to say two of my co-workers convinced me to read Game of Thrones. I started at the beginning of July and I am proud to say I am 22% through an 803 page novel as of the date of this post. And you want to know what else? I LIKE IT! Kudos for me! Anyone have any other recommendation to offer? Granted it might be a while before I get to it, but my goal is to finish GOT by December 31 of this year.