Week 6: Street Fiction and Subgenres

Week 6: StreetFiction.org

The great thing about StreetFiction.org is that the reviews aren't just of what is new and upcoming in the system; there are some old favorites that may have been left behind before a lot of the reading public picked up on Street Lit, and certainly before the library started carrying a major selection of titles. Emako Blue was a very popular high school Black-Eyed Susan Award Nominee when I was teaching, and just being reminded of it just inspired me to cull those lists for other Street-friendly titles. 

The reviews aren't updated as often as maybe I'd like to make it a daily or even a weekly visit. I might have a better time with Urban Reviews for more current information.

I appreciate the designations of the subgenres of Street Lit, like Christian Fiction (which circs really well) and Urban Erotica. 

Of particular interest to me, though, is the Teen Urban section. Teen Urban fiction is something that would really circ well at this branch if we had more selection and our kids knew where it was. I know the standard-bearers in terms of authors are Coe Booth and Nini Simone for this particular subgenre of Street Lit, but there are other authors to explore. I have all sorts of cool ideas about it now!

Assignment 3: Subgenres

In reviewing the subgenres I know the least about, I stumbled upon these three:

1. historical romance: These are very popular at Rosedale, and I'm not complaining. There's lots of hot dudes in kilts on the display covers at our branch as a result. 

2. urban fantasy: While I consider myself to be pretty well-versed in Street Lit/Urban Fiction and that this area is my most seasoned in terms of Reader's Advisory, I haven't yet found a lot of readers who are into Urban Fantasy as a subgenre. 

3. Native American western: At LA, we had one customer who was responsible for our entire Western collection; he would order 10 - 15 Westerns at a time, read them quickly, and then order more. He was very committed to Traditional Westerns, particularly by William Johnstone (like the Mountain Man and Son of the Mountain Man series). Beyond that very nice customer, Westerns seem to be a very niche market at each branch; one or two dedicated customers love that genre. I have no experience with the Native American western subgenre. 

More fun with subgenres:
In looking at Christina Dodd's books in particular, I found it interesting that she as a romance writer covers a lot of genres. I was focusing on the historical romance (she does a lot with Renaissance/England/kings and queens), but she has several fantasy romance series as well that feature mind-control, spells, and myths. Her Chosen Ones series lurches into the paranormal romance subgenre.