Thursday, June 01, 2006

Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests, Sixth Edition by Diana Tixier Herald

We got the new sixth edition of Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests by Diana Tixier Herald a couple of weeks ago. I have been lugging it around looking at the changes from the fifth edition. More is new than just books published since 2000 added to the chapters on genre fiction.

The sixth edition starts with a chapter by Wayne A. Wiegand about the social nature of reading, the importance of libraries, and the value of book discussions. A chapter by Melanie A. Kimball on the history of readers' advisory service follows. Third is a chapter about conducting the readers' advisory interview by Catherine Sheldrick Ross.

There are two entirely new chapters on genres. Chapter 13 is about Christian fiction and its subgenres, including Christian romance, Biblical fiction, social gospel novels, Apocalyptic fiction, and gentle reads. Also in the chapter are titles that blend Christian themes with mystery, science fiction, and western settings. Chapter 14 is about the emerging genres of women's fiction and chick lit. Chick lit is distinguished from women's fiction in that the protagonists are often younger and the tone is more humorous, sexier, and upbeat.

The sixth edition of Genreflecting has over 5,000 titles of which one third are new. The easy-to-use chapters are followed by author/title and subject indexes. The guide also recommends other guides for readers' advisory librarians to use in their work assisting readers, selecting books, and creating displays and promotional materials.

Genreflecting is an essential public library purchase.

Herald, Diana Tixier. Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests. Sixth Edition. Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited, 2006. ISBN 1591582865

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