First I must say that I really loved the Flow Chart. I found it very useful. I wish the Prezi had been in that format.
I read these two articles:
New Adult: Needless Marketing - Speak Or Valued Subgenre?
The Next Big Thing: Adults Reading Teen Literature
It's no big surprise to me that many adults read teen fiction. I believe the writing and selection has improved considerably over the years. So many of the "big" adult authors have jumped on the YA bandwagon cashing in on the popularity - Grisham, Patterson, Picoult just to name a few. Regarding the books made into movies, people (or sheeple) will read anything made into a movie at any age level. Charlotte's Web is a good example, so I'm not sure that the Hunger Games, Twilight, or Harry Potter have anything much to do with the speciality of the young adult genre per se. I've had people ask me for the book version of movies for which there are no books. The numbers surprised me - 55% of buyers of works published for ages 12 to 12 are 18 or older with the largest segment aged 30 to 44. 78% purchased for their own reading. Those numbers are huge.
I'm on the fence about the "new adult" subgenre. Hasn't this always been around? Are we getting nitpicky here? Where are these items going to be shelved? With the young adult? Regular fiction? Will they be tagged as "new adult" in some way? I see another Genre Boot Camp in the future! What I found interesting about the first article is that the term "new adult" has been around since 2009, but I've only heard about it recently. I guess I have been living under a rock. It may be a good marketing ploy though. Time will tell.
I posted comments on Christina Miller's blog and Justin Hartzell's blog. I tried on Friday and it refused to take my password. Thank goodness it worked today.
This week I'm following Teenreads and Forever Young Adult. The Teenreads website has changed very little over the past week. It includes book reviews, author news and interviews, and the Ultimate Teen Reading List - 400 Titles for Reading and Discussing. The dream is that schools will use this list for summer reading instead of those often awful required summer reading lists. The list was compiled by Teenreads.com and staffers. The list includes a mix of teen, unusual adult titles, and many usual adult titles that do show up on school reading lists. I found the website rather uninspired though informative. I don't know how appealing it actually is to teens. When I went to the corporate link and who reviews the books, sadly everyone in the photos looks quite advanced in years. If teens look deep enough that would be a turn off!
Forever Young Adult is a much more appealing site. The graphics are better and would appeal more to teens. The reviews are catchy with the ability for people to post comments, and they do! Also there is a photo of the reviewer, their interests etc. listed at the end of the review. Teenreads is an anonymous name. This site also does movies. This would be my go to site of the two, no question.
I looked at the Harlequin Teen website. It's sorted by the newest releases first. Each release is provided with a detailed book description, read-alikes (If you like - Harlequin recommends), AND Harlequin reader reviews which a reader can input, as well as reviews from Goodreads. A very comprehensive site for forthcoming teen books. What I took from this list is a lot of dystopian books as well as steampunk reads being released. Doesn't look like much in the way of "popular young adult." Perhaps that's just not so popular!
Harper Teen is the other website I looked at. Again, the forthcoming books here included alien adventures, dystopian worlds, magic, horror, and many, many sequels. There were top author lists included as well and top books where I saw the Pretty Little Liar series listed. A favorite at Cockeysville. TV news is included as well. Good social networking site as well.
I found both websites to be helpful and will visit them in the future as long as I can remember them!!
Karin,
ReplyDeleteThe New Adult sub-genre is new to me as well. I wondered if the genre is even necessary. Though as I think about it more, the idea is being to make good sense. These titles are for readers who are coming of age. They are adults, but there is still that teenage element that doesn't make them full adults. So adult literature may not be as appealing.
I read The New Big Thing as well. The 55% number surprised my too. I was not surprised that adults read teen literature, but that number made me pause a little.
The draw to teen literature varies. I have had encounters with adult customers looking for teen titles because they want to know what their child is reading. The article also mentions a great point in the top ten list. Teen literature is nostalgic for some adults. It is a way for adult readers to relive those teenage milestones.
"Regarding the books made into movies, people (or sheeple) will read anything made into a movie at any age level." This has also been my experience, Karin. And also about customers asking for film versions of books that haven't even been made into movies! Oh, the public!
ReplyDeleteKarin, just read two articles about YA fiction. Here is what I read and said.
ReplyDeleteYA Comes of Age - Publisher’s Weekly
I found this article interesting. I was amazed that hardback YA titles are the norm, and that the YA readers will buy the the titles. It makes me think that there is a possibility that the readers do not think the library carries the titles, or they do not feel comfortable using the library. Of course there could be other reasons, but it makes me think that maybe the public library could promote the YA area and titles further and try to bring in the readers to borrow rather than buy the newest titles.
I know there could be other reasons why the YA readers would rather buy the books, but I feel that we in the public library should maybe analyze to see if our YA readers are not using us as much as possible and if not try to get the word out that we have what the book stores have.
I am not surprised that adults are interested in YA. I tend to think that the stories are now beyond the basic YA angst, relationship problems and parent problems. Maybe the more fictional, no real; paranormal, dystopias, etc. are taking the readers away from their problems and into a fantasy that can give them some down time from any problems. Maybe?
The Next Big Thing - YALSA; The Hub
I have always felt that YA titles are good reads for adults as well. To me it seems that it has become more that way with many of the adult authors writing also in YA, and since Hunger Games and Twilight, as the article discusses. The movies have helped that cause as well.
I think when customers do not know how good YA can be it may be a great opportunity to open up a new area of reading for them and helping us with readers advisory.
a subgenre...who knew! I read YA because it often tells a good story without getting all muddled up with adult rediculousness. I also like the flowchart, and wished the same had been done for the PREZI. I liked the prezi but it just had too much to look on for my comfort level!
ReplyDeleteWhile I can't say that I think the moniker "New Adult" isn't potentially confusing for customers, I can see the particular usefulness of it as an in-house term for pinpointing those materials which might hold particular relevance and appeal for college-age readers and beyond - a readership which the author notes has contributed to the boom of the YA readership and is now starting to "age out." I found this to be a thoughtful article that provides some useful clarification as to the relevance of the term "New Adult," or at least its role in retail and marketing. I can't say that I think it will be particularly beneficial in the library setting though. It's been my observation that adults who are interested in YA / Teen Fiction aren't exactly bashful about asking for titles from that section, or - more likely - they already know what they want and are over browsing the YA reads without librarian assistance!
ReplyDelete