Thinking About Genre by Matthew Galloway via RUSQ

In the latest issue of RUSQ, my colleague Matthew Galloway has a great article about genre and how it can be a hinderance to helping readers. 

Click here to access the full article but here is the abstract:

Thinking About Genre  

Matthew Galloway 

Abstract

I work in a non-Dewey library that essentially uses a combination of BISAC and simplified language to organize our shelves to create an easily browsable collection. While my area of selection is adult fiction and probably the least different from Dewey libraries, traditional genres can still be a conundrum.

It’s not that I don’t know genre conventions—I have fifteen years of library experience, have

volunteered for numerous genre award committees, and even write reviews for Library Journal.

The puzzle arises from the conflict between  publisher, public, and library views on genre. We can

probably add vendor ideas as well, not to mention the numerous public figures who have their

thoughts on how genre ought to be divvied up.

He takes a very popular title to illustrate his main point. From the article:

Take a novel like Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. I think most libraries would agree this lives most comfortably on a general fiction shelf. It has an octopus that narrates chapters and is certainly human-like in his intelligence and thought patterns, but he isn’t magical, and there isn’t special technology that allows him to communicate with anyone in the book. It’s a delightful conceit. There are numerous reviews from the public that label this a mystery, and, indeed, the publisher includes “FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Cozy / Animals” as one of the BISAC subject headings. Though I haven’t seen those same reviews use FICTION / Magical Realism or FICTION / Fantasy / Humorous to describe the book, marketers chose to add those alongside categories I feel are more useful for readers’ advisory: FICTION / Animals, FICTION / Friendship, FICTION / Family Life / General.

Galloway goes on to use a few other very popular books with wide cross genre appeal as examples as well. And then he discusses how genre language is both helpful and not as we work with human readers. It is an article that everyone who works with readers needs to read. Don't worry, it is extremely practical but well researched and just the right length. You will not be overwhelmed here.

The article's focus-- always thinking about the reader in front of us and why that person is seeking that book or why we think they should read it-- is important.

I also really love his point that a book's "genre" can change over time, even though the book never changes. His examples are great but we all have even more from our time working with readers.

I see some room for this article to be turned into a conversation starter to display question. I am not sure what the question would be yet but there is definitely something there. Maybe you will come up with a conversation starter inspired by this article and then you can share it with me.

Click here to access to PDF to read what I am talking about.