This Me More Bookish training has introduced me to so many great sights, books and ideas and the Prezi chart was so interesting. Who knew there were so many Genre/Subgenre categories!
I decided to choose three different genre's I don't usually read, so here goes:
Urban Fiction/Literary
My first pick was Urban Fiction with Literary as the subgenre. I profess to knowing absolutely nothing about the books in this category, however I was pleasantly surprised when I went to EarlyWord and found their "Listopia" list called "This Is the Definition of Urban Fiction." I actually had heard of the first 4 that were there. The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah seems to be one of the standard bearers and I would like to read it to get a better sense of this genre. Others on the list were Flyy Girl by Omar Tyree, True to the Game by Teri Woods and The Cartel by Ashley Antoinette. The appeal factors seem to be storylines within an urban setting that are edgy and confrontational.
Horror/Gothic
I have never read much Horror(my imagination is vivid enough!) but I choose this area to get a better idea of what is offered. Again I went to EarlyWord to see what they had on their lists and choose new and classic offerings. First off, Shirley Jackson"s We Have Always Lived in the Castle"-the book cover drew me in and the title as well. Miss Peregrine"s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs had several appeal factors. The book cover alone-a black/white picture, looks to be back in the early part of the century of a young girl in a dress, levitating and staring right at you-is a curious sight, but also, throughout the book are other B/W photos of unusual children. I think using not just word but pictures is very effective. If you really love horror in it's finest where it goes to work in your imagination, a must read is Edgar Allan Poe(Also if you are from Baltimore, well....I don't need to say more!) and The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales should be on everyone's list. I also choose another older book, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind. This book came out in the late 80's when I was working at an independent bookstore and it was very popular so I want to revisit and put it on my reading list.
Western/Urban
This combination of Western and Urban seems so unlikely, that I picked this for my third choice of subgenres. I went, once again, to EarlyWord for guidance and this is what I found. A classic read by Zane Grey, Riders of the Purple Sage, though probably very dated, should be read just to see how far the western novel has come. Somehow, on this sight, the two genre's meshed together and The Chance She Took by Kole Black made the list so one sees a pretty big departure from a Zane Grey novel. My last title is a Comac McCarthy novel, All The Pretty Horses. Written in a sparse, tight style that reads like a contemporary novel, with a storyline placed in the 1950/1960/s. I realize my three choices really run the gamut here, but I think this subgenre is evolving... which lead me to create my own. Take the movie "Jango Unchained" and apply it to a new subgenre I will call "Urban/Southern Gothic"...Imagine Gone with the Wind, but with a contemporary dialogue and the history of that time intertwined with our current perspective.
Please excuse the last,(very small)! paragraph.....I had some trouble getting the font to change.
Please excuse the last,(very small)! paragraph.....I had some trouble getting the font to change.
No comments:
Post a Comment