I was thinking about Kristina's post from last Thursday on the New Adult genre and how I see an audience for these books at my library -- among my own staff.
There are a lot of young-twenty-somethings working part-time at the library, either college grads deciding what to do for careers, grad students finishing their programs with the hopes of soon finding full-time jobs, or those who are content to work multiple part-time jobs because they fit into their lifestyles. These young men and women are often single, dating, breaking out of long-term relationships, starting new serious relationships, or figuring out if they ever want to get married/have families.
In other words, they are way beyond relating to high school drama, but not yet relating to the world of careers, marriage, children, aged parents, home owning, etc. And I know they often want to find entertaining fiction to read that they can relate to.
I will definitely recommend some of the ebooks that are becoming popular in this genre, but also ironically, one of the most fitting books I've seen fit the bill in a while is a futuristic sci-fi: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
I LOVE THIS BOOK!
Did I shout it loud enough?
!!!I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!
It is funny, witty, has great 80s pop culture references, a virtual reality world, a treasure hunt, puzzles to solve, and a character who ages from high school to his young twenties, trying to figure out what to do with his life/who to trust.
It made the 2011 Alex Award List (ALA's list of books published for adults that will appeal to teens), which is what made me pick it up, and I have recommended it to many readers who have all loved it too -- teen boys, "new adult" guys, adult librarian women, my 35-year-old husband, and my 29-year-old brother -- which is to say that eeven if a book is pubbed as "new adult," it will find a wider audience.
So, two things to take away from this post: 1) try your hand at reading and writing a new adult if the urge strikes, despite what the market may say, and 2) read READY PLAYER ONE before it comes out as a movie. You won't be disappointed.
Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing
There are a lot of fantasy/sci fi books that could be considered "new adult," mostly because they take place in worlds without high schools or such. Same with historical fiction. Although New Adult is new to contemporary fiction, there's always been a genre audience for it.
ReplyDeleteI want to read it too! Darren said he liked it a lot. :)
ReplyDeleteKate, good point, especially with books like ENDER'S GAME breaking the boundaries early on.
ReplyDeleteAndrea, don't buy RPO yet -- you may get it for Xmas. :)