week 7

Assignment 1: Fun flowchart, certainly a useful collection of titles that librarians should be aware of. I would guess that the avid teen post-HG readers have read all of these and more at this point.

Assignment 2:

I read the ‘New Adult’ article. I have to agree with the Random House VP quoted in here: the content has always been out there, whether you call it ‘new adult’ or ‘YA’ or ‘coming of age’, etc. It might be more relevant to publishers to have a more precise way to describe this booming genre or for authors to be able to sell their work by attaching it to this trend, but it seems like customers are going to find the books they want no matter what we call them. After all, “young adult” and “juvenile” are never the terms that customers apply to their reading tastes or age level. 

Article 2 was ‘Not Just for Teens.’ These are all sensible reasons that adults are (re)connecting with teen literature. While reading this I was wondering about the internet connection: adult readers in their 30s and 40s, whether they are parents or not, are the last generation of folks to remember life before the internet. Teens today take the internet (and 24/7 access to it via smartphones) as a given. Life happens online. As someone who remembers life pre-internet, I definitely wonder what life is like for teens today (not only because I have a sister 16 years my junior)… and reading teen literature is a way to bridge that gap and connect with the worldview of today’s teens.

I posted to Melissa G.’s blog:

Howdy. I read the same articles. 'New Adult' seems fine for the industry folks, but I'm not sure that customers care one way or another.

I also feel the exact opposite way you do about adult fic-- though I do steer clear of the authors you mentioned. I think I would pick up MORE teen titles if they weren't part of a series, which seems to be the way teen publishing is these days. I so rarely get invested in a series that starting one sounds, I don't know, exhausting.

…and to Jarrett F.’s blog:

Hi Jarrett,

Re: New Adult... I think you may be right here. It's a trendy term right now, but it may sound dated and stale (like 'young adult') in a couple of years. Your point about sexuality is a good one, and I wonder who marketers are really trying to nab with this term: all the actual adults who are reading teen now, and don't care? or the actual older teens who are already reading this stuff anyway? For me, it's very profit-focused, and not an identifier I expect readers to pick up. People want the books they want, whatever the category: "juvenile", "teen", "adult" or otherwise.

 Assignment 3:

I followed John Green’s tumblr and Stacked. John Green’s tumblr is great and I’m a little embarrassed I hadn’t looked at it before, though I have seen some of his videos. Geared towards fans of his regardless of age, as well as people interested in…many things. I’ll be following his site from now on.

I like the appearance of Stacked, and it’s reviews seem to appeal to the teen reader. Written by librarians, the reviews link titles to others that may be similar. Librarians and bookish folks will enjoy.

Assignment 4:

Little, Brown Books for Teens: Thrillers and realistic fiction seem to be big winners here. I saw no fewer than three James Patterson teen titles. This site also links to thenovl.com, which appears to be a cute, book-themed tumblr for teens, though judging by the ‘likes,’ it may not be that well-trafficked. Although I do like their manifesto.

Teens @ Random: … is a pretty dated-looking site. Lots of fantasy titles here, as well as hype for a new title from James Dashner , who just recently joined them for a chat.