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Went to Barnes & Noble yesterday...

Kit

Maester
.... you know the different sections: humor, history, romance, etc...

"Young Adult Paranormal Romance" now is a bona fide SECTION with its own set of shelves and everything. They had about a zillion titles.

Kind of amusing how everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.

I found a book that I remember from the late 70's/early 80's.... it was an obscure little story that I guess would today be classified as YAPR... it got a fresh reprint and new cover.
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
The local independent book store here and Barnes and Noble have both done this. Those books sell like crazy, and they want to stock a bunch of them.
 
.... you know the different sections: humor, history, romance, etc...

"Young Adult Paranormal Romance" now is a bona fide SECTION with its own set of shelves and everything. They had about a zillion titles.

Kind of amusing how everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.

I found a book that I remember from the late 70's/early 80's.... it was an obscure little story that I guess would today be classified as YAPR... it got a fresh reprint and new cover.

It's not that new; I saw a "Teen Paranormal Romance" section at B&N two years ago, but I guess "Young Adult" is a better marketing term (has fewer negative connotations than "teen").
 

Kit

Maester
Ah, I didn't see that section last year. (I only go to the bookstore once a year, in June- in preparation for my annual cross-country plane trip. I despise flying, and balm myself with a pile of new books and a half-pound bag of peanut M&M's. The rest of the time, it's Half-Price Books, Third Place Books, and Amazon.com "used". New books are hella expensive!)
 

Kelise

Maester
All bookstores I've been into in both the UK and Australia have had that section for the last couple of years, and they're going strong.

Sadly, I think they're going to stick around for a while. While one part of me thinks it's good that it gets people reading - and that any kind of reading is good... another part of me still thinks 'eek'.
 

Jess A

Archmage
I love Barnes & Noble. I go every time I visit the US. I always walk out with something random. In Australia, Borders shut down - it's similar to Barnes & Noble. A disappointment.

Anyhow, my waffling aside - I think YA Paranormal Romance indeed deserves its own section. It sells well and it's easier to get more customers to buy other titles (add-on sales) if they're in a section full of books similar to the one they're after. Add a few gimmicky things and you've got a great section for extra sales.

Having its own section means it is easier for me to avoid the genre altogether whilst I browse.
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
It seems the me that what a store like B&N will do with its shelves, or what an independent bookstore like we have here will do, is driven by sales. If the customer demand justifies a section, then it makes sense to have one. I suspect these teen paranormal romance series are selling a lot better than other fantasy novels at this point.
 
I don't actually have a problem with the concept of YAPR; it's a genre, so what? Teenagers love romance, and adding that paranormal kick to it makes it fantastical and otherworldly.

It's just particular works in YAPR (coughTwilightcough) that deserve derision and scorn because of their incredibly poor writing and characterization, not to mention depicting the protagonist as a self-victimizing personality-free wimp.
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
It's just particular works in YAPR (coughTwilightcough) that deserve derision and scorn because of their incredibly poor writing and characterization, not to mention depicting the protagonist as a self-victimizing personality-free wimp.

That's nonsense, but it's a different thread I suppose.
 
I'm happy people are reading no matter what it is. If something keeps the publishing industry going, I'm all for it. Even if it's not something I read personally.

I'm not sure I completely agree. In theory, reading only things which spread nothing but lies and propaganda might actually be worse than reading nothing at all. Not that Twilight is lies and propaganda, I just mean in theory I don't think "anything is better than nothing" is true.
 

Philip Overby

Staff
Article Team
I'm not sure I completely agree. In theory, reading only things which spread nothing but lies and propaganda might actually be worse than reading nothing at all. Not that Twilight is lies and propaganda, I just mean in theory I don't think "anything is better than nothing" is true.

I mean more in the sense of reading fiction for entertainment, not any sort of broader notion. If people are reading something for entertainment then it still makes it viable for us as writers to have an audience when they get older. Not everyone that reads Twilight only reads that kind of stuff. If Twilight is a "gateway drug" to other things, then I'm all for it. I can't really deride someone else for their preferred form of entertainment. When I was a teenager I read Dragonlance books which some people may say suck, but I liked it at the time.

I personally don't like Twilight or most YA fiction, but then again I'm not a YA so it's not targeted towards me.
 

Kelise

Maester
A co-worker read Twilight after seeing the films, and it was the first book she had read since high school. Knowing I was a reader, she asked me to suggest other things, which I did so, slowly upping my idea of 'quality'.

Now she reads high fantasy - sometimes a 900+ book in a weekend.

So I'm all for any kind of reading, because I know that it can lead on to (better) reading in general. She's always seen with a book these days, whereas before it has been more than ten years since she'd even touched one.
 
I mean more in the sense of reading fiction for entertainment, not any sort of broader notion. If people are reading something for entertainment then it still makes it viable for us as writers to have an audience when they get older. Not everyone that reads Twilight only reads that kind of stuff. If Twilight is a "gateway drug" to other things, then I'm all for it. I can't really deride someone else for their preferred form of entertainment. When I was a teenager I read Dragonlance books which some people may say suck, but I liked it at the time.

Sure, fair enough. I'll agree that even Twilight is better than nothing. ;)
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
A co-worker read Twilight after seeing the films, and it was the first book she had read since high school. Knowing I was a reader, she asked me to suggest other things, which I did so, slowly upping my idea of 'quality'.

Now she reads high fantasy - sometimes a 900+ book in a weekend.

So I'm all for any kind of reading, because I know that it can lead on to (better) reading in general. She's always seen with a book these days, whereas before it has been more than ten years since she'd even touched one.

These are good points. There is quite a bit of good YA Fantasy out there as well. Kristin Cashore, for example.

I think I've noted in other threads what I think of the hipster-style Twilight hate, so there's no reason to rehash that yet again here.
 
These are good points. There is quite a bit of good YA Fantasy out there as well. Kristin Cashore, for example.

I think I've noted in other threads what I think of the hipster-style Twilight hate, so there's no reason to rehash that yet again here.

Hipster-style? Are you claiming there's no way for someone to legitimately hate Twilight for entirely valid reasons? I assure you, there's not a drop of hipsterism in my blood.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Hipster-style? Are you claiming there's no way for someone to legitimately hate Twilight for entirely valid reasons? I assure you, there's not a drop of hipsterism in my blood.

I think there's valid reasons to show disdain for the portrayal of the main character's romantic relationships, which are not necessarily healthy but are nonetheless idolized by many readers, and are essentially the point of the book. I don't mind if that specific criticism is portrayed in a sweeping contempt for all things Twilight; I think it's a strong and valid enough criticism to greatly overshadow it's positive elements.

The same does not hold true, in my mind, for criticisms of other works, like Harry Potter. There are some valid literary criticisms of the Harry Potter books, but by and large they're successful for pretty good reasons.

((edit)) Of course, if a reader holds a healthy view of the relationships in the book, there's nothing wrong if they still enjoy it. And if it helps them to read more, that's terrific.
 
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