Assg.1- Looked at the What to Read Next flowchart. Clever idea that will be useful when working with customers. I like the fact that book covers are part of the chart. The Prezi we used for subgenres was difficult and not visually interesting. This one is.
Assg.2 I read Next Big Thing from YALSA and Who is Buying Teen Books from Wall Street Journal. These two were the most recent on the list.
Both used the Bowker research for their statistics. I learned that 55% of customers who buy teen books are over 18 and that the largest group is 30-44 years old!
Both articles cite reasons for this:
- less complicated writing style
- popular adult authors are writing for teens
- nostalgia and escapism
- mainstream media publicity
Assg.3 I've chosen to follow Teenreads and School Library Journal.
Teenreads is part of TBRN. The group provides web developmet and Internet marketing and publicity services for authors and publishers. The site is quite extensive containing reviews, a blog, Books on Screen, YouTube and RSS links. There are author interviews and lots more. The audience is teen readers but book stores and selectors will find it useful too.
I especially liked the "Adult Books You Want to Read" section. Another nice review feature is the tagging of a title as family, action/adventure,paranormal romance, etc.
Complete bibliographic is provided for titles reviewed.
School Library Journal: Someday my Printz Will Come. It's audience is librarians. There are interesting articles and lots of reviews of books and media.
Assg.4 Teens at Random and Harper Teen. Both featured current and forthcoming titles. The titles for both include post-apocalyptic fiction, paranormal romance, fantasy/scifi and romance.
Marlene, I read the same article and still can't believe that so many 18 to34 year olds are reading teen books. I agree with you that there is a bit of escapism but also think people want a book that has some meat but is also a quick read. I hadn't thought about adult authors crossing over to YA. One article commented on adults in families reading Twilight and Harry Potter as their children enjoyed them first. I wonder what will be the next teen to parent recommendation? Hunger GAmes was a hit too.
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