Week 6

Assignment 1:

Early on, I decided to follow the StreetFiction.org site to keep up with Urban fiction, which is a genre I am not familiar with at all. The Prezi flowchart was very helpful because I didn't realize there were so many types of urban fiction (hip hop, Christian, literary, etc). I have to admit, though, that I haven't been following StreetFiction as closely as I should. Part of it is because it doesn't seem to change very much. I see many of the same titles from 5 weeks ago, and aside from a summarizing blurb about the book, I don't see additional comments for most of the books. The one part of the site that changes a bit is the top banner, but even then, it is just a couple books. I'm a little disappointed with the lack of depth for that site.

Assignment 2:
As mentioned above, I found the Prezi link to be very interesting and informative. I knew about genres and subgenres, but not the depth to which they are divided.

Assignment 3:

Chick Lit (Realistic Fiction): appeal factors include having a female lead, can be lighthearted and a quick read, usually with a happy ending. Authors/titles include: Jennifer Weiner, Emily Giffin, and Sophie Kinsella.

Foreign Intrigue (Mystery): appeal factors include an exotic location and culture, yet they still retain the suspense and action of mysteries. Authors/titles include: Stieg Larsson, James Church, and Jussi Adler-Olsen.

Historical Fiction (Realistic Fiction): appeal factors include the (possibly) exotic settings, historical details and characters, possibly romance or intrigue (political, mystery). Authors/titles include: Philippa Gregory, Allison Pataki, Alison Weir.


Mashup:
One mashup I can think of off the top of my head, perhaps because I have his latest sitting on my desk waiting to be read, is Justin Cronin's Passage Trilogy. It definitely falls under Horror/monster, with the vampire-like creatures. However, the series is also post-apocalyptic, yet exciting enough to be thriller...

Another mashup could be Sarah Addison Allen's Lost Lake. The book can fit into several categories: chick lit, romance, and realistic fiction with a twist of magic, but not hard-core fantasy magic...just a bit of magical realism.