Learning About Genre Fiction:
Reference and Authoritative Internet Sources of Definitions, Descriptions, Tropes and Examples
Online Reference Sources
Reference Resources on the Web
Bibliographic Resources on the Web
Bibliographic Resource Databases
Learning About Genre Fiction: Online Reference Sources
LION Literature Online: (NOTE: requires Simmons College login) This resource includes full-text access to a number of academic literary journals and also provides full-text access to literary reference works like the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Choose “Criticism and Reference” and then specify “Reference” to search these reference books
Literature Resource Center: (NOTE: requires Simmons College login) While Gale Publishing Group's Literature Resource center is a greater source of information about specific authors and their works, the "Encyclopedia of Literature" resource provides pithy definitions of terms, including genre.
Learning About Genre Fiction: Internet Resources
Genrefluent: Diana Tixier Herald (author of the popular Genreflecting series of readers' advisory texts) hosts her own informational site featuring a page of young adult recommendations and links to sites describing and recommending genre fiction
Glossary of Literary Terms: UNC-Pembroke professor Mark Canada's online glossary of literary terms includes definitions and explanations of the term "genre" as well as descriptions of common generic forms
Virtual Salt: Glossary of Literary Terms: retired professor Robert Harris's glossary of terms includes descriptions of popular literary forms and cites examples of many of these
Finding Genre Fiction:
Online Bibliographic and Readers' Advisory Resources and Readers' Advisory Databases
Finding Genre Fiction: Bibliographic Resources on the Web
READ (REaders' ADvisor): Organized by the Lakewood (Ohio) Public Library, this collection of links leads readers to sites dedicated to the discussion and recommendation of fiction in particular genres including historical fiction, mystery and romance
Readalike.org: Created by LIS students at Indiana University, this readers' advisory site includes author recommendations (organized by genre), links to informative sites related to individual genres and recommendations of informative and readers' advisory print resources
Reading Rants: Created and maintaned by librarian Jennifer Hubert (author of Reading Rants: A Guide to Books that Rock), this site features annotatations of young adult fiction, organized by topic, issue and literary type
More Books [for the Teen Age]: This site, organized by the New York Public Library, features booklists related to theme or topic (like "Around the World in Books") and genre ("Historical Fiction").
Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) Booklists Annual lists of fiction and nonfiction published by Voice of Youth Advocates include the journal's picks for "Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror" as well as a list of "Adult Mysteries with Young Adult Appeal"
The Horn Book's Recommended Books: The Horn Book's page of recommended reading for librarians, educators, parents and other adults interested in children's and young adult literature includes lists of recommended American historical fiction and science fiction and fantasy
The Center for Children's Books' Bibliographies: Created and maintained by the Center for Children's Books at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, this thematic list of bibliographies includes young-adult-specific and genre-particular recommendations of books like "Mysteries for Young Adults" and "New Teenage Fantasy"
Finding Genre Fiction: Bibliographic Resource Databases
Novelist PLUS: (NOTE: requires Simmons College login) The primary function of this database is to recommend and guide reading based on literary style and reader interest; however, the database also includes informative articles describing and defining literary trends. See the “Getting Started in RA” column on the far right side of the database’s front page to a link to genre-related resources
What do I read Next? (NOTE: requires Simmons College login) Like Novelist, this database recommends literature to readers who describe their reading preferences using WDIRN's controlled vocabulary. The "Genre Search" feature allows users to search by genre, subgenre (the variety of which is great) and audience
Created August 2009 at Beatley Library, Simmons College, Boston, MA | 617-521-2780 | <http://my.simmons.edu/library/>