The start of any new year often gives us
time to reflect on things we usually can’t find time for with our hectic
schedules. Since I have a wide variety of interests and a naturally curious
mind, this can often lead me into trouble, I find. One of the less twisted
things I pondered over these holidays past was how much variety and choice we
have nowadays, particularly when it comes to our fiction. A few decades ago
there were a small number of broad genres: romance, mystery, horror and
biographies to name the first few that come to mind.
Now it’s not like the publishing industry
has reinvented the wheel, but something I did think over was how ePublishing
has really opened up these categories – the regular publishers following along
sometimes dragging their feet (like with erotica) but sometimes with more enthusiasm
(say, the paranormal genre). Ten years ago all the *experts* pooh-poohed the
eReader and most snubbed the ePublishers and figured it would prove to be a five
minute wonder. What I don’t think they took into account was the sheer scope
and variety these new markets could open us up to.
A few decades ago, Paranormal fiction was to
be rare. In general, there were strictly vampire stories or sometimes
werewolf and always firmly in the horror
section. My mother (who has always been a voracious reader) doesn’t recall more
than a few books from her teens that could be classified nowadays as
paranormal. Now, the bookstores have a shelf or two dedicated to it – and a
separate shelf for the Urban Fantasy section. Indeed, over Christmas I noticed
one of my larger local bookstores had erected a new section for Teen
Paranormal, as a separate entity of its own.
With eReaders, gone are the days those
erotic titles and ruder books are kept well hidden in a secret stash in your
bedroom. While those of us who are nosy (I still prefer the term curious) might
glance over your shoulder and skim the page on your screen to try and decipher
what you’re engrossed in on the train – anyone who is curious, or well read,
enough to catch on to what kind of book you’re enjoying likely isn’t going to
be one to judge.
Even my own tastes have spread over the
gamut. I started with a hint of kink (Payback) then delved head first into some werewolves (The Rutledge Werewolf Series) and finally alternate universe vampires (Montague Vampires ).
Total-E-Bound have also broadened their horizons with some fantastic
rewrites of the Classics (Cladenstine Classics). It’s a pretty safe bet that regardless of
what kind of book you’re in the mood for, it’s out there somewhere and just a
Google search away. I’m definitely feeling lucky lately.
Elizabeth x
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