Appomattox Regional Library System discussion

Trends come and go, in clothing, foods, traditions, and even reading. Have you given much thought about what the popular subjects for reading are, at the library. I have noticed many different trends with cataloging and filling requests. What do you think will be the "next big thing"? My guess is "steampunk".

I'm not sure if this is necessarily the "next big thing," but it seems like a lot of female comedians have been writing autobiographies lately. Amy Poehler's Yes Please, Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me, Sarah Silverman's The Bedwetter, Ellen DeGeneres' Seriously...I'm Kidding, Chelsea Handler's Uganda Be Kidding Me, and (my favorite) Tina Fey's Bossypants have all been published within the last five years. I'm personally thrilled that there is a market for books by funny, clever, insightful women and I hope this trend continues.

It is good to have such a variety of interests in reading. I am not much for reading horror or science fiction. I enjoy all sorts of biographies, current people and folks from the Colonial Period. I also enjoy true crime stories. My favorite book is "The Shack". It was a little far fetched, but it kept me hooked. It also holds a memory of my Mom. (This was the last book in which she and I shared a discussion.) Keep reading...you have given me new titles to try.

I'm curious to know what books fall under steampunk. My sister and niece are into steampunk art but I haven't heard of any books. I just finished The Shack on CD. I think I would have liked it more if I read it. That will probably be the last fiction book I will get on CD. Sometimes the reader's voice will annoy me and on non fiction they don't inflect their voice with emotion.

Good question! I have a MASSIVE stack of old Book Page's to go through(both from ARLS and Books-A-Million), so I'll keep this post in mind and let you know if I find the answer :)

I had never heard of "steampunk" and actually had to look it up! It appears to me to seem more like a lifestyle/fashion trend vs. an actual book genre, but if someone could identify some "steampunk" titles for me, I would be interested in perusing through them. From my cataloging and book request experiences, patrons tend to stick to a certain genre or a couple of genres. I do find that patrons will venture out of their genre "comfort zone" if they trust the person giving them the recommendation or if they exhaust all options within that genre within our system if they are avid readers. Additionally, I think that patrons' personalities drive their willingness to step out of their genre "comfort zone" adjudged by whether or not they are generally risk takers or prefer to play it safe in life. With that said, I think it's difficult to predict the emerging trends in reading, but it is exciting whenever new books are released!

One important trend to remember is reading books by different authors can take us out of our comfort zone.

Yes. This concept of benefitting from venturing into new areas of reading is the basis for our book groups.As library staffers however, we do have to realize that the patron has to be willing- otherwise we risk annoying them.

I really find that some of the emails from Bookpage and other daily or weekly suggestions have broadened the books which I am willing to try.
Sometimes I don't really pursue that genre but I appreciate at least having an introduction to it.

I feel that someone should branch off into all different genres no matter what it may be. I mean you wont know exactly which genres you like until you explore or venture into the stories they offer.