One Of These Things is Not Like the Other

Courtesy of Barbara Ferrer, her local Barnes & Noble,  and her camera phone, we have a picture that really may be worth a thousand words.

Which words? The ones you use when you defend the accusation that romance is “porn.”

Categorized:

Random Musings

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  1. *delurking to chime in as another BN employee*

    all the title placements and categories are drawn up by the “Home” (read: Corporate) Office and are set in stone. Even if something is egregiously mis-categorized, it would take a miracle to get it re-categorized

    sad but true.  and if the staff shelving the books notices that a book is misfiled in the system, we can choose the put it in the correct place so that customers will find it; but then if a customer asks for help at customer service, we won’t be able to locate it.  one example would be with James Patterson’s Maximum Ride books: leading up to the recent release of the latest volume, the classification of the mass market pbs was changed from teen to regular fiction.  yes, this may draw in his adult fans.  but it confuses the customers, it confuses the booksellers, and the kids can’t find the books!

    Vampire romances (Charlene Harris and laurell hamilton and the like) were in with the sci-fi/fan section and Richelle Mead’s Succubus Blues was filed in regular fiction.

    yep.  some of the things I see filed in regular fiction, like the Zane books, make me roll my eyes.  meanwhile, the lazy booksellers who sort the books by cover guestimate instead of scanning them are up the creek with some of the books marketed in mystery, romance, and sff.  I find J.R. Ward and other romantic suspense books shelved in mystery all the time. 

    and then, we have the religious fiction books that are trying out the Harlequin look.  fun times!

  2. Seressia says:

    Vampire romances (Charlene Harris and laurell hamilton and the like) were in with the sci-fi/fan section and Richelle Mead’s Succubus Blues was filed in regular fiction.

    See to me, the Charlaine Harris and LKH books aren’t romances, but urban fantasy (even though CH has a romantic element).  When I go looking for those books, I head for fantasy/scifi first and find them quickly enough.  Borders had them in horror. Don’t know where they shelve them now since it’s been a while since I’ve been in one.

    I remember way back in te day when I supported by book habit by working for the man, they gave me a literature test before I was hired.  I guess they’re not doing that anymore—few adult booklovers can afford to work at high school wages, at least on nights and weekends when most shoppers are in.

  3. oflindentrees says:

    I work for a bookstore and I can honestly say that for those “new release” shelves, you have to have a certain number of copies of new books to put there.  And those are all new releases that probably came to their store with enough copies to be displayed.  You can’t blame the bookstore workers or the authors for what the covers looks like.  As all or most people know…..it’s the publishers that pick them.  And I know for a fact, since I do most of the receiving and display filling at my store, that those are the newest trade paperback romance novels to come to stores.

    (and I have certainly seen much more graphic covers than what is on those covers :p )

  4. The book cover idea of sexy is so not anymore.  I’m desensitized to it.  I don’t go “Ooo sexy abs!” anymore.  At all.  I just sort of shuffle on by and hope I can find something romantic with a cover that doesn’t scream “FUCK ME! FUCK ME!  FUCK ME WHILE I’M TIGHT!”

    I just spit out my drink all over my monitor. That’s got to be the quote of the day! LOL!!

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