What is "New Adult?"

[Ekaros]

So what is Old Adult and Middle Adult? ;D

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Ekaros

So what is Old Adult and Middle Adult? ;D

More garbage.

[xg4bx]

These days we love categorizing, labelling and shoving everything into a defined box to the point of ridiculousness and this is just more of that silliness. Just another marketing buzzword that means nothing.

To me there are 2 genres of books: things I'll read and things I won't read and I'll know 'em when I see 'em.

[Yolina]

I really don't get all those neatly defined labels for everything nowadays... I just go by stuff I want to read and stuff I don't want to read, mostly based on the blurb and quick nosey at the writing style. All those "coming of age" type books have never appealed to me though, by my late teens my favourite book was (and still is over 20 years later) Les Chants de Maldoror

[DianNC]

While browsing on Amazon yesterday, I saw a book described as, "Adult Science-fiction for children."

It's probably obvious to everyone but me.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by DianNC

While browsing on Amazon yesterday, I saw a book described as, "Adult Science-fiction for children."

It's probably obvious to everyone but me.

If it was in the description, it's probably keyword stuffing. I've seen some really bizarre things lately, like descriptions that just scream "I read a crappy SEO book today". I find it incredibly annoying, and kind of stupid. Yeah, it's important that people find the author's book, but if they end up there and it's not what they are looking for, what good does that do? For the really obvious ones, I use the links on the product page to report it to Amazon.

But I guess this is what happens when Amazon took away their precious tags.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

But I guess this is what happens when Amazon took away their precious tags.

The tags were abused as well.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The tags were abused as well.

I know. I was actually glad to see them go since they'd become meaningless at that point due to tag swaps.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

I know. I was actually glad to see them go since they'd become meaningless at that point due to tag swaps.

We have a thread here on MR were authors where abusing tags by swapping.

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Chick Lit is the stuff a girl gets her BF to read after nagging him repeatedly. New Adult is stuff that no amount of nagging is going to get any guy to read.

I'm kind of baffled at the idea that any straight guy would have much interest in chick lit unless he has unusually broad-ranging taste in literature.

Although you might get a guy to read it if you tell him it's pron for women

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

These days we love categorizing, labelling and shoving everything into a defined box to the point of ridiculousness and this is just more of that silliness. Just another marketing buzzword that means nothing.

To me there are 2 genres of books: things I'll read and things I won't read and I'll know 'em when I see 'em.

There is a use for it--as someone who sold to libraries/librarians for years--these classifications exist not only as marketing labels, but also in cataloging as a way to help you find the (or the kind of) book you want or need. Library of Congress Subject Headings can be very informative about particular books, and the classification systems are absolutely necessary for any large collection of books. Otherwise it would be just like those huge charity booksales that have an entire gymnasium filled with "fiction" and you get to buy whatever you can find in there that looks interesting...

[applesauce]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Young Adult, New Adult, Reluctant Adult, Full-On Adult... they're all just silly marketing labels that often have very little to do with degrees of "adulthood" or even a book's content. It's just about which raccoon they want to dangle the shiny bauble in front of.

Juvenile, adolescent, adult: any other age-oriented label is silly and often just plain misleading... as in this case.

No they are amazing warning labels to me saying do NOT read
saves me a lot of time

applesauce

[dixieknits]

Yes, but............It gets them reading. In my day (many days back it's true ) Nancy Drew mysteries were YA and considered trash.. They weren't in the public or school libraries. I had to save my babysitting money and buy them from our local department store. As sillie as they were and as the new urban romance stuff is or some consider it is, it gets YAs READING and they will in time get sick of the stuff and branch out to other genres..

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by dixieknits

In my day (many days back it's true ) Nancy Drew mysteries were YA and considered trash.. They weren't in the public or school libraries.

Hmmm. In my day they were (along with their stable-mates of the Hardy Boys and Tom Swift) simply regarded as children's books. "YA" was a label that was invented for such books much, much later.

[Joykins]

I've never seen a Nancy Drew in the YA section; always the children's section. Even though Nancy is theoretically 17...