Quote:
Originally Posted by Lemurion
I'd be more worried by separation because sometimes a book of a type I wouldn't normally read will catch my eye, and I'd miss it if it were stuck in a ghetto that's 99% books I have no interest in.
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I admit this is a problem. I never would have read Shayne Parkinson's Promises to Keep quartet if it had been labeled as historical fiction. Yet, I did download the first ebook (Sentence of Marriage) and shortly bought the other 3 titles because I found the writing to be absolutely world-class.
OTOH, I suspect that there are certain categories of books that we avoid because we know that no matter how well-written we can't get past certain prejudices. Included in that for me are vampire and horror books -- I've tried them numerous times and never was able to complete them.
As regards books labeled christian and that are fiction, if they are so labeled, my experience is that the author is preaching in the guise of a story (an allegory?). For the most part, this is what is expected by readers, I think, who see soemthing labeled as christian fiction. I'm not interested. However, a book labeled as christian that is nonfiction could interest me because the perspective and information are different.
I would add that the category/genre of christian fiction is a fairly well-defined standard category. I've not seen the same -- or at least not with the same frequency -- usage with other religious affiliations; christian stands out uniquely, perhaps because of its evangelicalism.
I'm not sure what the best answer is to the problem. Probably what I do now: open the thread and as soon as I discover what genre(s) the book falls into, I either read on or close the thread.