Welcome to the first of my Monday How-Tos. This feature will cover a variety of topics in the book world. The first one I'm going to cover is book classification, or how to find books in a book store. First, disclaimer: I do not actually work in a book store. However, I do spend a lot of time in them. When you spend a lot of time in them and when you review books on a book blog, you tend to learn how things are sorted. Now, some stores are off the wall and have random ways of doing things, but for the most part, this should help you find things faster.
Step 1: Have the book and the author handy.
I have heard many horror stories from booksellers of people coming in and going "where's the book with the blue cover with a bird on it?" or giving the wrong title entirely. Just...don't do that. It helps no one. It should seriously take you about ten seconds to write down the book and the author that you see online or wherever you hear about the book. So just write down the info. You don't have to go overboard, heck, you can get away with just having the title and a bookseller should be able to find it for you.
Step 2: Know what you're looking for.
Maybe you don't have a specific book, but a type of book you want? Well, that's good too! If it's non-fiction, then head to the reference/non-fiction section. If it's fiction head to that section. For fiction, head to the respective categories they're in.
Step 3: Know the category difference.
Maybe you're not sure if the book you're looking for is YA or adult or childrens? Well there's an easy way to figure it out. Particularly if you know the ages of the main characters. If it's about children, ages 13 and under, it's going to be in the childrens/Middle-grade section usually. If it's about teenagers (14-19 or so) then it's going to be in YA. If it's about all adults, it'll be in the adult section. That includes that New Adult stuff. From what I see the only people using the New Adult classification seem to be book bloggers. Stores haven't really embraced it. Probably because adult fiction is pretty much New Adult, but that is a rant for another day.
Sometimes the middle-grade vs YA thing can be a bit tricky but generally if they're middle-school aged it's going to be MG.
Step 4: Figure out the genre you're looking for
It really really helps if you know what genre it is. Especially if it's adult fiction. From what I've seen there isn't much distinction in genres in the MG/YA sections, but in adult fiction it's a big thing. The big ones are usually: sci-fi/fantasy (usually grouped together even though they're different ;sigh;), mystery, romance, general fiction (sometimes they separate historical fiction, but usually not). Also, they're very literal with those genres. All types of fantasy and sci-fi will go under that category (accept for some reason, magical realism which seems to always be in the general fiction, I could go on about genre snobbery here, but I'll spare you). Supense/thrillers will generally always be under mystery, and all romance be it historical or otherwise will fall under romance.
Non-Fiction seems to do things a bit more rigidly. They separate it out a bit more so it'll really help if you know the type you're looking for there. If it's a cookbook, it'll be in the cookbook section, history in the history section, etc. The only ones that don't seem to be separated out are biographies and memoirs.
Step 5: Know the author, because it's generally always alphabetical.
If you don't know the title, at least know the author. Most stores do it alphabetical by author. If you know the author and know what genre it is, then you should be able to find what you're looking for.
That's honestly all there is to it. If you have the title and the author and know what genre it is in, then you're pretty much set. In terms of layouts for stores, I can't really help you but advise you to read signs. If it's a good store, they'll have the sections labeled clearly.
Here's a quick guide to sections. FYI, I follow this model here on this list, so you can use this to find books on here as well.
Two main distinctions: Non-Fiction or Fiction
Non-Fiction=Anything that is based on real life, is about a real event, or real history, or a real person. This includes: biographies, auto-biographies, memoirs, references, decor books, cookbooks, history books, micro-history books, self-help books.(please note: I'm not doing non-fiction on here, I'm not exactly an expert in non-fiction)
Fiction: Any sort of made up story.
Fiction Categories: Childrens, Middle-Grade, YA, Adult
Childrens-Anything about kids 11 or under. This includes picture books, early chapter books, early reader books. From what I've seen a lot of childrens is sorted out by reading level so if you know what reading level/grade your kid is in then you should be able to find them books in that section. Of course it should be pointed out every kid reads at a different pace, so when it doubt ask your kid first please if they think they want to read a book or not.
Middle-Grade-Anything about kids 11 to 13/sometimes 14. In other words middle-school age kids.
Young Adult/YA: Anything about teenagers, which usually covers ages 14 to around 19 or so.
Adult Fiction: Anything after age 19/20ish (including New Adult, sorry this is not a legit thing yet),
Note: sometimes books can actually be two categories. Harry Potter for instance can be Middle-Grade AND YA because it has Harry and co. growing up within those ages. There are many adult books that can be considered YA and adult. So if you're told something is YA and it's not there, check the middle-grade or adult sections as well.
Sub-genres and where they'll likely fall under:
Sci-Fi/Fantasy: includes high fantasy, dark fantasy, steampunk, anything aliens, robots, cyborgs, dystopian, historical fantasy, paranormal, urban fantasy, cyberpunk, mermaids, unicorns, dragons, anything that does not happen in the real world will generally be put under this category. Magical realism should technically also be here but for some reason gets special treatment and put under general fiction. Whatever.
Mystery: includes mystery, cozy mysteries, thrillers, suspense
Romance: includes historical romance, erotica, category romance, all those harlequins, bodice rippers, contemporary romance, paranormal romance (sometimes can be under sci-fi/fantasy),
General Fiction: includes literature, chick-lit type books, historical fiction (sometimes separated out, not always), family drama, realistic fiction/contemporary, magical realism, literary romance (which from what I see is basically romance written by men ;ugh;).
A lot of feelings I have about the bizarre way we categorize things sneaked into this post. Sorry about that.
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