This pathfinder is intended for a librarian needing to perform reader’s advisory for young adult or adult patrons wanting science fiction and fantasy titles to read.  It would be most useful in a public library setting but could also be used in a high school library if the school librarian performs in depth reader’s advisory services for their students.  While a few of the resources focus on young adults, the information contained within those articles can easily be applied to adult readers as well, especially as many adult patrons are reading young adult titles in addition to adult titles.  The items listed here are a combination of print and online resources that are suitable both for a novice in the world of science fiction and fantasy as well as dedicated readers looking for something new.  All of the print resources are solely decided to this particular genre.  However, only one of the websites is; the remainder contains strong science fiction and fantasy sections but could also be used for reader’s advisory for any genre.

Written Resources 

1.    

  Read On: Science Fiction: Reading Lists for Every Taste by Steven Torres-Roman is a great resource to use for new readers to the science fiction genre as well as long time devotees who are looking for new authors and titles to discover.  Both classics of the genre and more recently published works are included in this reference work.  It contains recommendations organized according to various sub-genre plot themes that will appeal to a variety of reading preferences.  Although some of the subgenre names may sound off-putting to those unfamiliar with the genre (‘Transhumanst science fiction’, for example), the entries are written in a style that is easy to understand.  Torres-Roman, a teen librarian in DeKalb, Illinois, has Master’s degrees in both English and Information and Library Science.  He has won awards for his teen program ‘Heroes @ Your Library’ and for his work encouraging teen reading through the use of graphic novels. 

Torres-Roman, S. (2010). Read On: Science Fiction: Reading Lists for Every Taste.   Santa  Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

2.     

Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader’s Advisory: The Librarian’s Guide to Cyborgs, Aliens and Sorcerers is one of the titles in the American Library Association Reader’s Advisory series.  It contains separate sections for science fiction and fantasy, with each further broken down into subgenres.  Each subgenre contains a description of its’ elements with explanations why it will appeal to various readers.  Some of the recommended titles include a short synopses and description, while other titles are just listed with their bibliographic information.  Winners for the genre specific Hugo, Nebula, Mythopoeic and World Fantasy awards are also included.  The author’s main focus was adult readers.  Although making recommendations for reluctant readers is a subject that is addressed, the author does exclude some of the classics of science fiction and fantasy that are written specifically for young adults.  Since it is published by ALA, the leading authority in librarianship, this title is particularly written for use by library staff with only a basic knowledge of the genre.

           

Buker, D. (2002). Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader’s Advisory: The Librarian’s Guide to Cyborgs, Aliens and Sorcerers.  Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

3.      The article “Something for Every Reader: New YA Books that Cross Lines” by Teri S. Lesesne illustrates how a new realm of young adult titles  are being written to appeal to a variety of reading interests by combing elements of two different genres, for example fantasy with detective fiction or historical fiction with science fiction.  She also gives examples of YA titles that use characters from other genres (for example, characters from mythology) as well as novels being written in verse form and those with unreliable authors (titles with deceased characters).  The author also points out that in this new age of adult fiction, YA titles are also crossing-over to appeal to adult readers.  This short two page article is peppered with titles as it contains over twenty specific title recommendations of newer titles (at least as of 2006) that can be recommended to readers, whether they fall within the young adult or adult demographics.

Lesesne, T. S.  (2006).   Something for Every Reader: New YA Books that Cross Lines.  Young Adult Library Services, 4(2), 17-18.

4.      Another highly informative article that gives tips for recommending titles intended for young adult readers (although it can be applied to adult readers as well) is “Reader’s Advising for the Young SF, Fantasy, and Horror Reader” by David G. Hartwell.  Hartwell’s guidelines are particularly targeted to librarians who wish to help patrons find science fiction and fantasy books but who do not themselves read the genre.  His suggestions include having staff who do read books within the genre compile lists of ten to twenty titles (and keep the lists regularly updated) to hand out to patrons, having reference compilations available for both staff and patron use and using the variety of excellent science fiction and fantasy short stories to introduce readers to new authors.  Hartwell is in favor of using tie-in books sparingly (‘Star Wars’ titles for those who liked the movie franchise) as this method, while easy to execute, could backfire due to the differences in these two methods of media.  This excellent article concludes with several of Hartwell’s own lists of recommended titles.

Chelton, M.K., & Hartwell, D. G.  (2002).   Reader’s Advising for the Young SF, Fantasy, and Horror Reader.  Reference & User Services Quarterly, 42(2), 133-8.

5.      Although Brian Attebery’s “Teaching Fantastic Literature” is written from the perspective of a university instructor who has taught courses on science fiction and fantasy, it does contain information on titles suitable for use in a public library context as his recommendations will connect with a wide variety of reading levels.  He starts his introductory classes with classic and mythological works that illustrate the connection between science fiction and fantasy titles that incorporate elements of myths, legends, folktales, fairy tales, ballads and medieval romances.  Attebery also recommends using short fiction to introduce readers to an author’s setting and style without the student having to commit to reading an entire novel.  As he discusses each of these elements, he also describes the particular texts from the genre he uses.  In Attebery’s experience within the classroom, he feels that even students who have never read science fiction and fantasy titles can usually find at least some titles that they are able to connect with.

Attebery, B.  (1996). Teaching Fantastic Literature.  Science Fiction Studies, 23(3), 406-410.

Online Resources

   

 1.  NoveList is the premiere online resource for any reader’s advisory search.  It is searchable by author, title, name of the series, Dewey number or classification or subject.  In the Advanced Search option, Boolean operators can be used to narrow down details about particular settings, writing styles, moods or other details.  Expanders and limiters can also be used to narrow down information pertaining to publication date, length, grade level and audience, and the author’s gender, nationality and cultural identity.   Recommended book lists for various age ranges are offered, as well as lists of awards winners and genre type (for example, science fiction).  Each genre list is further broken down into sub-genres; in the case of science fiction, you can pick classic, alternate histories, those that have been made into movies and more.   This website is especially useful for its Author Readalike lists.  It should be available for most librarians; in Mississippi, it is included in the Magnolia databases that are available for free to all library staff and users within the state. 

NoveList. (2013). [Website].   Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/novelist/search?sid=7ef7e85e-d750-43a6-b5fe-ee76b5294ccc%40sessionmgr4&vid=1&hid=28.

2.      The free website Fantastic fiction contains bibliographies for over 30,000 authors and information about 350,000 books.  At the bottom of the homepage, a listing of genre pages (including science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy and young adult fantasy) contains lists of recently released titles as well as those due to be published in the upcoming months.  The website is searchable through an author’s surname browse menu or by author and title search boxes.  Each author’s listing contains a photograph, birth and death dates, pen names and a short biography as well as a listing of their entire body of work broken down into series, type (fiction, non-fiction, short story, etc) with publication dates and a copy of the cover art.  The individual titles sometimes contain links for a short description of their content.  Upcoming publications are listed in a separate section at the beginning of the entry with their cover art and intended release date.  Author readalikes and author recommendations are often found at end of the entry.  This website is especially helpful for those doing reader’s advisory for patrons who want to read series titles in the correct order. 

Fantastic Fiction.  (2013).  [Website].  Retrieved from http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/.

3.      At the end of 2011, National Public Radio (NPR) asked it’s listeners to nominate and vote for their favorite science fiction and fantasy titles.  After the voting was finished, NPR’s panel of experts (an award winning science fiction critic, an author of several science fiction and fantasy reference compilations and a university instructor) went through the nominations, eliminating the ones that didn’t fit their criteria (young adult and horror titles were not included).  The resulting top 100 of those titles contains a mixture of classic and contemporary titles.  Each one is represented by a large picture of its cover along with a short (one – two sentences) description.  A hyperlink attached to the author’s name takes you further into NPR’s website where other titles by the author are listed along with links to stories from NPR radio about the title.  Also included are links to similar lists that have been compiled in the past focused on other titles (non-fiction, young adult, teen and more.)

Neal, C. S. (2011).  Your Picks: Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books.  Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139085843/your-picks-top-100-science-fiction-fantasy-books.

4.      SF Site: The Home Page for Science Fiction and Fantasy contains book reviews and discussions, author interviews, fiction excerpts and reading lists for the science fiction and fantasy fan.  Awards lists, author lists and topical lists such as ‘Best Reads of the Year,’ ‘Younger Readers’ and ‘10 Odd SF Classics’ can be found on this website, along with links to author and fan websites, movies and TV shows, magazines and e-zines and other resources for the science fiction and fantasy fan.  A Google search bar can be used to find information on the website itself as well as links to their partner sites.  Each book entry contains a short biography of the book’s author, a signed, lengthy review with links to other reviews on the SF Site and the author’s personal website.  A short biographical sketch of the author of the review lends credibility – many are editors, critics, instructors and experts in the science fiction and fantasy field.  

SF Site.  (2013).  [Website].  Retrieved from www.sfsite.com.

5.      Goodreads is a popular free Internet social site where readers gather to make recommendations to each other through compiling their personal ‘bookshelves’ of books they’ve enjoyed or want to read soon.  The basic concept of this site is to form relationships with other trusted readers in order to share common interests in reading and books.  A large list of over 40 genre divisions can be browsed or you can search for a particular book by author or title.  The covers of new release are shown, which is always helpful to view.  By positioning the mouse over any cover, a pop-up window containing the title, series, author, Goodreads rating, and a description can be read.    An explanation of characteristics of the genre is written at the top of the page.  On the right side, related subgenres can be explored as well.  For science fiction and fantasy, interested readers could also look at ‘cyperpunk,’ ‘planetary romance,’ or ‘dystopia’to name just a few.

Goodreads.  (2013).  [Website].  Retrieved from www.goodreads.com.