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Where To Find Your Book

The different sections of a bookstore

By Mady EvansPublished 4 years ago 6 min read
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As a bookseller in a major chain bookstore, I have noticed that people, even book lovers don’t understand what I mean when I mention the different sections and categories that books can fall under and what that entails. So I have put together a cheat sheet based on my knowledge as a bookseller in said bookstore chain. Obviously every bookstore chooses to categorize books to their liking and even still the books could be in different places than what the author and publishers thought the book should belong. Take this information with a grain of salt because books are a fluid thing, and can be placed in many categories. I should also note that everyone is at a different level of reading as well have their own preferences to what books they want and like to read. Rarely are sections set in stone to match the age or reading level. So I hope this will help understand not only your local bookseller but yourself as a reader!

Early Readers – For my bookstore at least this is a big category. This ranges from first learning the ABCs to chapter books. Picture books are also put in this category. And when I say chapter books (because most books have chapters), I mean the flimsy, serial, mostly paper back books usually in the hands of readers that are not ready for longer reads but know how to read for themselves. Books included in this category: Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones, Rainbow Fish, Little Critter, and usually anything Sesame Street themed.

Young Readers – This section is set up like a bookstore for a younger audience. This includes fiction, biography, and other non-fiction. Once a reader feels comfortable with their reading and want longer reads than he chapter books this is usually the next step. Books are longer, and the plots, for the most part, are more important, and series tend to more connected than the one-shot chapter books. All in all, these books are catered to a younger demographic, with themes and plot lines that a younger audience can grasp. From my experience there are some book series that start off more simpler and gradually get either more dark or more relevant as the characters in the story grow up through the series. Those books are usually the ones that might have a different place in the store based on what bookstore chain you’re going to. As a final note on this section, I stress that it doesn’t matter how old you are when it comes to reading books, as long as you can read and understand what’s going on. I still read some books, a lot becoming my favorites, from this category, and I know I’ve outgrown the demographic they publishers were aiming for.

Young Adult – This section is a doozey. First off, the demographic that these books try to hit are teens to about the end of college (depending on the book). These books tend to have a higher reading level need than the Young Readers, so the readers looking for a stronger read but are technically in the demographic of the Younger Readers, I would still recommend checking out the Young Adult section. Usually a bookseller can help find a “gateway” book for those just coming into the section. That being said, please utilize the booksellers’ opinions about said gateway books. This section is where themes and scenes tend to be more racy then they appeared in the previous section. Sex, drugs, societal standards, relationships, gore, fights, are some of the things that these books in this section can hold. They are for an audience that are ready to turn the rose colored glasses down a notch. This is usually where I ask the parent, if one is present, what don’t you want your young, impressionable, child that hasn’t had any sort of “talk” about anything to read. [I don’t actually say this but it’s what I mean] To read in this section there is a level of maturity you are going to need to understand what really is going on, but I wont stop you.

In my store within in the Young Adult section we have also split books into four genres to resemble what books (for the most part) will be categorized as once they leave the “Young” behind: Contemporary (fiction), Fantasy, Romance, Non-Fiction. This is usually where I loose people.

Contemporary – Having to deal with real life. Realistic settings, characters, and plots. Usually relevant to the time that they were published and sometimes relevant no matter what the times.

Fantasy – Something in the story is not actually feasible outside of the story. Magic, way into the future, science fiction, space, demons, apocalyptic scenarios (no matter how plausible they could actually be), and the like.

Romance – the Story is heavily supported by the romance of the characters. More so than contemporary fictions.

Non-fiction – It actually happened. Biographies, Autobiographies, self-help, etc. Not fake.

Adult - Once you “leave the Young behind” you will now be at the mercy of the books and genres that are targeted to “adult” readers and “adult” content. This doesn’t include the special cases: Manga, quote books, anecdotal books, comics, gardening, antiquing/collecting, interior design, Travel, Movies/TV, Music, and any other book/reading material that as far as I see aren’t/can’t be reproduced for both the “Young” and “Adult” sections and thus “open” in its demographic.

The sections in my store that I would say has books targeted to “adults”: (obviously) Fiction Literature, Westerns, Anthologies, Si-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Religion, Health and wellness, Business, Technology, Science, Nature and Wild life, Domestic Affairs, Social Sciences, True Crime, Self-Transformation, Philosophy, World History, U.S. History, Biography, Weddings, Cookbooks, “Coffee Table” books, Sports, and Poetry.

And a section that my store specifically named but I know other bookstores have this section; Cozy Mystery. It is a section that if the Mystery and Romance books had a softer baby, and thus Cozy Mystery; in my opinion it is a fast and easier read than its parents.

Now I am sure there are sections that I have forgotten to mention. But hopefully there is some information in here that will at least help when picking up your next book. Like I said in the beginning, books don’t have an age requirement. At most there is a reading comprehension level, but every reader is different. Some will have the majority of their books in the Young Readers and some will only be in the Adult Si-Fi/Fantasy. Books are gateways to not just other worlds but to ours as well. You can find meaning in whatever book you choose despite what the demographic target is.

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About the Creator

Mady Evans

Just trying to write to get better at writing

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