Showing posts with label trends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trends. Show all posts

Monday, June 14, 2010

About a month ago my nephew bestowed upon me a guitar-shaped elastic in shocking purple. I didn't know, then, what it was. Nor did I grasp the magnitude of the gift. It was purple. And a guitar. That's a tough combo to get.

It was, of course, a silly bandz bracelet. Silly bandz are taking over the world. They are the new webkinz. They are the new pokemon card. They are the new thing.

What has surprised me? The number of high school and college aged kids I come across who are sporting a wrist full of color. I was at a cafe the other day and saw a girl with quite the collection. She was completely straight faced when she carefully explained that she buys the alphabet packages and puts "words of the day" on. (Last Thursday she was wearing five bands that spelled out F-O-C-U-S.)

I suppose the trend is relatively harmless and-- thank goodness-- cheap. Walgreens sells little packages crammed with a theme for around three bucks. I know because I grabbed a few and was hailed as a hero upon returning home to the nephews.

Me, I wear that purple guitar. It goes great with my diamonds. And if it's the thought that counts, it's just as priceless. I mean... come on... it's PURPLE. You can't GET purple!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Trends in YA Literature

According to the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), young adult reading trends are, as is often the case, mirroring adult trends. Vampires and dark fantasy themes are dominating, with a new emergence of books that are "Gossip Girl" styled and themed.

In an informative interview with Sarah Debraski (HERE), the head of YALSA says fantasy will continue to have a strong presence, citing Harry Potter as another influence lingering on the genre.

One of the interesting points, for me, was a brief mention of the popularity of Graphic Novels. This seems to be a very specific, insulated market. The same, of course, can be said for the adult GN readership.

I cut my teeth on fantasy novels and general fiction, then later discovered romance and some of the lesser-known subgenres. Where do YOU think the market is going? Perhaps more importantly... where would you LIKE it to go?