Book Genres

How Should I tag my reviews?
Please read the book Genres below to determine which book Genre tag to give your review. Please post your book review in our Blogs section.

Fiction
Fiction (Latin: fictum, "created") is a branch of literature which deals, in part or in whole, with temporally contrafactual events (events that are not true at the time of writing). Semi-fiction is fiction implementing a great deal of non-fiction, e.g. a fictional description based on a true story.

Realistic Fiction
'''Fictional stories that take place in modern time, right here and now. ''' The characters are involved in events that could really happen.

Mystery/Suspense
Fictional stories, usually realistic, about a mysterious event which is not explained or a crime that is not solved until the end of the story to keep the reader in suspense.

Fantasy
Fiction that contains elements that are NOT realistic, such as talking animals, magical powers, etc. Make-believe is what this genre is all about.

Science Fiction
'''Stories which include futuristic technology; a blend of scientific fact and fictional elements. Stories which take place in a particular time period in the past. Often the basic setting is real, but the characters are fictional.'''

Folk Tales, Tall Tales, and Fairy Tales
'''Folk tales are stories with no known creator. They were originally passed down from one generation to another by word of mouth. The authors on folk tale books today are retelling these stories. Although, folk tales are sometimes based on real historical figures, there are fictional elements to the story. Tall tales are generally folk tales in which the main character is bigger than life in some way -- examples would be Paul Bunyan, Mike Fink, Swamp Angel, etc. Fairy tales''' were often created to teach children behavior in an entertaining way. Folk tales, tall tales, and fairy tales are found in most libraries in the non-fiction section with a Dewey Decimal Classification of 398. Some libraries place picture book versions of folk tales in the easy book section. Check with your librarian.

Myths
'''Myths are stories that usually explain something about the world and involve gods and other supernatural beings. Although, myths are fictional stories, in most libraries they are found in the non-fiction section of the library in the 290s.'''

Poetry
'''Poetry is verse written to create a response of thought and feeling from the reader. It often uses rhythm and rhyme to help convey its meaning. Poetry collections are usually found in the non-fiction section of the library under the Dewey Decimal Classification numbers 808 - 811. Occasionally a novel may be written in free verse form and is found in the fiction section of the library, or a picture book of a poem may be found in the easy section. Check with your librarian.'''

Non Fiction
Non-fiction or nonfiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. This presentation may be accurate or not; that is, it can give either a true or a false account of the subject in question. However, it is generally assumed that the authors of such accounts believe them to be truthful at the time of their composition.

Biography
A biography is the story of a real person's life, written or told by another person. Biographies may be located in a section of their own in some libraries and may be labeled B for biography or use the Dewy Decimal System Classification number of 92 and then are listed in alphabetical order by who the book is about. Biographies of 2 or more people in the same book use the Dewey Classification number of 920. Other libraries prefer to place biographies in the Dewey Decimal Classification according to the subject of what the person did -- for example biographies of artists would be located in the art section, biographies of sports stars in the sports section. Ask your librarian for help if you can't find the biographies in your library.

Autobiography
An autobiography is the story of a real person's life, written or told by that person. Autobiographies are found in the same place as the biographies in the library. See biographies for the different places you might find autobiographies in your library and then check with your librarian if you can't find them in your library.