Not every book is for every reader
Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 08:39AM
A friend of mine and I have been reading each of the nominees for the Minnesota Book Award in the category “genre fiction” for the past few years and selecting what we to believe to be the best book in the class. This year four books were nominated: three mysteries and one romantic comedy.
The romance, Abby Jimenez’s Life’s Too Short, won.
Neither my friend nor I cared too much for the book. It was preposterous on many levels; we could not identify with the main characters; and there were far too many graphic descriptions of male physicality (biceps, abs, etc.). But we both agreed the book was well-written and engaging.
What I sometimes forget is that not all books have old white men as their target audience. And that does not necessarily mean that they are not good books. And maybe we’ve been spoiled. Over the previous five years, four of the winners have been mysteries, four of the authors have been male, and four of the authors have been white.
2021 The Deep, Deep Snow by Brian Freeman
2020 Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
2019 The Voice Inside by Brian Freeman
2018 The End of Temperance Dare by Wendy Webb
2017 The Heavens May Fall by Allen Eskens
The Minnesota Book Awards define Genre Fiction as ” a book of fiction written in a popular genre or style, including mystery, detective, fantasy, romance, and science fiction.” (Last year a book I would categorize as historical fiction was nominated as well.) So books other than mysteries certainly deserve consideration according to the rules.
Perhaps Jimenez’s win this year is a sign of tidal change - a move in genre fiction to selecting titles that are not just mysteries that appeal to old guys, but instead appeal to a broader, more diverse audience. I often glance at the NYT Best Sellers list. Of this week’s ten fiction best sellers, eight were written (or co-written) by women. Based on this alone, I suspect to see more women MN Book Award Winners.
While, yes, I prefer Dirty Harry to When Harry Met Sally, I also have to reach down into my librarian roots and remember not every book is for every reader. But that doesn’t make the books you don’t care for bad books.
