Slog - Comments on Shopaholic Takes the Library of Congress

Comment by Fifty-Two-Eighty

Fifty-Two-Eighty — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:28:11 -0800

Naw, only Bridges of Madison County and The Horse Whisperer qualify.

Comment by It's Mark Mitchell

It's Mark Mitchell — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:37:07 -0800

A pink color scheme on the cover is a good sign. Makes it so easy to browse for your next shopping novel at Barnes and Noble.

Comment by You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me

You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:37:29 -0800

Oooohhh.... ECB Can't be happy about this...

Comment by You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me

You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:40:43 -0800

But it should make Chuck Mudede's secret life a little easier!

Comment by Bellevue Ave

Bellevue Ave — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:43:19 -0800

chick lit is all about vapid woman fantasies.

Comment by JC

JC — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:08:33 -0800

If the cover shows a woman's calves, but not her face, it qualifies. Martini glasses don't hurt, either. Oh, and shoes.

Comment by jamier

jamier — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:25:08 -0800

#5: As opposed to light fiction for NORMAL people, which is about legitimate man fantasies: terrorists, winning court cases, serial killing, space ships, dragons, etc.

Comment by celyn

celyn — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:26:10 -0800

To be a pedantic librarian, the subject authority record created by LC for Chick lit provides citations for several definitions of the genre, as well as a listing of the publisher imprints which specialize in the genre. Catalogers at LC and other libraries would consult this record when deciding whether to apply Chick lit as a subject or genre heading.

Other fun LC subject headings include:

Lesbian vampires in motion pictures
Roadkill--United States--Identification

Comment by Bellevue Ave

Bellevue Ave — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:44:11 -0800

@7, exactly, Tom Clancy is Dick Lit and is crap too. Any book or genre that is catering to the base desires of barely literate people is not going to be good.

Comment by Gloria

Gloria — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:55:46 -0800

@7: Dragons are WAY fucking awesome.

Comment by infrequent

infrequent — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:06:54 -0800

well, it's too bad they don't have a base desires of barely literate people category.

oh, though i'm hesitant to bring up pronunciation after an historic previous post, i can't seem to say "dick lit" without hearing "dick clit". similarly, i want some gum, now.

Comment by Clarkj

Clarkj — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:07:01 -0800

Won't Chiclet's Gum be a little mad about this?

Comment by Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:52:07 -0800

@ 2, 6, and 7: but what if I like shoes, pink crap, AND dragons? Where will I find my easily-categorized mass-market lit?

Comment by Another Librarian

Another Librarian — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:59:51 -0800

@8- my favorite one is:

One-leg resting position

one assumes an actual book was written about this, and thus, the need for the subject heading.

Comment by Condiment Grrl

Condiment Grrl — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:00:13 -0800

This is hilarious that this is coming out now that the market has totally bottomed out after getting flooded with too much crap. Truly a Buyer Beware situation.

Comment by Greg

Greg — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:31:34 -0800

@9: I disagree. The Star Wars: X-Wing series is awesome.

Comment by celyn

celyn — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:11:00 -0800

@14: 6 in fact (just checked WorldCat). Heh.