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xi Introduction The purpose of Genreflecting is to guide readers to their next enjoyable read, to help readers and the librarians they may ask to recover the titles and authors of books they read and love when they want to fi nd them again, and to play the role of an aid for library staff as a resource for collection development. The introductory chapters by Cynthia Orr, a guiding light in reader’s ad- visory, provide a wealth of information on popular reading and readers. The chapters on the genres include a brief introduction to the genre and are divided into categories that we have found readers oĞen seem to use when looking for books. Because reading is a personal and creative endeavor, there are no rules of classification for readers. They identify what it is about books they like, what factors are common to the type they are looking for, and how they see them. We have tried to categorize each genre by how the read- ers of those genres have talked about them and by how we have read in those genres. CHANGES FROM THE LAST EDITION Genreflecting has evolved and changed with each edition, aĴempting to re- spond to changes in publishing and public taste. AĞer two editions with con- tributing genre experts and additional editors, this version is returning to a format more similar to that originated by BeĴy Rosenberg in the fi rst two edi- tions. It is wriĴen by two librarians who are avid readers of genre fi ction and currently work in a public library. THE GENRE CHAPTERS This edition returns the emphasis to popular reading interests in genre fi ction. While there continue to be avid readers of narrative nonfiction, urban grit, mainstream fi ction, Women’s fi ction, inspirational/Christian fi ction, and