rebecca's pocket

» Last weekend I found myself in a big-chain bookstore and was fascinated by the number of vampire and straight-up fantasy and historical fiction on the "Summer Teen Reading" display. So, when I encountered Buffy fans: read this, I expected an article on the teen-girl Twilight-inspired vampire craze, or perhaps one about publishers' bestseller-driven bandwagon-jumping and backlist-repackaging.

Instead, Laura Miller has written a very smart article on urban fantasy - an adult genre which is entirely new to me - exploring its significance as a cultural marker and the unease of some male authors in being identified with a genre they (incorrectly) perceive as a close cousin to the romance novel.