Sisters in Women's Fiction

When I do workshops on women's fiction, I always discuss the kinds of books that make up the genre, and different trends. Something we see a LOT of in WF is books featuring sisters, so for a recent "Core Collection" feature in the March 1, 2016 issue of Booklist, I shared some great reading suggestions from authors such as Angela Benson, Jennifer Weiner, Kristin Hannah, Jen Lancaster, and more!

What are some of your favorite WF books featuring sisters?

Core Collection: Sisters in Women’s Fiction.

Humorist Linda Sunshine is quoted as saying, “If you don’t understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child.” What is it about the relationship between sisters that makes such rich fodder for women’s fiction? After all, a reader doesn’t have to have a sister in order to relate.

One of the main things that draw readers to women’s fiction is a sense of recognition or the ability to relate to the characters. It’s pleasurable and comforting to escape into a story that you connect with on a certain level. So perhaps the popularity of fiction featuring sisters has something to do with readers being able to see themselves in one sister or another. Below is a list of must-have women’s-fiction titles featuring sisters, perfect for just about any women’s-fiction fan...

To read more and get the annotated list, head to the feature, "Core Collection: Sisters in Women's Fiction" on Booklist Online!

Collection Development Tricks for Women's Fiction

My good friend (and readers' advisory blogger extraordinaire) Becky Spratford recently ran a post about my work with women's fiction on her blog, RA for All.  In it, she shows off my Booklist feature article, "Rebecca's Rules," and a link to the free Booklist webinar, "What's New in Women's Fiction."

Check it out here.

Booklist's Top 10 Women's Fiction: 2016

It's time for Booklist's annual Women's Fiction Spotlight!

Once again, I've contributed lists to the March 1 issue of Booklist, honoring women's fiction. Don't forget to check out the companion article, "Core Collection: Sisters in Women's Fiction," for some of my favorite titles from this very popular subset of women's fiction.

Booklist's Top 10 Women's Fiction: 2016

The top 10 women’s fiction from the last 12 months (reviewed in Booklist between March 1, 2015, and February 15, 2016) cover the spectrum, from romantic chick lit to more than one literary title. These novels deliver something for just about every women’s-fiction fan.

The titles are listed below; for the complete annotations, head to the feature on Booklist Online!

The Best of Enemies. By Jen Lancaster. 2015. NAL, $25.95 (9780451471093)
The Brontë Plot. By Katherine Reay. 2015. Thomas Nelson, $15.99 (9781401689759)
How to Start a Fire. By Lisa Lutz. 2015. Houghton, $25 (9780544411630)
I Take You. By Eliza Kennedy. 2015. Crown, $24 (9780553417821)
My Name Is Lucy Barton. By Elizabeth Strout. 2016. Random, $26 (9781400067695)
The Story of the Lost Child. By Elena Ferrante. Tr. by Ann Goldstein. 2015. Europa, $18 (9781609452865)
Walking on Trampolines. By Frances Whiting. 2015. Gallery, $16 (9781476780016)
Who Do You Love. By Jennifer Weiner. 2015. Atria, $27 (9781451617818)
A Window Opens. By Elisabeth Egan. 2015. Simon & Schuster, $26 (9781501105432)
The Marriage Pact. By M. J. Pullen. 2015. St. Martin’s/Thomas Dunne, $24.99 (9781250070937)

Ensemble Women's Fiction

When I do workshops on women's fiction, I always discuss the kinds of books that make up the genre. One of the most popular is "Ensemble Fiction." I recently wrote about it in the March 15, 2015 issue of Booklist, take a look to learn more and to get some GREAT reading suggestions.

Core Collection: Ensemble Women’s Fiction.
By Rebecca Vnuk.

First published March 15, 2015 (Booklist).

When it comes to women’s fiction, one of the tricky things about offering read-alikes is that because it’s such a broad reading interest, the appeal of one title might not translate to another title. It can be helpful to break down different types of women’s fiction into subcategories. The top three that always come to my mind are ensemble fiction (featuring groups of women), chick lit (the younger crowd), and issue-driven novels (think any Oprah Book Club title).

The category with the widest appeal is ensemble fiction. These stories feature a cast of characters—there may or may not be one main character—all sharing starring roles. Readers enjoy these ensemble stories because they can easily find a character within the group that they identify with, or they can see their friends in one character or another. As a devoted reader of the genre, I can attest that when I read women’s fiction, I want to see myself or the people I know on the pages of these books—and if not that, then a character leading the life I’d like to have!

In the past 10 years or so, there has been a huge influx of women’s fiction books with large casts of characters—books about sisters, books about college friends, books about reading groups, books about coworkers (I’m waiting patiently for the book about librarians . . .).

To read more, and get the annotated list, head to the feature, "Core Collection: Ensemble Women's Fiction" on Booklist Online!

Booklist's Top Ten Women's Fiction

Once again, I've contributed lists to the March 15 issue of Booklist, honoring women's fiction. Don't forget to check out the companion article, "Core Collection: Ensemble Women's Fiction," for some of my favorite titles from this very popular subset of women's fiction.

The top 10 women’s fiction from the last 12 months (reviewed in Booklist between March 15, 2014, and March 1, 2015) cover the spectrum, from lighthearted chick lit to heavy issues and even a few with a touch of magic. One of the main appeal factors of this category is that sense of recognition the target audience—yes, women—gets from identifying with the heroines, and these novels deliver something for just about anyone.

The titles are listed below; for the complete annotations, head to the feature on Booklist Online!

All Fall Down. By Jennifer Weiner. 2014. Atria, $26.99 (9781451617788).

Big Little Lies. By Liane Moriarty. 2014. Putnam/Amy Einhorn, $26.95 (9780399167065).

First Frost. By Sarah Addison Allen. 2015. St. Martin’s, $25.99 (9781250019837).

The Geometry of Love. By Jessica Levine. 2014. She Writes, paper, $16.95 (9781938314629).

Housewitch. By Katie Schickel. 2015. Forge, $24.99 (9780765377302).

Landline. By Rainbow Rowell. 2014. St. Martin’s, $24.99 (9781250049377).

One Plus One. By Jojo Moyes. 2014. Viking/Pamela Dorman, $27.95 (9780525426585).

The Precious One. By Marisa de los Santos. Mar. 2015. Morrow, $25.99 (9780061670893).

Skinny Bitch Gets Hitched. By Kim Barnouin. 2014. Gallery, $23.99 (9781476708881).

The Story Hour. By Thrity Umrigar. 2014. Harper, $25.99 (9780062259301).

Booklist Magazine's Top 10 Women’s Fiction: 2014.

The top 10 women’s fiction from the last 12 months (reviewed in Booklist between March 15, 2013, and March 1, 2014) cover the spectrum: chick lit to tearjerkers, heavy issues to lighthearted comedy. One of the main appeal factors of this category is that sense of recognition the target audience—yes, women—gets from identifying with the heroines, and these novels deliver something for just about anyone.

To read the full article and annotations, see http://www.booklistonline.com/Top-10-Women-s-Fiction-2014-Rebecca-Vnuk/pid=6670138.

The Apple Orchard, by Susan Wiggs. 

The Bookstore, by Deborah Meyler. 

A Fall of Marigolds, by Susan Meissner

Golden State, by Michelle Richmond.

Ladies’ Night, by Mary Kay Andrews.

Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe, by Jenny Colgan. 

Sweet Salt Air, by Barbara Delinsky. 

Time Flies, by Claire Cook.

Who Asked You?by Terry McMillan. 

The Whole Golden World, by Kristina Riggle.

Booklist March 15 Issue: Women's Fiction SPOTLIGHT

I am very pleased to announce that the March 15 issue of Booklist contains the Women's Fiction Spotlight!
This means there are feature articles devoted to Women's Fiction (I'll share one below!) as well as new reviews of nearly 20 new Women's Fiction titles.

If you are not a subscriber to Booklist, you can view some of the content online for free. You can also check with your local library (many public libraries have subscriptions to Booklist, and if they do not have a copy out for the public, they will usually be glad to let you read the staff copy in-house, at least!).

My favorite feature article from this issue is "Rebecca's Rules". Check it out at: http://bit.ly/Y9O12H.

Women's Fiction Spotlight Issue!

Great news - the March 1 issue of Booklist is going to have a Women's Fiction spotlight! I'm really excited by this, not least of all because I contributed the 3 feature articles to the issue spotlight: "Rebecca's Rules: Defining Women's Fiction"; "Top 10 Women's Fiction: 2012"; and "Benchmark Women's Fiction Authors".

I'll post links to the features here on the blog once they are live and ready to go, beginning March 15th.  In addition, this encourages me to post more links to Booklist reviews of Women's Fiction.  So far, I've just been posting links to my own reviews, but I think it's time to start posting previews of other Booklist reviews.  Yay!