Does it bother you that Bookstores lump Sci-fi with Fantasy?

[Katie]

Unfortunately I've gotten use to it. Genres are rarely labeled correctly. Way back when the label changed from SF to Sci-Fy the science in the genre all but disappeared.

[Cary]

Well yes and no. Scifi in a way is fantasy. So I guess not. I think they should keep romantic fantasty separate from Scifi. You would not want to look for Sookie Stackhouse in the same area as Dune. As it is the twilight era of the bound book. I would not worry about it too much.

[J.D.]

Jessica wrote: "The only thing that's ever bothered me about bookstore setup is when they don't alphabetise their books. Stick sci-fi with fantasy, lump it all in with fiction, I don't care... just put them in ord..."

lol I know what you mean! It needs to be organized by author and by the series.

[Razmatus]

I dont mind as long as they keep the alphabetical order by author's surname :)

[Michael]

It bothers me in the sense that if you are new to the genre it can be confusing, but I suppose being an avid Amazon shopper it really doesn't matter much lol

[Herbert]

As a reader and author of science fiction and fantasy novels it doesn't bother me if the bookstores lump these two genres together. Many Sci-Fi novels also contain fantasy elements, so there isn't much difference in my mind. There are not that many really true hard Sci-Fi novels out there, anyway.

[L.E.]

Jessica wrote: "The only thing that's ever bothered me about bookstore setup is when they don't alphabetise their books. Stick sci-fi with fantasy, lump it all in with fiction, I don't care... just put them in ord..."

Or put them in no order so you can spend a good few hours discovering books you would have never found in a million years.

I hate the fact that mainstream bookstores tend to sterotype what we read, only offering us the "best selling" market of fantasy/sci, which if I wanted to read I've already read. I have to confess I tend to only go in for kids books nowadays and go browsing on Amazon if I want to be genre specific, especially because I can choose the type of fantasy I want.

Fantasy and sci-fi are such broad subjects in themselves I think they need their own book store to really give us what we are after.

(But a few hours in a secondhand bookstore if there's nothing else to do is always a worthy pursuit)

[L.Y.]

It never bothered me too much. I like things like Star Trek and Star Wars, mostly because they were what I found when out looking for fairies and dragons, lol. I don't mind them being lumped together into a genre, but I do think that they should be separated into two or three sub-genres within that. The hard sc-fi, the full-fantasy, and the hybrids would be nice.

[Mark]

I do mind. I'm a sci-fi fan and not so much fantasy. When they heap them together it takes twice as long to see what's available - actaully longer as there are about twice as many fantasy titles as sci-fi. And it bothers me if store doesn't organize by genre because then I don't know where to go to find what I'm after. I'd rather find another store (maybe that's why I have a Kindle).

[Razmatus]

Mark wrote: "I do mind. I'm a sci-fi fan and not so much fantasy. When they heap them together it takes twice as long to see what's available - actaully longer as there are about twice as many fantasy titles as..."

as much as it might bother you all ppl, only bigger stores can afford to separate those two... if a smaller store, like the one I work at, has like three or four bigger shelves, there is no sense separating those two... if it is a bigger store, like Neo Luxor in Prague, say, they have enough space to make the separation

so yea, it is not always a matter of "those fools in the stores who cant make a distinction between the two", but also a matter of space

[William]

I think part of it is marketing on the bookstore's part. The longer they can keep you in to store, the more likely you will be to purchase something - even if it wasn't what you came in for. As for spearating them, I don't find it bothersome any more than I find them lumping historical fiction with crime novels and thrillers.

[Raven]

I'll admit it really annoys me. Not only those being combined together but the bookstores tend to clump all kinds of genre together. Genres that tend to have nothing at all in common. Since I had the horrible experience of trying to buy a history book and found that the history section was not only merged with the romance but also the religious section. I got so pissed off at my local Barnes & Noble that I've since refused to go back. I now tend to make all of my book purchases online. Improperly placed books can make finding the book you're looking for difficult but improper genre given to the book can turn people off from buying the book completely.

[Tracy]

Razmatus wrote: "I dont mind as long as they keep the alphabetical order by author's surname :)" This is my only criteria as well since it's the way I order my books on my own shelves at home.

[Samm]

Having worked with books for most of my life, I find it annoying but understandable that genres are meshed together. For example having and action thriller by Baldacci right after Jane Austen. I'm also a fantasy reader, not a scifi reader. I'd like just once to browse through an exclusive fantasy section! But knowing books and genres, that will never happen unless fantasy becomes as popular as romances -and those could have an entire bookstore dedicated to that genre.

[Literary Demon]

I understand why but it is annoying. I am usually just in the mood for fantasy and don't want to sift through the star trek/star wars novels to find the Terry Goodkind novels etc. This is why I buy Ebooks mostly, search by genre on my kindle.. makes it easier.

[Foghorn]

Vrabinec wrote: "Doesn't matter one iota, but then, I usually go there looking for either/or. I wouldn't even mind if they threw erotica in there. I wouldn't buy any, but I could check out the covers and if the wif..."

Yep, I go to the bookstore with a book in mind, too. Looking at all those other books are just icing on the cake. As a matter of fact, I get to browse all I want when the wife is out in the rest of the mall shopping, spending all our money.

[James]

I have learned through my wife that the number of pairs of shoes you need is unlimited. Note the word NEED, not want. I have three pair that I use regularly, and a pair of wingtips to wear with a suit, which I wear maybe twice a year. Got winter boots, sneakers, and a pair of every day generic shoes. All good quality. And they seem to be enough! I assume there is something wrong with me, some fundamental bit of knowledge I can't grasp.

[Foghorn]

James wrote: "I have learned through my wife that the number of pairs of shoes you need is unlimited. Note the word NEED, not want. I have three pair that I use regularly, and a pair of wingtips to wear with a s..."
I have 4-5 pairs of shoes including thongs for the summer and sandals for wearing with shorts. That's all I need.

[Donna]

As an author - YES, this bothers me that sci-fi and fantasy are lumped together! That's like putting ghosts and werewolves on Mars. LOL. My book is not fantasy and has sci-fi and horror elements. I like to call it soft sci-fi :). Also, I find that even horror is also positioned under fantasy too. The interesting thing is that my B&N actually eliminated the Horror section as so much horror is now mainstream fiction. That's good for that genre as it's going through a popular trend. What they actually need is a separate paranormal section as this is also sub-categorized under Fantasy, at least on Amazon it is.

[Emily]

It doesn't really bother me much, but it makes it harder to find a book that is either sci-fi or fantasy, noy both

[Andrew]

The trouble is that the two genres are actually part of a spectrum. There are books which are definitely fantasy (TSR stuff, Tolkien etc), books which are definitely sci-fi (Clarke, Heinlein) but then between them are books which some would put in one camp and some the other. Where would you consider Dune or Star Wars, for example? Because stores don't want to run the risk that someone would go to the "wrong" section and leave assuming the book wasn't in stock, they tend to lump them together.

[Jan]

Herbert wrote: "As a reader and author of science fiction and fantasy novels it doesn't bother me if the bookstores lump these two genres together. Many Sci-Fi novels also contain fantasy elements, so there isn't ..."
I tend to agree with this. As an author it isn't always easy to categorize a book as just one genre or another. I think more authors are writing hybrids and readers seem to enjoy them.

[Jan]

William wrote: "I think part of it is marketing on the bookstore's part. The longer they can keep you in to store, the more likely you will be to purchase something - even if it wasn't what you came in for. As for..."
Good point, William. I didn't think of the marketing aspect. Considering the pressure to survive for most brick and mortar book stores, I guess I don't blame them.

[John]

although I see this thread was started 4 years ago, it is still the case and I still get furious about is. SF and fantasy are two separate streams. Imagine what would happen if you would mix up the (explicit) erotica with romance books, with the explanation it is both about love. I think the bookshops would be too small...

[Justin]

Hmm, it doesn't bother me but I do find it interesting and a bit puzzling. I mean if they lump then you could do this for other genres as well. Sci-Fi tends to blend in with fantasy often but by no means should be all the time, its why they are two completely different genres.

[Amanda]

To me, Sci-Fi is science that is fiction at the moment, but it describes what is theoretically possible and may well become science fact in the future; whereas fantasy is pure escapism and imagination. If a book is truly Sci-Fi, it is not the same as fantasy.