Many people pick books by favorite genre. A genre refers to a type of book that falls into a certain category characterized by subject matter, style, tone, time period, and various other factors. Some books can fit into more than one genre. A mystery can be set in present day, in a certain historical period, or even the far future (Sci-Fi). People can also pick books by favorite authors since authors tend to favor writing within a certain genre. To avoid confusing their readers, some authors will even publish under a different name if they write in different genre.
In college libraries that use the Library of Congress classification scheme, fiction books are not shelved by genre. Except for graphic novels (PN6700-PN6790), books are shelved in the literature section divided by the author's country of origin (language in which they write even if translated) with a separate category for juvenile/young adult literature (PZ). Within each country section, the books are catalogued and shelved by author's last name and include books both by and about the author and his works. Since some books may be both in the regular stacks (especially classics) as well as Leisure Reading, random browsing may not always be easy. We hope that this guide will be of some assistance.