Unshelve with help from journals - Publishers Weekly - New Historical Fantasies Reimagine the Past

Genre blends are everywhere and patrons are checking them out. Publishers Weekly recently featured an article about historical fantasies - New Historical Fantasies Reimagine the Past. The article includes a breakdown of some of the major trends in this blend as well as providing some titles. There is also a link to an article about historical fantasy with mermaids. This is a great idea to borrow for a book display or online book list. 

Some more places to check for titles: 

Goodreads: Historical Fantasy Books
Goodreads: Best Historical Fantasy

Penguin Random House: Historical Fantasy Books to Escape Reality
Hachette Book Group: Thrilling Historical Fantasy Novels 

Johnson County Library: The Past, But With Dragons

Reactor Mag: Five Fantasy Novels Set in Interesting Historical Times
Fantasy Book Review: Best Historical Fantasy Books

If your library subscribes to Novelist, you can check there for read alikes as well. 

Using this idea can be a way of promoting your fantasy collection outside of romantic fantasy.

Some lists, like the Goodreads one, include titles that might lean more to other genres like horror (Grady Hendrix's Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is included). Don't let that stop you from adding a book to a display. This isn't a test and there aren't really wrong answers. Go into your stacks and find some fantasies with a history angle that can be part of the display. 

You can include a link to the Publishers Weekly article if you post a book list online. Otherwise, you can include a QR code with a link to the article in your physical display. 

Unshelve With Love - Valentine's Day!

 Romance is the most obvious choice for a Valentine's Day book display. Just remember to include a wide variety of titles and authors unless you decide to focus on a subgenre like romantic suspense or trope like friends to lovers. Here is a link to my posts with information and ideas about romance and book displays. 

Kissing Books, the newsletter from Book Riot, has a list of suggestions in a recent newsletter. With the heading "Bad Romance: The Best Romantic Horror for Valentine’s Day." For more information on horrormance, they have a primer and a list of book recs.  They also suggest horror books for Valentine's Day.  Use their suggestions as a starting point. 

(I recommend subscribing to newsletters and browsing them to get ideas for book displays."

There are other options for "Bad Romance." Check your suspense and mystery collection for tales of love gone wrong. True crime and biographies also have options. Including some self help/relationship books is also something to try. You can place bookmarks around with information about local resources for victims of domestic violence or pair the display with information about your local shelters. Some shelters accept donations of items for those who arrive without anything. 

Dessert baking and cookbooks also can be a display for Valentines Day. If you start in January, you can set up a craft for your sweetheart display. People need time to create something! You can create adult and youth take- and - make craft kits with a simple valentine to craft and add that to the display. 

Getaways? Find travel books and books about exotic, romantic places. Include information about any local favorites. Dig into your fiction and non-fiction. I guarantee you have many books about Paris and Hawaii on the shelf. Check your movie collection for movies that take place in romantic locations. 

Some people choose to celebrate "Galentine's Day" and celebrate female friendship and independence. That's another great theme for a display. Find fiction and biographies about independent women and that feature great female friendships. Look into your self help section for books about living solo and friendship. 

Remember with any holiday that you can pair a display that is exactly what everyone expects with one that is outside of their expectations. So a romance display with some form of a Bad Romance display. A romantic getaway display with a trip-gone-wrong display. Show off more of your collection and introduce your patrons to something they didn't know they wanted!