4-5-16 Sports, Humor, Other

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Book Club #3

Sports Novels Date back to dime novels of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s Short fiction (light, portable, inexpensive) Often published as series Dramatic exploits of a single character Focused on action, even violence, rather than on character-building Gilbert Patten countered by using sports to promote morality Good athletes Good students Good role models Current sports novels are more diverse Broad array of sports Questions/issues (such as violence & use of steroids) aren’t always clear More female protagonists (though still mostly male) Issues: Play-by-play vs character development Moral questions More Than a Game: Sports Literature for Young Adults (Chris Crowe, 2004)

Humor Novels “Tragedy plus time equals comedy” Steve Allen, qtd in Cosmopolitan, February 1957 Humor, like horror, is more a feature than a genre; it can appear in most any genre. Often, “humor novels” satirize established genres. Readers unfamiliar with what’s being satirized probably won’t “get” the humor.

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