Young adult fiction increases in popularity among local readers

The idea that Las Vegas residents don't read isn't true, according to some literary figures in the downtown and Paradise areas.

Ask Myrna Donato, who co-owns Amber Unicorn Books, 2101 S. Decatur Blvd., with her husband, Lou.

"People are reading in Las Vegas, believe it or not," Donato said. "We've seen a big upswing of interest in young adult fiction, and we have parents who come in and say if their kids want to use the computer, they have to read for a certain amount of time."

However, Donato has seen a decrease in sales for genres such as Western Americana and reference books.

"When I ran this store in the 1980s, I couldn't keep those reference books on the shelves," Donato said. "With so much information on the Internet now, people don't have to have encyclopedias and reference books."

Jeanne Goodrich, executive director of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, said the amount of reference books in area libraries has substantially decreased but interest in other genres continues growing.

"Fiction is popular among all branches, especially in the West Las Vegas Library, where the most popular (type) is urban fiction," Goodrich said. "We've seen an increase in non fiction, too, mostly with self-help and self-improvement books, especially at Clark County Library."

In addition to these genres, Goodrich said young adult fiction also is among the most popular, specifically with Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series and Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games."

Organizers of the Vegas Valley Book Festival took notice of the increased interest in young adult fiction, inviting more authors of this genre to this year's event than before. Lindsey Leavitt, a Las Vegas native and author of "Princess for Hire" and "Sean Griswold's Head," is moderating the panel, "Blending Realistic Fiction with Fantasy," which is set for Saturday at the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St. Leavitt said the festival places emphasis on young adult fiction for several reasons.

"Young adult literature is very healthy," Leavitt said. "It's selling well across the board. This is the Golden Age of young adult literature, and readers are getting smarter."

Leavitt, who visits several schools in the valley each year, said she tries to encourage children who enjoy reading and the arts to pursue their interests.

"With these budget cuts, arts and art programs are a large part of what's being lost," Leavitt said. "I think having an author come in (a school) and show they're an average person shows that you can have dreams and make those dreams real."

Budget cuts aren't the only threat to the area's literary landscape. The steady rise of e -books and the increase of information on the Internet has led people to believe that bookstores are in jeopardy. However, such is not the case for used bookstores in downtown and Paradise, Donato said.

"We're not hit as hard as the new bookstores are with the influx of (Amazon) Kindles," Donato said. "I think (e -books) have hurt the new bookstores most because there's not that much difference in price between a book coming out on Kindle and in hardback."

Goodrich said the interest in e -books has grown among readers, and branches have accommodated for the change.

"These e -readers are a small but fast-growing part of our circulation," Goodrich said. "But with the impact of the recession, many people may not have the funds to purchase e -readers, and libraries are trying to gear up for this. We're very conscious of the digital divide."

Even with the rise of e -books, people such as Ann DeVere, owner of Plaza Books, 7380 S . Eastern Ave., are happy to see readers -- especially teenagers -- browse through their stores.

"I'm surprised and delighted at the amount of young people coming into the bookstore," DeVere said. "It shows that book sales are still solid. Compulsive readers and collectors especially will always haunt the bookstores."

Contact Paradise/Downtown View reporter Lisa Carter at lcarter@viewnews.com or 383-0492.