[sigh]
The whole reason I picked up 1984 off the dusty shelves in my family’s summer house was that I needed something to read and it was clearly science fiction, unlike most of the other books on the shelf.
[From Making Light: “But this is good!” “Well, then, it’s not SF.”]
Have I mentioned how I hate genres or categorizing fiction? Arranging by color is at least defensible, as long as there are few edge cases (where does ecru go? is it white or a light brown?). There’s considerable disagreement over how to define the genre, even w/in the Making Light commentariat, so it’s not just me who finds the lumping and splitting unproductive. I agree 100% with this:
For a lovely defense of genre in all its forms, read Michael Chabon’s essay collection Maps and Legends. I’m sure he was delighted to have won the Hugo and Nebula; the Edgar (for which The Yiddish Policeman’s Union was also nominated) would have made it a trifecta.
[From Making Light: “But this is good!” “Well, then, it’s not SF.”]