Street Fiction is my genre site; it is as useful to me as The Daily Beast, but in a different way. Unlike the DB's emphasis on what's new, Street Fiction functions more like an educational resource and an indexing of street lit. The site includes some fairly narrow sub-types; you can search for books based on "place" (Baltimore has its own list) or subject matter, such as addiction. It covers more than the stereotypical urban fiction grittiness and includes a section for Christian fiction. Despite its name, Street Fiction also covers non-fiction, includes articles on the history of the genre, and recommends books for additional reading about urban literature.

The subgenres which I've explored are Science Fiction Cyberpunk,  Contempory Westerns, and Christian Romance. I was able to find a number of sites (via googling)  discussing cyberpunk (like this one ) but nothing with much in the way of "fan buzz," much less talk of new books.   I think all of the sites I visited mentioned Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson as a classic of the genre and no wonder, since it dates from 1992. The book features computer technology (as opposed to steam power which is steampunk,) a highly networked society, very often a dystopian setting, and oppression of the individualistic hero by the techno system (as opposed to the "man" of the 1960's, i guess.)

In checking out Contemporary Westerns, I liked looking at the info and list on the Monroe County Library System with links to a number of other Western websites and prize pages, including theWilla Awards. Contemporary westerns are characterized by an emphasis on places and relationships rather than "cattle-herding and gunplay," and  a de-romanticized view of the era. In looking at various websites, and lists on places like Goodreads, the term Contemporary Western doesn't seem to have a universal meaning, as I found books which take place in the western US, books which take place on ranches in current times, and books that are bodice-rippers involving cowboys...all on someone's idea of "contemporary western." I prefer this timely Daily Beast article on the Modern Western and lists Cormac McCarthy and Larry McMurtry as solid writers in the subgenre. Ivan Doig's books, like Worksong,  are probably a pretty good choice for an intro to contemporary Western, as the books are set in the traditional time and place, and have the flavor of the Old West, but with terrific character development and storylines that aren't limited to horses and sagebrush.

Lastly, I explored Christian Romance. I was easily able to find more blogs devoted to this subgenre, and it struck me that both readers and authors are very earnestly trying to read and/or write books in which the characters are not perfectly saccharine-sweet, but struggle with their failings and work hard to abide by their faith. No bad words and no sexual activity (one author has a 2-kiss rule) need apply. Sisters of Mercy Flats by Lori Copeland is a new book garnering postive reviews.

Coming up with crossovers was fun. One of my favorite genre-benders has to be Patrick deWitt's The Sisters Brothers. Set in the Wild West, two brothers, contract killers, ride their horses to California in search of a man their employer has sent them to assasinate. It's a western, it's a suspense thriller, it's about psychopaths... and it is unique. Paranormal romance, horror, and fantasy combine in the Darkfever series by Karen Moning. Lots of sexual tension between  MacKayla and her non-human mentor Jericho, and plenty of icky gore, teletransportation, and non-human races.