I was just over at the CMT forum and one of the topics today was asking whether cozy mysteries should have their own separate genre.  According to Chris B. the genre's can't be changed because they are from an outside source.  So I thought it might be a great idea to start a thread on this topic here for people to just discuss cozies, ask questions about cozies, etc.  Invited folks on the CMT forum to join.  If you are like me, you would love to just have a place like this to talk about cozies!  What do you think?

I think it's a fantastic idea!

Tagging books with a Cozy Mystery tag is a great way to 'add' the genre.  We can't change the official genres but now we can add one of our own  :  )

How about posting a 'cozy' definition and asking that it be 'stickied' to the top of the thread?

Hi, I am the one that asked the question about cozies having their own genre/forum over at CMT.  I just thought it might help us cozy lovers to access one anothers bookshelves, and find deals. So, thanks for all of the replies and feedback on the thought.

I will start tagging my books right away!

Aimee

Aimee, have you played any games over in the games forum? There's a lot of us cozy-lovers in cozy swaps over there. And watch out for some of these wishlists.....yours will grow by leaps and bounds!!

I have gone to the game forum, but I don't really understand how to play....

C'mon over and join us Aimee.... we'll help you through your first fame... then get you addicted :)

I'm slowly (as I remember to do it) tagging ones on my reminder and TBR with "cozy series" and other cozy like descriptors.... I clicked on a "cpzy series" tag once and it brought up a monstorous unsorted list... so I think adding tags that also say "crating cozy" "male slueth"  alond with "cozy" is more helpful.

I definitely think tags are the way to go for these sub-genres.  Let's get tagging!!

I'm not specifically a cozy mystery fan, but I would invite you all to visit my shelf as I have a lot of mysteries, many of which are "cozies" on there at the moment, and I am currently running a 3 for 2 deal.  (My journalism-major mother would criticize this one as a run-on sentence.)

I see the Tag at the botttom of each book list but do not know how to Tag.  Please let me know where to go to learn how to do tagging.

Leyba

If you are in your bookshelf there should be a little button that you can click that says TAG next to each book. Type in a description ie: cozy mystery or whatever you want.

Oh, Winston, the temptation is just too much! I'll be right over!

Wow  that's a great idea, Im just getting interested in cozies  that would be very helpful

this maybe a stupid question but what is a cozy mystery?

Here's a definition from About.com: Cozies are mystery novels typically set in English [or American] country houses, small towns, villages, or other benign environments. Cozies feature very little violence, aside from the murder, and few gory details. The term arose from the relatively genteel settings, the common use of amateur sleuths as protagonists, and the fact that all loose ends are tied up and the villain caught and punished by the novel's conclusion. Agatha Christie's Jane Marple novels typify the subgenre. Normally, there is not a lot of foul language or sex in cozies.

Someone has said that a true cozy mystery has to have a cat in it. :-) My own definition is that it's a mystery I can read right before I go to bed and I won't have nightmares.

Here's a good definition of a cozy mystery: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4DC103BF93BA25753C1A964958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print

I can totally latch on to the concept of "a mystery I can read right before bed and not have nightmares," as I'm fairly nightmare prone myself. I saw it described (per the link on the new cozy mystery swap thread) as Nancy Drew for grown-ups. :)

Just a few minutes ago, I went and entered "cozy" into the search box. I had to scroll a bit to find one that had cozy as a tag, and I clicked another tag "cozy mysteries" and found almost 700. A lot of these were part of a series, and I was able to compile a list of authors who appeared frequently on the list. Anyway. That's one idea of how to know, I guess.

Now if I can just figure out what a "chic lit" is, if it's not any sort of romance but in fact just "regular" fiction. Like a "chic movie" I'd assume, but I dont' know the tell-tales yet.

I love that PBS has its own lingo. That's fun!

I have to say that I REALLY appreciate it when people tag "cozies".It helps me find new authors to try when I have credits to burn:)

Stacy

I appreciate the cozy tag as well- and this is a reminder for me to finish tagging my sparse bookshelf of MSW "cozies". :-)

L.

 I am going to start tagging my cozies as well!  I'd never heard the term until I got here to PBS, and now they are my mainstay :)