tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868395077988310106.post8921754503209851264..comments2024-03-02T16:37:00.950-08:00Comments on Random Ramblings: "Best Seller Lists": a possible rantJillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07629286727932554109noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868395077988310106.post-747585985052257492010-03-28T16:02:52.837-07:002010-03-28T16:02:52.837-07:00Thanks Carin! I just wasn't sure if I read you...Thanks Carin! I just wasn't sure if I read your other comment right, so just wanted to be certain :)<br /><br />For me, I will read any book, and will not judge it beforehand. If it happens to fall into the 'best seller list,' then that's good for them, but it will not affect any of my judgments. I won't stop buying and reading just because they are on the list like you said. I love trying every book out.. and then judge afterward. I guess for my post, I'm more 'irked' not by the books, but by the people who have that misconception.Jillianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07629286727932554109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868395077988310106.post-26624102588260137832010-03-28T12:39:03.332-07:002010-03-28T12:39:03.332-07:00Hi Jillian - I didn't mean that comment to you...Hi Jillian - I didn't mean that comment to you, but to people like the author of the New Dork article who seem to think that NYT bestseller=rot. I thought that myself before I worked in a bookstore and thought I'd have to give a couple a try before I could be as judgmental as I wanted to be. I was very pleasantly surprised! I was agreeing with you but giving a more general warning to those who judge readers with less resources and knowledge than us. Plus, those bestsellers really aren't all that bad. I think I've just not been explaining myself clearly.Carin Siegfriedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07278383926500248048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868395077988310106.post-25995015997442889142010-03-27T15:23:25.623-07:002010-03-27T15:23:25.623-07:00@E: I get what you mean. Though personally I don&#...@E: I get what you mean. Though personally I don't think I'll stay away from bestsellers due to the crowd. I'd like to check it out still, but like I mentioned, usually to me, bestseller = pure hype till proven otherwise. LOL. <br />And I have not read <i>Trainspotting</i> before. I might have to check that out. Hm, I can never have too many recommendations, thanks :)<br /><br />@Mizz Yasmin: Thank you so much! I'll be posting that up as soon as I can :D<br /><br />@Medeia: Most of us, I noticed, don't look at the list for ideas&recommendations. It's more of a: We pick up books and it <i>just</i> so happens it's in the list. Doesn't affect our choices either way.Jillianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07629286727932554109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868395077988310106.post-60839283785047616332010-03-27T14:16:15.513-07:002010-03-27T14:16:15.513-07:00I haven't looked at the bestsellers list in ag...I haven't looked at the bestsellers list in ages. I get recs from Amazon, Goodreads, and blogs. I also walk around bookstores to find books that grab my attention.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868395077988310106.post-11919583441138401792010-03-26T11:33:16.434-07:002010-03-26T11:33:16.434-07:00+JMJ+
I tend to avoid best sellers until they'...+JMJ+<br /><br />I tend to avoid best sellers until they've dropped off the lists, just because I'm not crazy about crowds. <br /><br />Yet I can think of one which truly surprised me . . . <i>Trainspotting</i> by Irvine Welsh was one of the landmark novels of the 1990s--and I steered clear of it for that reason; but when I finally read it in 2007, I was blown away by how raw and powerful it was. I think it truly deserved to be a best-seller.Enbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868395077988310106.post-37811419736511198232010-03-26T11:25:55.115-07:002010-03-26T11:25:55.115-07:00@Greg: Youre welcome! your post really made me thi...@Greg: Youre welcome! your post really made me think. <br />Oh and I guess "bestseller = crap" would not be my word of choice, but I think we're definitely on the same page! I'm probably more like a "bestseller = pure hype till proven otherwise." haha :)<br />@Carin: Yes I agree. Like I mentioned also I dont think there's nothing wrong at all if a reader/buyer wants to consult the bestseller list. It's kind of like reading a bunch of 5 star reviews.. I tend to put those in my tbr list :)<br />Quick question though, to whom are you referring to with what you said about applying assumptions with a wide brush? :) thank you for reading and following!Jillianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07629286727932554109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868395077988310106.post-63856185528789981332010-03-26T10:19:41.076-07:002010-03-26T10:19:41.076-07:00While I mostly agree in premise, remember most non...While I mostly agree in premise, remember most non-bookish people have a lot of trouble deciding on a book to read. The volume to choose among is enormous and they don't know where to turn/who to trust. If thousands and thousands of other people have read a book, that's ceratinly an endorsement even if it generally does hit a lowest-common-denomenator factor. Fast food really was a perfect comparison. I'd never call McDonald's haute cuisine, but sometimes I really want a cheap burger and fries. Right now on the NYTimes list: The Help, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, The Pacific, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Stones Into Schools, Outliers, Eating Animals, and that's just the hardcover lists. I wouldn't consider any of them trashy pulp. Now wild horses couldn't convince me to ever read a James Patterson, but be careful about applying assumptions with a wide brush.Carin Siegfriedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07278383926500248048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868395077988310106.post-6230169795404530282010-03-26T10:06:15.723-07:002010-03-26T10:06:15.723-07:00Hey - thanks for the linkage! Yeah, that percepti...Hey - thanks for the linkage! Yeah, that perception of bestseller = good is annoying. And wrong. As I mentioned in response to your comment, I always assume the opposite - that a bestseller = crap until someone tells me otherwise! :)Greg Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08122230426442946518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868395077988310106.post-75699530900506404622010-03-26T09:21:02.308-07:002010-03-26T09:21:02.308-07:00@Sarah: Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. With m...@Sarah: Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. With me, I find myself not looking at NYT bestselling list to find new reads. It's just that when I do pick a book, it just so happens they <i>are</i> there, and I just go, "Oh, okay. Cool." I guess what I'm saying too is that whether or not a book is on the list, doesn't affect any of my purchases.Jillianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07629286727932554109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868395077988310106.post-69924265922244278312010-03-26T09:14:55.512-07:002010-03-26T09:14:55.512-07:00I totally agree with you! Some of my favorite book...I totally agree with you! Some of my favorite books/movies are ones that are so under appreciated and unknown, but that doesn't mean their not fantastic is just means they haven't been found yet. This is probably a bad example since it means that this book is amazing, but Twilight wasn't popular until three years after it was first written. <br /><br />I hardly ever look on NYT bestselling list because thats why I have a blog and goodreads, my TBR is already big enough :)Sarah (Book Reviews from Inside an Igloo)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03918877915737712201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868395077988310106.post-36412775924787251602010-03-26T08:26:40.726-07:002010-03-26T08:26:40.726-07:00@Jennifer: That's true, most especially, like ...@Jennifer: That's true, most especially, like you said, for those who read a book or two a year. They're not going to pick up a really random book. They're going to pick up the most popular. Again, I'm only generalizing here, but what you said truly is the common case. <br /><br />@Amelia: Your comparison to restaurants is so right and on-point! If we're talking that way though, I guess I have to say though that not all fast food places are bad = There <i>are </i> a few great books that happen to be on the list. <br />Like I mentioned, it wasn't like I was saying that "bestsellers are bad" and this and that. I just don't like how some assume it to be the next great read just because it's there! I'm glad you share this.. er.. sentiment of mine. Haha.Jillianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07629286727932554109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868395077988310106.post-53752758002623425602010-03-26T07:35:22.082-07:002010-03-26T07:35:22.082-07:00RIGHT!
RIGHT-RIGHT-RIGHT-RIGHT-RIGHT!
Ohh great po...RIGHT!<br />RIGHT-RIGHT-RIGHT-RIGHT-RIGHT!<br />Ohh great post, Jillian. Seriously - some of the best books I've read hardly have any publicity at all, and some of the most unoriginal copycat authors make the NY Times Bestseller list. ????? <br />My guess is books seem to be like food: you've got your 5-star restaurants and you've got fast food. What kind of food is ingested by the most people the most number of times? Fast food. Now, just because we eat it so much and it seems to be popular, does that mean it's good for you? Nope! I guess books are the same way. There are some "fast food books" and there are 5-star restaurant books. <br />man, now I'm hungry. Thanks for such a great post!Ameliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14767350676055319412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868395077988310106.post-40019851774248639222010-03-26T05:37:16.394-07:002010-03-26T05:37:16.394-07:00Anyone can be a best seller, at least that's w...Anyone can be a best seller, at least that's what I've heard people complaining about. If you're willing to buy multiple copies of your own book, plus have your friends, family, coworkers, kindergarten teacher, etc. all buy as many copies as they can the day (possibly even week) that it releases. <br /><br />As soon as you get on the list, if even for a week, you are forever known as a bestselling author. Casual readers, they hear bestseller, they do think good. Well, most of the time. And that's what they buy. If you're only going to read 2 books a year, more than likely the bestsellers are the only ones you've heard of anyway.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com