Reading Trends: Where Do They Come From?
September 10th 2006 23:02
Reading trends really are a very interesting phenomena. It is amazing how quickly one can start. In our library we find we can predict a renewed interest in a book by an interview with an author, either on TV or radio, a mini-series or movie based on a movie, and even the death of an author will spark new interest in their work. We may have had their books on our shelves for years, rarely circulating and then there is a waiting list for them! A book title even mentioned in a popular show or movie will have people searching the shelves for it. Are we really lead that easily? It would appear so.
What about the ‘Best-seller’ tag. That’s a good one. How is a book determined as a best-seller. I had a look on the internet and sure enough, most countries have a best-sellers list. And from what I can determine it goes on sales over a number of book sellers. There are no surprises with any of the lists I viewed - Australia, ate=latest" target="_blank">America, and Canada. Many of the titles are the same except for local content, which varies, obviously, from country to country as the best of their national authors take position. The titles that appear on all three tend to come from the biggest publishers. No surprise there, they’ve got the standing and the money to distribute wide, and back it up with plenty of promotion. But, I have found some rather unknown author/titles spouting this tag, and I can’t help but wonder whether publisher’s have a best-sellers list of their own. Are we being deceived? No, surely not!
And then of course there are the new ‘seals of approval’. It started with ‘Oprah’s’ book club stamp, and now we have ‘Book Club’ and ‘Publisher’s Promise’ appearing on front covers. These are all very sound marketing ploys, that I’m sure work well enough, and if it encourages more readers I’m all for it, but I still find these tricks do run their course and savvy readers soon catch on.
From my experience, the most solid and consistent reading trends come from literary prize short-lists and winners. These never fail to bring in the readers. Every country has them. Readers wait in the wings every year just for the short-listed books to appear and then the stampede starts. In Australia the Miles Franklin Award and the Booker Prize seem to be the most popular. We can predict a waiting list for any of these winners within a day of announcement. I’m not saying this is any better than going by sales of a book to determine your reading pleasure, for again, it is a way of steering buyers towards chosen titles. Just remember that when it comes to choosing the book that you’ll spend your precious time with, make the choice not on anyone else’s call … publishers, reviewers, judges, but on what you find the most pleasure in.
Here’s another trend that is a mystery to me, and if anyone has an explanation for this, I’d like to hear it. We will have books on our shelves that no-one has bothered to borrow for 2 years or more. But the minute we pull it off the system and place it on the sale table, they buy it. Go figure!
What about the ‘Best-seller’ tag. That’s a good one. How is a book determined as a best-seller. I had a look on the internet and sure enough, most countries have a best-sellers list. And from what I can determine it goes on sales over a number of book sellers. There are no surprises with any of the lists I viewed - Australia, ate=latest" target="_blank">America, and Canada. Many of the titles are the same except for local content, which varies, obviously, from country to country as the best of their national authors take position. The titles that appear on all three tend to come from the biggest publishers. No surprise there, they’ve got the standing and the money to distribute wide, and back it up with plenty of promotion. But, I have found some rather unknown author/titles spouting this tag, and I can’t help but wonder whether publisher’s have a best-sellers list of their own. Are we being deceived? No, surely not!
And then of course there are the new ‘seals of approval’. It started with ‘Oprah’s’ book club stamp, and now we have ‘Book Club’ and ‘Publisher’s Promise’ appearing on front covers. These are all very sound marketing ploys, that I’m sure work well enough, and if it encourages more readers I’m all for it, but I still find these tricks do run their course and savvy readers soon catch on.
From my experience, the most solid and consistent reading trends come from literary prize short-lists and winners. These never fail to bring in the readers. Every country has them. Readers wait in the wings every year just for the short-listed books to appear and then the stampede starts. In Australia the Miles Franklin Award and the Booker Prize seem to be the most popular. We can predict a waiting list for any of these winners within a day of announcement. I’m not saying this is any better than going by sales of a book to determine your reading pleasure, for again, it is a way of steering buyers towards chosen titles. Just remember that when it comes to choosing the book that you’ll spend your precious time with, make the choice not on anyone else’s call … publishers, reviewers, judges, but on what you find the most pleasure in.
Here’s another trend that is a mystery to me, and if anyone has an explanation for this, I’d like to hear it. We will have books on our shelves that no-one has bothered to borrow for 2 years or more. But the minute we pull it off the system and place it on the sale table, they buy it. Go figure!
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Comment by Ahmed
techy.Bytes
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Qwerk
Cinema Three
So whats stopping these literary contests fromturning into the same kind of marketting ploy?