Booking Through Thursday on Friday

Sep 5, 2008 at 10:06 AM
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Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?

I listened to the Divinci Code because everyone was reading it. I thought it sucked. I usually base my book reading off of recomendations of friends or my interests. Sometimes things are given to me free. I propably read the first Harry Potter to see what all the fuss was about, that one worked out though. Most books that non readers love are not very good.

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(crap -- i forgot to check that yesterday)

Totally agree -- I was the same with The DaVinci Code -- fun premise, horrible execution. Read like a 10th grader had written it. I also started the Potter books late, but ended up liking them quite a bit.

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I personally resist. I read the first two chapters of The DaVinci Code and half of the third. I was thoroughly turned off by the writing style and the attempt to make the end of every chapter a cliff-hanger. I couldn't see myself enjoying the subject matter with that writing, so I returned the book to the library.

I usually wait a year or two after the "bestsellers" come out - if they're still super-popular, I might give them a read - that's how I found and enjoyed Life of Pi. But I won't read something just because the non-readers give it a resounding two-thumbs-up.

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I pretty much second everything that Steve said. The DaVinci Code was written to the lowest common denominator of reader which is why it was so popular, I think. Anyone could read that crap. Here's my theory. All murder mysteries follow a similar plot: you meet characters, one character dies, one of the other characters did it. There were so few characters in the book that I knew immediately whodunit.

I usually give bestsellers a couple years before I read them too. And I'll usually only read them based on recommendations.