I worked in a book store for years, and 'popular books' frequently bug me. Not the books so much, or the authors, but the people who 'have' to have them and tell you that nothing compares to them. The truth is that these great writers were inspired by other great writers. Things do compare. Some things are just more marketable in a current economy/marketplace/pop culture and that's why the popular-book people have headed to the book store.
I dislike the hype that Twilight and 50 Shades have gotten, but I cannot deny, they brought reading to a lot of people who didn't read before. Twilight brought teen girls into the store who had never read a book that wasn't homework. 50 Shades made erotica something that people were no longer embarrassed to be seen buying.
But yes, the best erotica I've EVER read, is on line , written by people who write it for the love of writing it, and don't make a cent.
We had a woman who would call every month and demand to know what book a particular talk show host had named as her book. Didn't matter what it was, the customer hadn't even watched the show (I've got a real job and don't have time, you should know what book she mentioned!), but if the hostess had mentioned the book, this woman had to have it. It didn't matter if the book was self-help, sci-fi, or Dickens. I began to judge (yes, I'm horrible, I judged) all the popular book buyer like this woman.
Perhaps we just need to think of them as gateway books that will open up a world of reading to people who once thought reading was for geeks. Think of them as newbies as opposed to assholes. Or Newbie Assholes.
Also, I feel like I haven't chatted with you in ages!
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I worked in a book store for years, and 'popular books' frequently bug me. Not the books so much, or the authors, but the people who 'have' to have them and tell you that nothing compares to them. The truth is that these great writers were inspired by other great writers. Things do compare. Some things are just more marketable in a current economy/marketplace/pop culture and that's why the popular-book people have headed to the book store.
I dislike the hype that Twilight and 50 Shades have gotten, but I cannot deny, they brought reading to a lot of people who didn't read before. Twilight brought teen girls into the store who had never read a book that wasn't homework. 50 Shades made erotica something that people were no longer embarrassed to be seen buying.
But yes, the best erotica I've EVER read, is on line , written by people who write it for the love of writing it, and don't make a cent.
We had a woman who would call every month and demand to know what book a particular talk show host had named as her book. Didn't matter what it was, the customer hadn't even watched the show (I've got a real job and don't have time, you should know what book she mentioned!), but if the hostess had mentioned the book, this woman had to have it. It didn't matter if the book was self-help, sci-fi, or Dickens. I began to judge (yes, I'm horrible, I judged) all the popular book buyer like this woman.
Perhaps we just need to think of them as gateway books that will open up a world of reading to people who once thought reading was for geeks. Think of them as newbies as opposed to assholes. Or Newbie Assholes.
Also, I feel like I haven't chatted with you in ages!