But who gets to pick which books get hyped, and why...?
It's that person, or those people, who apparently control(s) what the greater reading public reads or doesn't read.
Let me put it this way. I realise that I am not exactly Everyman in this, but I'll wander into bookshops and actually BROWSE. I'll pick up books that are out on the remainder table and have a look at them. If the story appeals,I will buy it. If it doesn't, I will NOT buy it. It matters very little to me whether it's the #1 bestseller this week. But if only the hyped books get picked to be sold, I lose those gems that I might otherwise trip over all unexpected-like when I wasn't looking for them. I lose the authors who are not household names (but who are no less good because of that); I lose older books which are whisked off shelves far too soon to make room for the new big thing; I lose the quirky, the unexpected, the weird and the wonderful because those books won't sell in the millions and will therefore sooner or later get to the point where they aren't published at all because they are deemed "non-viable".
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-28 10:10 pm (UTC)It's that person, or those people, who apparently control(s) what the greater reading public reads or doesn't read.
Let me put it this way. I realise that I am not exactly Everyman in this, but I'll wander into bookshops and actually BROWSE. I'll pick up books that are out on the remainder table and have a look at them. If the story appeals,I will buy it. If it doesn't, I will NOT buy it. It matters very little to me whether it's the #1 bestseller this week. But if only the hyped books get picked to be sold, I lose those gems that I might otherwise trip over all unexpected-like when I wasn't looking for them. I lose the authors who are not household names (but who are no less good because of that); I lose older books which are whisked off shelves far too soon to make room for the new big thing; I lose the quirky, the unexpected, the weird and the wonderful because those books won't sell in the millions and will therefore sooner or later get to the point where they aren't published at all because they are deemed "non-viable".
I would regret that.