Nicely done! I agree. Well said. Makes me think of the novel The Girls in 2016. Hype hype hype and then a lot of readers hated it. The publishers push what they think will sell but sometimes they’re dead wrong. But generally: Yes; it’s all about entertainment or ideology. The ideology angle grosses me out. Also: Love DFW. Every Love Story is a Ghost Story is a great bio on him. I think he mostly became hated by young angry feminists 😳
I am trying the Reserve Things on Libby In Case You Have 5 Minutes to Read on Your Phone approach, and I have to admit the browsing is not quite as inspiring. I am a sucker for the Recommended By shelves at bookstores and libraries. It doesn’t even have to be someone I know!
I also really enjoyed the link to the hating on DFW piece. I picked Infinite Jest as my big long read this year, so I may turn into a defender or a hater, it’s yet to be seen, but it is weird how it’s turned into an identity for some.
Apr 11, 2023·edited Apr 11, 2023Liked by Jeremy Anderberg
My favorite way to discover books (before "Read More Books", of course) was at my local library.
I'm primarily a fiction reader. Every month the library would get their new fiction and the library employees would each choose one to read then display it in the new fiction section with a little index card describing what it was about and why they liked it.
I'm not sure if this is something that happens at most well-funded libraries or whether this particular library just rocks. I'm also not sure if libraries receive money for promoting certain books that come in. But it seemed like a cool, organic way to help me choose what to read next. For a couple years all I read were these underground titles that weren't anticipated bestsellers and that were recommended to me from other regular book readers.
Yeah the featured sections at libraries are soooo good! They don't get any funding from publishers or anything, it's truly just based on librarian preferences + demand for certain books.
I agree that there are an abundance of under the radar books - backlist and new releases- that don't get attention because there weren't publishing $ behind them. I love browsing at the bookstore and library and finding titles I've never heard of- I found Birthday Girl by Niko Wolf on a bookstore browse and that book ended up being a 5 star read for me!
I gave up on trying to keep up with the lists of new, "anticipated" books and this year started a "no new books" challenge. I'm not buying any books this year, instead focusing on reading through the books I already have and using the library more.
So far I've only broken it to support Trans Visibility Day (which is more important than my silly challenge), and it's helped me tackle my TBR and finally "get around" to reading the classics. I'm slowly working my way through Cormac McCarthy's work, and I've finally read "The City & The City," "Left Hand of Darkness" and "True Grit."
I thought it was really good. The first adult book by LeGuin that I've read and the prose is pretty spectacular. It was up a lot to me beforehand and I think I came with too high expectations, but there is a lot in there to appreciate.
The two biggest challenges in any market with near-infinite, seemingly similar products are (1) differentiation and (2) discoverability. The difficulty is acute in publishing.
The trend for the last decade, thanks to our increasingly algorithmic world online has been for publishers to seek No. 2 at the expense of No. 1. There are economic reasons that may be inevitable, but it means we end up all seeing a tiny sample of the whole, and many selections end up tasting alike.
Love this - and three cheers to overlooked nonfiction!!
Cheer indeed!
Nicely done! I agree. Well said. Makes me think of the novel The Girls in 2016. Hype hype hype and then a lot of readers hated it. The publishers push what they think will sell but sometimes they’re dead wrong. But generally: Yes; it’s all about entertainment or ideology. The ideology angle grosses me out. Also: Love DFW. Every Love Story is a Ghost Story is a great bio on him. I think he mostly became hated by young angry feminists 😳
Michael Mohr
‘Sincere American Writing’
https://michaelmohr.substack.com/
I've had 'The Girls' hardcover on my shelf for years, probably because of said hype.
I read it a while back and, while I don't think I hated it, I couldn't now tell you a single thing that happened in it.
It was brilliant in some ways, I think, and badly done in others. I saw the raw talent...and the desperate need for editing
That article re-stoked my desire to read IJ sooner rather than later.
Love me some cinematic books! 😏
lol it's kinda your thing, isn't it?
I am trying the Reserve Things on Libby In Case You Have 5 Minutes to Read on Your Phone approach, and I have to admit the browsing is not quite as inspiring. I am a sucker for the Recommended By shelves at bookstores and libraries. It doesn’t even have to be someone I know!
I also really enjoyed the link to the hating on DFW piece. I picked Infinite Jest as my big long read this year, so I may turn into a defender or a hater, it’s yet to be seen, but it is weird how it’s turned into an identity for some.
Oh I'll be so curious to hear what you think of Infinite Jest! Might have to do it this year myself.
My favorite way to discover books (before "Read More Books", of course) was at my local library.
I'm primarily a fiction reader. Every month the library would get their new fiction and the library employees would each choose one to read then display it in the new fiction section with a little index card describing what it was about and why they liked it.
I'm not sure if this is something that happens at most well-funded libraries or whether this particular library just rocks. I'm also not sure if libraries receive money for promoting certain books that come in. But it seemed like a cool, organic way to help me choose what to read next. For a couple years all I read were these underground titles that weren't anticipated bestsellers and that were recommended to me from other regular book readers.
Yeah the featured sections at libraries are soooo good! They don't get any funding from publishers or anything, it's truly just based on librarian preferences + demand for certain books.
Personal recs are also just great.
Thanks for confirming that about publisher funding, haha!
I agree that there are an abundance of under the radar books - backlist and new releases- that don't get attention because there weren't publishing $ behind them. I love browsing at the bookstore and library and finding titles I've never heard of- I found Birthday Girl by Niko Wolf on a bookstore browse and that book ended up being a 5 star read for me!
Never heard of it! Added it to my list. :) Thanks Renee!
I gave up on trying to keep up with the lists of new, "anticipated" books and this year started a "no new books" challenge. I'm not buying any books this year, instead focusing on reading through the books I already have and using the library more.
So far I've only broken it to support Trans Visibility Day (which is more important than my silly challenge), and it's helped me tackle my TBR and finally "get around" to reading the classics. I'm slowly working my way through Cormac McCarthy's work, and I've finally read "The City & The City," "Left Hand of Darkness" and "True Grit."
Awesome. How did you like Left Hand? It's on my shelf, but unread.
I thought it was really good. The first adult book by LeGuin that I've read and the prose is pretty spectacular. It was up a lot to me beforehand and I think I came with too high expectations, but there is a lot in there to appreciate.
The two biggest challenges in any market with near-infinite, seemingly similar products are (1) differentiation and (2) discoverability. The difficulty is acute in publishing.
The trend for the last decade, thanks to our increasingly algorithmic world online has been for publishers to seek No. 2 at the expense of No. 1. There are economic reasons that may be inevitable, but it means we end up all seeing a tiny sample of the whole, and many selections end up tasting alike.