Everyday Canvas

A Book's Popularity Doesn't Insure Quality

Prompt: What popular books are out right now that you have no intention of reading?

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I just choose my reading from among the books I want to read. I don't go with what's popular in any area, in the first place. This is because, recently, what's popular in books usually ends up being low-grade.

This is true for me especially for the reason that, during the last decade or so and with the addition of Covid that shut people in their homes, lots of new publications have surfaced. Some may be very good, literary, or useful; however, I'm now very careful with how I spend my hours. On the other hand, I'll read a WdC writer's new book anytime, due to my dedication to the site.

Coming back to the issue of too many books on the market, I always think some of those are possibly very good, but I can't even trust the reviews posted on the bookseller websites anymore. And I have myself stopped posting such reviews when I found out that scammers can and do use them to get information on the reviewer. That and other problems with the publishers have added to any reader's nightmares. Most publishers today throw a whole lot of books into the market and watch what sticks, instead of being vigilant of the quality of the books they publish.

Then, I understand the publishers' dilemmas, also. Due to the amount of submitted material, they are inundated and cannot possibly give enough attention to all the books submitted, let alone help the upcoming new writers with their craft. Also, even the better books lose their favor with the publishers after their first publication. For example, yesterday, after sending in a John Geddes quote as a prompt, I wanted to buy the book it was from and read the whole thing, but the book is off the market. I can only buy it in e-bay or Amazon's used books for about $45, which I stay away from.

For many serious readers, these types of practices by the publishers and their industry in general don't work well as they depend on algorithms and very little human (literary expert) intervention. Simply increasing output for gain without offering quality is not a healthy sign for any industry, I think.