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Well, I'll still read you every day, despite what you've said.
Cheers,
DAN BROWN
posted by
_dave_says_ack_
on April 18, 2006 at 1:20 AM
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42
posted by
majroj
on April 14, 2006 at 10:24 PM
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Good post, Azur,
Different writers can have plenty of readers without necessarily competing for them. So many different readers like a variety of different types of books and stories. I think the best seller's list is just a convenient place to start, if readers don't already have some idea of what they are looking for. Thanks. :)
posted by
BlackPearl1
on April 14, 2006 at 6:58 PM
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When I was younger, I used to stay away from most bestsellers because I was prejudiced against them, thinking they must be shallow and skin-deep.
Your attitude is very good. You are not predjudiced against them. If you don't read any of them, it's because they happen not to be your kind of thing.
posted by
una01
on April 14, 2006 at 6:33 PM
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Blackcat30, entertainment is what fiction is all about
We have to choose books where the idea or the writing style does not detract from that otherwise it becomes a chore.
The bestseller lists are a starting point but the most effectively marketed books may or may not be the ones that suit us best.
The best way to find something new and great to read is to sample it. I love to lose an hour in a great bookshop, sample a bunch of books and then choose a couple of enticing books. Of course, like you I am flatout busy and I don't get to do that very often.
posted by
Azur
on April 14, 2006 at 3:34 PM
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I enjoyed the Da Vinci Code... but I read it for entertainment....
Considering it only took me a few days, I can't say how much literary value it has.
I gravitate towards the bestseller's list because I feel those titles have been tested and must have done something right. I'm less likely to be bored out of my mind or disappointed, and I don't have the time to waste... it's really as simple as that. If someone I trusted recommended a non-bestseller, I'd surely give it a try.
posted by
-blackcat
on April 14, 2006 at 2:44 PM
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Ginnieb
so that's the heavyweight aspect of the book? I love to see my name in print. It is in a book, a collection whic h can be found in many bookstores. Funnily enough, no one has ever said to me that they saw my name in my book. I can't help wondering if because they found it too difficult to mention because it's not very good or that are just not enough readers out there. I suspect that it is the latter. I studied basic economics at university and I know that I have chosen a lousy market where the supply does not equal the demand/
posted by
Azur
on April 14, 2006 at 12:41 PM
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Talion
When I have an assignment on I don't read so much but I try to read every day and I always have a stack of things set aside to read. I regard reading as refueling
posted by
Azur
on April 14, 2006 at 12:36 PM
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Azur
I haven't read the book either, but I'll probably check out the movie. The subject intrigues me. I don't read a lot when I'm writing. I can't. I retain too much and after a while, I can't determine what ideas are mine and what are rehashes of the book I read.
Would I love to rack up sales surpassing Dan Brown? Of course, but when I'm published (positive thinking), I won't expect it. One thing I've learned here is I don't and have no desire to write for the mass market.
posted by
Talion
on April 14, 2006 at 12:24 PM
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Good point TAPS-
posted by
Azur
on April 14, 2006 at 12:20 PM
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Azur
I think "enough" is always "one more".
posted by
TAPS.
on April 14, 2006 at 12:15 PM
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DarkkeThoughts
I think it's best to somehow forget about the competition with others and achieve our own goals in our right. I am not worried about being no.1, well I suppose if I'm honest I prefer to see my son's soccer team come first in a game. I did enjoy having a cover piece on a magazine but in reality that was not because my story was the best, it was only because it offered the best possibility for a cover illustration.
posted by
Azur
on April 14, 2006 at 12:08 PM
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Dennison Mann
"I do, however, hope to write as well as other authors"
Yes I agree. That's why I read as much good writing as I can. I sent some work to an agent last year and there were three words in her reply which meant a great deal to me. She said: "the writing's fine."
posted by
Azur
on April 14, 2006 at 12:02 PM
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I have no desire..or no delusions about ever being #1!
Though the first time I saw my name in print in a mag in a bookstore...well I totally did handsprings! It was my 3-minutes I guess. I'd like to see more of that and maybe someday a book with my name on and I'll always work toward that..and that is a thrill in itself! I haven't read the Da Vinci code either...partly cuz the hardcover was too heavy for me to hold! Haha!
posted by
ginnieb
on April 14, 2006 at 7:04 AM
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Why limit it to writing?
It seems I have some deep need to be number one at everything I do, but so far have never managed to get past 2nd or 3rd place, and frequently nowhere near that good. Probably because I am so scattered and want to do so many different things...and get bored when the sucess I crave doesn't show up.
Anyway, I liked the Da Vinci Code. I like the "ancient mysteries" that they built the book around (and others like it.) But they never get enough into the mystery, and a little too much action. I don't think I'd every try to write a book in the same category, but there is something interesting about all the relics and rumors.
posted by
DarrkeThoughts
on April 14, 2006 at 6:45 AM
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The Da Vinci Code...
fascinated me. I thought Brown did an excellent job of leading his readers, although I would admit that by the final chapters I wished he would simply get to the big reveal!
As for me, I don't harbor some uncontrollable desire to surpass other writers. I do, however, hope to write as well as other authors.
DM
posted by
Dennison..Mann
on April 14, 2006 at 5:56 AM
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It is never enough, hunger for everything grows with eating
posted by
shypettite
on April 14, 2006 at 5:33 AM
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