Thread: On the irrelevance of awards
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Old 04-28-2015, 04:38 AM   #46
Rev. Bob
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer View Post
Even if they are strictly a "popularity contest," they tend to include more "sleepers" that didn't win the 5-star super-hype treatment from one of the major publishers. And they're rarely completely devoid of really good books.

The point where things go south is when people start WANTING to win, or start thinking that books that they like not getting nominated can be construed as some sort of personal affront. I call it the "Books I Like HAVE to be Award Worthy, Right?" fallacy.
Agreed on the value of sleeper nominees. I may be way off, but I've perceived a tendency of late (see: since the rise of Amazon and the fall of brick/mortar) for people's views to narrow into ruts. Award shortlists give us an easy way to look beyond whatever rut we happen to be in, to discover new things with less risk. That's exactly why I dislike the slates that have come about; if that becomes the norm, all of that wonderful chaos that leads to sleeper books getting nominated is likely to slip away, and the culture of the entire genre will be poorer for it. All we will have are already-popular books getting more attention, and the new voices with interesting tales to tell will be drowned out by the clamoring hype.

As for popularity vs. award-worthiness... I like popcorn. I like ice cream, too. They're yummy, and I know what to expect from them. They're comfortable snacks. However, if I want nourishment, I need something more substantial. I need something that'll challenge my mind, expand my horizons, and make me think - not just another rehashed adventure with the serial numbers filed off and the jet packs repainted. Sure, I'll go see the latest Michael Bay things-go-boom movie, and it'll rake in money at the box office - but it's not a contender for any awards. It's just popcorn, a fun way to spend a couple of hours.
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