Quote:
Originally Posted by pwalker8
Not really. Sure, one can always find something to read, but the industry is driven by best sellers and name recognition. A portion of the reader community reads generic books, i.e. doesn't care much about the author or title. But the money is in the best sellers and big name authors. The average title is not a substitution for picking up the latest best seller for most readers. That's why there are best sellers. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the massive difference in sales figures for titles.
Most are not willing to practice self-restraint. That's why so many hard back best sellers are sold at a price that far exceeds what the reader would pay if they were willing to wait even a few months.
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Everyone has to practice some self-restraint. How many best sellers is the average reader buying each year? Even the average heavy reader? So they buy the ones they want most and wait on alternatives for the less desirable. When you consider that reading 12 books a year is considered to be a lot, I don't see the lack of fungibility. It's a mix; people drink champagne and beer. Or eat spuds and caviar.
Quote:
Originally Posted by leebase
One of the aspects of reading is the shared communal aspect. You want to talk about the latest GoT episode on Monday when everyone else is talking about it. Same with books. So you read whatever book Oprah is touting right now....and then participate in the discussion with your friends.
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I made that point in
this post. Again, I don't see that as a lot of books for any given person at one time.