Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Drib
Do literary awards - in genre fiction and in literary fiction - influence your buying and reading decisions?
If so, how?
We can also consider nominated books in this discussion.
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I guess I'd say they mildly do in the sense that I'll take a look at the nominees and consider reading them and I have gone back and checked out past awards and nominees when looking for something to read. This is true more for non-fiction and biography than for fiction. With fiction I go where the wind blows me. That said, I've found a few great books this way from the Pulitzer fiction list and Hugo's, notably Independence Day and Lonesome Dove and some very good books. I don't think I've ever selected a book because it was nominated or won an award.
The Nobel literature awards? I agree with the comment that they are more lifetime achievement awards (to me). I've read some, found some good ones but few that I've considered great works.
The only ones I pay attention to before the award ceremony are the Hugo, Locus and Nebula. I don't read all the nominees but I almost always have read a couple.