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Old 11-04-2012, 07:50 PM   #59
BearMountainBooks
Maria Schneider
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres View Post
Uh, to me, "as a rule" means "typically", "as a defining trait", not "universally".
(Rules can be violated here and there without invalidating them.)

What I meant is that default behavior of casual readers is to buy the book when they're going to read it. Book buying is not habitual behavior for casual readers so it takes deliberate intent to read a specific book for them to buy it.

We may be working off different definitions of casual reader.

Try this one: a casual reader is somebody who "Buys a couple of books a year" as opposed to "buys a few books a month/week". They are not people who make regular trips to the bookstore looking to see what is new or who, upon finishing a book, start thinking about what new book to read. They are *not* people who "routinely check out books from the library".
Instead, they are more likely to finish reading a book and promptly wonder what's on TV.

Is that less annoying?
It wasn't my intent; I was just pointing out that dedicated readers by themselves don't (and can't) make bestsellers. There just aren't that many of us...
I wasn't annoyed at all. It's possible I was annoying. I excel at that at times.

I guess the casual readers I know read two or maybe three books a year. They tell me they "like" to read. Some go to the library because of their kids and once in a while will check out a book they have heard of (I used to work at a library. I'd get asked a lot at checkout "Is this good. I heard about it...on tv, from a friend...) There are a LOT of children's activities at the library and the various things are attended by a large cross-section of moms. Not all of them are readers. Texas also has a HUGE population of home schoolers. So we got a lot of people in the library who were not there for reading. Well--the reading in that area was non-fiction for study purposes or actual books on homeschooling. Many of these parents were casual "read for entertainment" types. So my idea of casual is based on a couple of reading groups where the people say they like to read, but if they read and finish two or three books a year, that's about their max. They seem to buy more than that though. Couple that with my experience at the library--lots of parents who read one to three books a year, but came in for the various resources...and a lot of them would check out books they heard of...how many of them read them, I don't really know. I do know they would check out books for their kids almost every time. That is why they were there. But it didn't automatically mean they checked out something for themselves.

And of course it doesn't matter all that much. As I said, I was merely babbling. I do think, however, that a lot of casual readers actually buy books with good intentions--or check them out because they have heard of the books and happen to be standing in a library for a meeting, the computer use or their children's activities. (Our library also has movies. They have a movie once a month for seniors, an anime club, movies for teens--no idea how often, maybe once a month and so on.) This brings people to the library sometimes just for the air conditioning! The senior movie thing is quite popular from what I hear. I'm not a movie watcher so I've never been, but I know they continue to fund that one. The anime had funding cut, and attendance if pretty much a summer activity with less meetings in the winter.
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