Do you ever think "Who reads this?"

[ZodWallop]

So I get the dailly email from BookBub and I have discovered some great stuff there. But sometimes I look at other books on the list and think "who reads this?"

Like this one:
AITA? (It's #2 in Lesbian Romance, so maybe I'm just a doofus?)

Becky’s fiancé wants to have a three-way with a demon before their upcoming wedding — but when they use a Delectably Demonic summoning kit to summon beautiful Quenalith, Becky discovers a spark she didn’t know she was missing! A scorching, paranormal f/f rom-com.

I guess it's just the mention of demon summoning mixed with a cover that looks like a Hallmark movie poster (except one of the ladies looks like an extra from Star Trek).

I'm sure others would look askance at stuff I like. Just having fun.

What are some quirky titles that you have seen?

[rantanplan]

That's not even weird, I'd totally read that.

I give you the Kissing the Coronavirus series. Yes, it's a series.

It also has this spin-off: Covid Claus is Coming to Town

I guess, whatever get's the juices flowing

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by rantanplan

That's not even weird, I'd totally read that.

I give you the Kissing the Coronavirus series. Yes, it's a series.

It also has this spin-off: Covid Claus is Coming to Town

I guess, whatever get's the juices flowing

That just is one of the most stupidest series I've ever seen.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by rantanplan

That's not even weird, I'd totally read that.

I give you the Kissing the Coronavirus series. Yes, it's a series.

It also has this spin-off: Covid Claus is Coming to Town

I guess, whatever get's the juices flowing

Those books sound great. They are clearly written as a joke. One of the popular highlights:

His tongue, so soft and hot, like a chunk of microwaved fish, sloshing around inside her mouth.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Those books sound great. They are clearly written as a joke. One of the popular highlights:

Jeez. It's enough to make one celibate for life.

Now I'm actually sick...

[Dr. Drib]

Here's a good cover for the Kissing The Coronavirus series.

[Sirtel]

That's it. I'm gone from here.

[Calenorn]

Not what you meant, but I never could understand the large number of public domain ebooks available on sites like Amazon. Search for the Kindle version of "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin," for example. There are 43 PAGES of results!

Who reads those? In most cases, no one, I bet. Why does Amazon waste the bandwidth?

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Calenorn

Not what you meant, but I never could understand the large number of public domain ebooks available on sites like Amazon. Search for the Kindle version of "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin," for example. There are 43 PAGES of results!

Who reads those? In most cases, no one, I bet. Why does Amazon waste the bandwidth?

And many of them are lazy Gutenberg swipes without any sort of preliminary formatting cleanup. Those are a mystery.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Calenorn

Not what you meant, but I never could understand the large number of public domain ebooks available on sites like Amazon. Search for the Kindle version of "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin," for example. There are 43 PAGES of results!

Who reads those? In most cases, no one, I bet. Why does Amazon waste the bandwidth?

1) Lazy greed. People use the ease of KDP and the listing costs nothing.

2) Many people will buy from Amazon and never know about Gutenberg.

3) Many that know about Gutenberg think a 99c version from Amazon will be better.

4) Amazon has no human curation. They use automated tools that barely check more than formatting.

5) A bigger catalogue looks better and it costs Amazon nearly nothing per book. A mobile/cell delivery costs more, but that's a money-making sale.

Edit:
I've bought (sometimes "free") paper and ebooks and wondered why anyone would read them. I'm not giving titles. I do read most genres except "literary critic winners", erotic, horror or sport.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Quoth

1) Lazy greed. People use the ease of KDP and the listing costs nothing.

And sometimes it is second order greed. The results of people selling instructions on how to make easy money by publishing freely available content on Amazon.

[Calenorn]

Does a bigger catalog REALLY look better? If I need a public domain book, how do I choose from that morass? How many do I have to try before I get one with decent formatting? Is that the experience Amazon wants for its customers?

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I do read most genres except "literary critic winners", erotic, horror or sport.

Erotic, horror and sport I get; I don't read them myself. But "literary critic winners" must have a meaning for you that it doesn't for me. "Critically acclaimed"? "Literary prize winner"? Either or both? The issue for me is that books in both (overlapping, as you'd expect) categories can range from the highfalutin and unreadable to the solidly middle brow (also mostly unreadable). OK, I did use the word "unreadable" to describe the ends of the spectrum, but there can be decent stuff in the middle.

One of my frustrations in trying to drill down a list of library acquisitions, for example, is how very many books make the "literary fiction" cut. Chicklit, "sweeping family sagas", you name it. Certainly fiction, but not my idea of literary.

[Karellen]

I think that with Shakespeare. Not only "who" but "why"...

Yes, I am sure I will be flamed for that, but I just don't understand the fuss that is made about his writings.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by issybird

Erotic, horror and sport I get; I don't read them myself. But "literary critic winners" must have a meaning for you that it doesn't for me. "Critically acclaimed"? "Literary prize winner"? Either or both? The issue for me is that books in both (overlapping, as you'd expect) categories can range from the highfalutin and unreadable to the solidly middle brow (also mostly unreadable). OK, I did use the word "unreadable" to describe the ends of the spectrum, but there can be decent stuff in the middle.

The same could be said of horror, a genre I read and enjoy (along with 'literary critic winners').

I started this thread, because man, there's some quirky stuff out there. But I don't dismiss any genre/flavor out of hand.