.99 for S.T. Joshi's Junk Fiction at Fictionwise

rogerVA · 02-10-2011, 05:08 PM

http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b9...ST-Joshi/?si=0

Bestsellers have been with us for more than a century, ever since the first bestseller list appeared in 1895. But they have received surprisingly little attention from critics. What kind of books become bestsellers? Why do people read them? Do they have literary value or are they merely the literary equivalent of crossword puzzles? S. T. Joshi, a leading critic of horror, fantasy, and mystery fiction, devotes his attention to these and other issues, showing that bestsellers emerged only with the advent of near-universal literacy and the increased leisure time among the masses. Joshi is also aware that most bestsellers fall into the categories of genre fiction: romance (Danielle Steel, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Nora Roberts); mystery (Mary Higgins Clark, Sue Grafton, Patricia Cornwell); suspense (James Patterson, Nelson DeMille); espionage (Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler); horror (Stephen King, Dean Koontz); and so forth. Joshi provides detailed examinations of books by these authors, as well as of such recent bestsellers as Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, and such bygone titles as Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls, in a wide-ranging discussion of both the virtues and the failings of popular literature. Joshi's study, written in a witty, accessible style, is must-reading for anyone interested in the literary and cultural phenomenon of the bestseller.

Joshi tears apart writer after writer, book after book. His bad reviews are always entertaining to me, and this book is pretty much one long bad review of modern popular fiction.

curtw · 02-12-2011, 02:42 PM

Hey, thanks. You helped me burn through half of the Micropay balance I've been sitting on for two years. One more buy like this, and I'm out.

thrawn_aj · 02-12-2011, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogerVA

http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b9...ST-Joshi/?si=0
...[snip]...
Joshi tears apart writer after writer, book after book. His bad reviews are always entertaining to me, and this book is pretty much one long bad review of modern popular fiction.

Excellent find!!! I love reading entertaining bad reviews (like Ebert's for instance). Just bought it.

In the same vein, here's a scathing review of the star wars prequels by the way (something about your link reminded me of them). It has to be one of the most hilarious things I've seen. Warning: some coarse language (not overdone).

jezebel · 02-12-2011, 03:52 PM

I bought it yesterday and read a chapter last night. Funny stuff. Thanks!

rogerVA · 02-12-2011, 05:54 PM

Glad you guys got it. Joshi is the premier H.P. Lovecraft scholar of our time, and I've read a lot of his Lovecraftian works. He's also prepared definitive texts of Lovecraft, Bierce, H.L. Mencken and others. When he doesn't like something, he lets it have it, which again usually amuses me. Hope you guys agree. Not sure he's meaning to amuse, but oh well...

02-10-2011, 05:08 PM	#1
rogerVA Connoisseur Posts: 82 Karma: 68114 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Kindle Paperwhite & Kindle 3	.99 for S.T. Joshi's Junk Fiction at Fictionwise http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b9...ST-Joshi/?si=0 Bestsellers have been with us for more than a century, ever since the first bestseller list appeared in 1895. But they have received surprisingly little attention from critics. What kind of books become bestsellers? Why do people read them? Do they have literary value or are they merely the literary equivalent of crossword puzzles? S. T. Joshi, a leading critic of horror, fantasy, and mystery fiction, devotes his attention to these and other issues, showing that bestsellers emerged only with the advent of near-universal literacy and the increased leisure time among the masses. Joshi is also aware that most bestsellers fall into the categories of genre fiction: romance (Danielle Steel, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Nora Roberts); mystery (Mary Higgins Clark, Sue Grafton, Patricia Cornwell); suspense (James Patterson, Nelson DeMille); espionage (Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler); horror (Stephen King, Dean Koontz); and so forth. Joshi provides detailed examinations of books by these authors, as well as of such recent bestsellers as Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, and such bygone titles as Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls, in a wide-ranging discussion of both the virtues and the failings of popular literature. Joshi's study, written in a witty, accessible style, is must-reading for anyone interested in the literary and cultural phenomenon of the bestseller. Joshi tears apart writer after writer, book after book. His bad reviews are always entertaining to me, and this book is pretty much one long bad review of modern popular fiction.

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02-12-2011, 02:42 PM	#2
curtw Outside of a dog Posts: 877 Karma: 4457646 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston, TX Device: Kindle Voyage	Hey, thanks. You helped me burn through half of the Micropay balance I've been sitting on for two years. One more buy like this, and I'm out.

02-12-2011, 03:52 PM	#4
jezebel Fanatic Posts: 528 Karma: 131098 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: a ferry ride from Seattle Device: Kindle Fire (5th Gen), Nook Color	I bought it yesterday and read a chapter last night. Funny stuff. Thanks!

02-12-2011, 05:54 PM	#5
rogerVA Connoisseur Posts: 82 Karma: 68114 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Kindle Paperwhite & Kindle 3	Glad you guys got it. Joshi is the premier H.P. Lovecraft scholar of our time, and I've read a lot of his Lovecraftian works. He's also prepared definitive texts of Lovecraft, Bierce, H.L. Mencken and others. When he doesn't like something, he lets it have it, which again usually amuses me. Hope you guys agree. Not sure he's meaning to amuse, but oh well...